"End of the line" supermarkets

[pseudo3d]

There are a number of chains that have been bought up over the years and rebranded, but the list here reflects supermarket chains that ended up closing entirely without true replacements, no one continued on the legacy by rebranding them. Some of these were picked up by other stores after their demise, sure, but were at the very least closed and re-opened as other chains.

TEXAS (EXCEPT WEST TEXAS)
AppleTree Markets (last two stores went independent, closed)
Rice Epicurean Market (includes Rice Food Stores)
Weingarten

LOUISIANA / SOUTHEAST
BI-LO (includes RedFood)
Bruno's (includes successor Belle Foods)
Earth Fare
Gooding's
Schwegmann (includes That Stanley!, Canal Villere, Real Superstore)
Seessel's
Sweetbay Supermarket (includes Kash n' Karry)

MIDWEST / MICHIGAN
Big Bear Stores
Dominick's (includes Omni Superstore)
Farmer Jack
Hamady Bros. (includes Chatham)
Hiller's Market (Kroger closed them during conversion)
Marsh Supermarket

NORTHEAST / MID-ATLANTIC
Genuardi's
Grand Union (original run)
Mars
P&C Foods

SOUTHWEST / WEST TEXAS
ABCO Foods Desert Market
Furr's
Megafoods

NATIONAL/SEMI-NATIONAL
A&P (includes Super Fresh, Pathmark, and Waldbaum's, though some SoCal stores disconnected earlier and converted to Fazio's Shopping Bag)
FedMart
Fresh & Easy
Pantry Pride (includes Penn Fruit, Food Fair, Wooley's, Hyde Park)

[Steve Landry]

That's a wonderful list!!!

Thanks

P.S. You forgot Hills Supermarkets and Fox Markets

[pseudo3d]

That's a wonderful list!!!

Thanks

P.S. You forgot Hills Supermarkets and Fox Markets

I should also mention that to Southeast, Florida Choice (owned by Kroger and eventually dismantled), The Family Mart (owned by A&P and eventually dismantled), and Big Star Markets (owned by Grand Union and eventually dismantled) should be added.

Earth Fare refers to the original chain that closed in 2020.

[BillyGr]

I should also mention that to Southeast, Florida Choice (owned by Kroger and eventually dismantled), The Family Mart (owned by A&P and eventually dismantled), and Big Star Markets (owned by Grand Union and eventually dismantled) should be added.

Earth Fare refers to the original chain that closed in 2020.

You could also add in the NY area:
Albany Public - a small chain around Albany, NY, run for many years by Weis but never renamed, then sold to Grand Union (much the same way you list Big Star in the above).

Also in MA, you had a chain of Victory Markets that was bought by Hannaford (much as the remnants of P&C were by Tops, so both still have stores running under their new names).

There were also Victory Markets in NY that became Great American - they, as a company, are no longer and most of the stores closed or were bought by others over the years, though there is still one store known to be using the name (in Prattsville) so maybe not quite "totally" defunct.

One final one would be the Loblaw's branded stores in the USA - while they are still around in Canada, none exist in this country. Not sure exactly how wide they spread, but they were in NY State (including one well known one that remained vacant for decades with the name still visible until Stewart's convenience stores bought the site a few years back).

[pseudo3d]

I should also mention that to Southeast, Florida Choice (owned by Kroger and eventually dismantled), The Family Mart (owned by A&P and eventually dismantled), and Big Star Markets (owned by Grand Union and eventually dismantled) should be added.

Earth Fare refers to the original chain that closed in 2020.

You could also add in the NY area:
Albany Public - a small chain around Albany, NY, run for many years by Weis but never renamed, then sold to Grand Union (much the same way you list Big Star in the above).

Also in MA, you had a chain of Victory Markets that was bought by Hannaford (much as the remnants of P&C were by Tops, so both still have stores running under their new names).

There were also Victory Markets in NY that became Great American - they, as a company, are no longer and most of the stores closed or were bought by others over the years, though there is still one store known to be using the name (in Prattsville) so maybe not quite "totally" defunct.

One final one would be the Loblaw's branded stores in the USA - while they are still around in Canada, none exist in this country. Not sure exactly how wide they spread, but they were in NY State (including one well known one that remained vacant for decades with the name still visible until Stewart's convenience stores bought the site a few years back).

Victory Supermarkets would depend on if they were closed and converted, or slowly converted without. If the latter, not on the list.

This doesn't include conversions that were then shut down...Albertsons bought and renamed Smitty's-MO before exiting the market, but there are other Albertsons. Whereas for Seessel's, they kept the name, but sold out before they converted anything. Alpha Beta isn't on there because some stores were kept by American and converted to Lucky (-> Albertsons) and most were sold and converted to Ralphs. Delchamps and Jitney Jungle aren't on there because they got converted to Winn-Dixie, though the way things are shaping up, Winn-Dixie is going to go on the list with Delchamps and Jitney Jungle along for the ride. Hinky Dinky isn't on there because Nash Finch rebranded those as Sun Mart and eventually SpartanNash rebranded that as Family Fare.

[rich]

I should also mention that to Southeast, Florida Choice (owned by Kroger and eventually dismantled), The Family Mart (owned by A&P and eventually dismantled), and Big Star Markets (owned by Grand Union and eventually dismantled) should be added.

Earth Fare refers to the original chain that closed in 2020.

You could also add in the NY area:
Albany Public - a small chain around Albany, NY, run for many years by Weis but never renamed, then sold to Grand Union (much the same way you list Big Star in the above).

Also in MA, you had a chain of Victory Markets that was bought by Hannaford (much as the remnants of P&C were by Tops, so both still have stores running under their new names).

There were also Victory Markets in NY that became Great American - they, as a company, are no longer and most of the stores closed or were bought by others over the years, though there is still one store known to be using the name (in Prattsville) so maybe not quite "totally" defunct.

One final one would be the Loblaw's branded stores in the USA - while they are still around in Canada, none exist in this country. Not sure exactly how wide they spread, but they were in NY State (including one well known one that remained vacant for decades with the name still visible until Stewart's convenience stores bought the site a few years back).

Victory Supermarkets would depend on if they were closed and converted, or slowly converted without. If the latter, not on the list.

This doesn't include conversions that were then shut down...Albertsons bought and renamed Smitty's-MO before exiting the market, but there are other Albertsons. Whereas for Seessel's, they kept the name, but sold out before they converted anything. Alpha Beta isn't on there because some stores were kept by American and converted to Lucky (-> Albertsons) and most were sold and converted to Ralphs. Delchamps and Jitney Jungle aren't on there because they got converted to Winn-Dixie, though the way things are shaping up, Winn-Dixie is going to go on the list with Delchamps and Jitney Jungle along for the ride. Hinky Dinky isn't on there because Nash Finch rebranded those as Sun Mart and eventually SpartanNash rebranded that as Family Fare.

You're going to windup with a lot of hairsplitting. Big Star was nothing but a new name for what was left of Colonial, which was liquidating divisions even before Grand Union bought them. Their "Midwest Division" in Ohio which traded as Albers (although some stores were Big Star) went to independents affiliated with IGA or Flickinger (Super Duper), although Thorofare tried to run some in Cincinnati. I think they sold their Richmond and Florida divisions while some stores were still Colonial.

Loblaw--many of the stores went to a wholesaler they controlled, Peter Schmitt, which ran them under the Bell's name for awhile. Schmitt was the second fiddle to Flickinger in western NY. Ultimately Loblaw sold them to management and Bell's disappeared.


Other chains that disappeared:

Thorofare (Pittsburgh, Western PA, Ohio, WV): Many became Stop-n-Save.

Seaway Foodtown (Toledo) disintegrated under Spartan ownership

Acme--the one in WV/VA

[Groceteria]

Loblaw US would be filed with National Tea, which they owned from the 1950s on. The whole chain disappeared region by region with New Orleans (Canal Villere/National/That Stanley/Superstore sold to Schwegmann's, which collapsed under the weight of these stores) and St Louis (mostly went to Schnucks IIRC) the last to go.

Big Star (the southeastern chain, not the completely separate chain centered around Memphis and environs that was the namesake of the band) was the former Colonial Stores, sold to Grand Union in 1977, and defunct by 1988. It was indeed sold off in pieces, with Safeway getting many of the Tidewater stores, Harris Teeter taking most of the Piedmont NC stores, and A&P getting most of Atlanta.

Other contenders if I understand the criteria correctly:

• Thorofare (Pittsburgh and a large adjacent region)

• Farm Fresh (Virginia, though the Supervalu thing might rule it out for these purposes)

• Cala/Bell > Delano's (San Francisco, the whole operation was abandoned by Kroger and became Delano's IGA before quickly disappearing)

• Wrigley/Allied Supermarkets/Great Scott (Michigan-centered but not entirely so)

(EDIT: I think Rich, above, and I were posting at the same time...)

[Groceteria]

Loblaw--many of the stores went to a wholesaler they controlled, Peter Schmitt which ran them under the Bell's name for awhile. Schmitt was the second fiddle to Flickinger in western NY. Ultimately Loblaw sold them to management and Bell's disappeared.

Exactly. This was the final disposition of the remaining Loblaw-branded stores, as opposed to the other Loblaw-owned National stores, which operated under a variety of names including National, Canal Villere, That Stanley, Superstore (and variations), Del Farm, and Miller's before they all bit the dust.

And to clarify my other post, the big Star sell-off in 1988 was what was left by that point. And I think the Atlanta stores were offloaded to A&P even later than that. In retrospect, I also believe the Tidewater VA stores went earlier, like 1984.

[Groceteria]

You could also make a case for Kmart Food, which really wasn't a leased department but a chain of supermarkets operated by different licensees around the country (ACF/Wrigley, Colonial/Big Star, miscellaneous wholesalers, etc.). Aside from the name, they were, as I understand it, pretty much completely separate from the GM side, with a wall between the two (that included an interior doorway), separate cash controls, and house brands that reflected the local operator rather than Kmart. In fact, Colonial/Big Star sometimes listed its Kmart Food and Richway Foods locations in its own newspaper ads and promotions (e.g. "Let's Go to the Races").

[pseudo3d]

You could also make a case for Kmart Food, which really wasn't a leased department but a chain of supermarkets operated by different licensees around the country (ACF/Wrigley, Colonial/Big Star, miscellaneous wholesalers, etc.). Aside from the name, they were, as I understand it, pretty much completely separate from the GM side, with a wall between the two (that included an interior doorway), separate cash controls, and house brands that reflected the local operator rather than Kmart. In fact, Colonial/Big Star sometimes listed its Kmart Food and Richway Foods locations in its own newspaper ads and promotions (e.g. "Let's Go to the Races").

I'm pretty sure some of the Kmart Foods reverted back to their original name...but I'm not sure. In my neck of the woods that was Lewis & Coker, another brand that vanished.

As for Wrigley/Allied/Great Scott, I thought Kroger bought them out...and if they shut them down to remodel and/or reset, it counts. If not they don't.

[rich]

You could also make a case for Kmart Food, which really wasn't a leased department but a chain of supermarkets operated by different licensees around the country (ACF/Wrigley, Colonial/Big Star, miscellaneous wholesalers, etc.). Aside from the name, they were, as I understand it, pretty much completely separate from the GM side, with a wall between the two (that included an interior doorway), separate cash controls, and house brands that reflected the local operator rather than Kmart. In fact, Colonial/Big Star sometimes listed its Kmart Food and Richway Foods locations in its own newspaper ads and promotions (e.g. "Let's Go to the Races").

I'm pretty sure some of the Kmart Foods reverted back to their original name...but I'm not sure. In my neck of the woods that was Lewis & Coker, another brand that vanished.

As for Wrigley/Allied/Great Scott, I thought Kroger bought them out...and if they shut them down to remodel and/or reset, it counts. If not they don't.

The Atlanta Colonial/Big Stars went to A&P and then to Publix (mostly). I think Colonial also sold some other stores in the Carolinas to A&P.

Allied had multiple pieces which they sold off at different times: Foodtown (Cleveland, no relation to the one in Toledo) went to the local Pick-n-Pay chain (which later bought Finast); Bettendorf-Rapp went to Schnucks; I believe Ideal/Humpty Dumpty went to independents; and Wrigley/Packer/Great Scott! to Kroger. Allied merged with Vons for about 5 minutes in the mid-80s. Vons was the surviving company and sold off the Allied assets. Allied also had a wholesale operation in Detroit, Abner Wolf, which went to a Kroger affiliate.

The Allied KMart stores went to a variety of operators (the ones in Toledo became FoodTowns or went under FoodTown's discount arm, Kash & Karry; some of the Cleveland stores were part of Valu King co-op) or became something else. By that time, Colonial/Big Star was rapidly shrinking as was Allied. National operated some scattered KMart stores in Indiana but didn't keep them long as they sold off their Indy Division in pieces. Marsh got the nearly new DC.

Shopping Bag is another long complicated history--they became owned by the company behind Plaid Stamps, which also owned department stores, which bought the A&Ps (A&P was a Plaid Stamp client), which sold them to Fisher Foods (parent of Fazios) who sold them to Albertson's. There was a failed merger with Von's before the sale to Fazios.

Bruno's is another complicated one. They acquired stores beyond their base in Birmingham and then were bought and sold multiple times. When Ahold owned them, they tried combining them with BiLo and then sold off many of the stores (Ingle's operation near Atlanta is the one most identifiable piece). C&S wound up with what was left after bankruptcy. Their drug store chain (Big B) went to Revco, which soon went to CVS.

Alterman's (Big Apple/Food Giant in Atlanta and nearby markets) gradually disintegrated under SuperValu ownership which included a Delahaize partnership. The Cub stores in Atlanta were a descendant of this.

Big Bear--there were multiple chains using that name: the one in San Diego slowly shrank. I think Vons bought what was left. The one in Ohio sold off stores to Kroger and Giant Eagle when it closed. Other Big Bears were in NJ (one of the stores to claim "first super market") and Michigan. No doubt some others, as well. Big Bear also was the original name for the Giant Tiger discount department stores (they entered the Ohio Big Bear market area and changed the name) which inspired the Canadian (still operating) discount chain. Giant Tiger was bought by Gaylord's and gradually vanished.

[Groceteria]

Two additional Big Bear chains that are no more were NC/VA (rebranded as Food World and then merged into Harris Teeter in 1984) and Seattle.

I know that a lot of the older and smaller Big Star locations in southern and eastern NC ended up as Piggly Wiggly (many of them still open) but I’m not really sure what the logistics of that transaction were.

After the end of Kmart food, Big Star began opening their own branded stores adjacent to new Kmart locations for a few years, at least in my area (late 1970s). Few if any of these survived as Harris Teeter. A fair chunk of the older “first wave” Kmart-branded stores ended up as Food Town/Food Lion.

Smaller footprint and shorter history but I think it still fits: 3 Guys stores in the Carolinas in the early 1980s. They were an offshoot of a New Zealand-based chain. A good chunk of the buildings went on to house the original Big Lots operation here.

[pseudo3d]

You could also make a case for Kmart Food, which really wasn't a leased department but a chain of supermarkets operated by different licensees around the country (ACF/Wrigley, Colonial/Big Star, miscellaneous wholesalers, etc.). Aside from the name, they were, as I understand it, pretty much completely separate from the GM side, with a wall between the two (that included an interior doorway), separate cash controls, and house brands that reflected the local operator rather than Kmart. In fact, Colonial/Big Star sometimes listed its Kmart Food and Richway Foods locations in its own newspaper ads and promotions (e.g. "Let's Go to the Races").

I'm pretty sure some of the Kmart Foods reverted back to their original name...but I'm not sure. In my neck of the woods that was Lewis & Coker, another brand that vanished.

As for Wrigley/Allied/Great Scott, I thought Kroger bought them out...and if they shut them down to remodel and/or reset, it counts. If not they don't.

The Atlanta Colonial/Big Stars went to A&P and then to Publix (mostly). I think Colonial also sold some other stores in the Carolinas to A&P.

Allied had multiple pieces which they sold off at different times: Foodtown (Cleveland, no relation to the one in Toledo) went to the local Pick-n-Pay chain (which later bought Finast); Bettendorf-Rapp went to Schnucks; I believe Ideal/Humpty Dumpty went to independents; and Wrigley/Packer/Great Scott! to Kroger. Allied merged with Vons for about 5 minutes in the mid-80s. Vons was the surviving company and sold off the Allied assets. Allied also had a wholesale operation in Detroit, Abner Wolf, which went to a Kroger affiliate.

The Allied KMart stores went to a variety of operators (the ones in Toledo became FoodTowns or went under FoodTown's discount arm, Kash & Karry; some of the Cleveland stores were part of Valu King co-op) or became something else. By that time, Colonial/Big Star was rapidly shrinking as was Allied. National operated some scattered KMart stores in Indiana but didn't keep them long as they sold off their Indy Division in pieces. Marsh got the nearly new DC.

Shopping Bag is another long complicated history--they became owned by the company behind Plaid Stamps, which also owned department stores, which bought the A&Ps (A&P was a Plaid Stamp client), which sold them to Fisher Foods (parent of Fazios) who sold them to Albertson's. There was a failed merger with Von's before the sale to Fazios.

Bruno's is another complicated one. They acquired stores beyond their base in Birmingham and then were bought and sold multiple times. When Ahold owned them, they tried combining them with BiLo and then sold off many of the stores (Ingle's operation near Atlanta is the one most identifiable piece). C&S wound up with what was left after bankruptcy. Their drug store chain (Big B) went to Revco, which soon went to CVS.

Alterman's (Big Apple/Food Giant in Atlanta and nearby markets) gradually disintegrated under SuperValu ownership which included a Delahaize partnership. The Cub stores in Atlanta were a descendant of this.

Big Bear--there were multiple chains using that name: the one in San Diego slowly shrank. I think Vons bought what was left. The one in Ohio sold off stores to Kroger and Giant Eagle when it closed. Other Big Bears were in NJ (one of the stores to claim "first super market") and Michigan. No doubt some others, as well. Big Bear also was the original name for the Giant Tiger discount department stores (they entered the Ohio Big Bear market area and changed the name) which inspired the Canadian (still operating) discount chain. Giant Tiger was bought by Gaylord's and gradually vanished.

The stores listed here have the criteria of that they were shut down/sold in pieces without a direct descendant to rebrand as without a closure process. When a chain gets closed they usually sell out but it goes through a closure/reset process. Hence, Big Bear (referring to the Penn Traffic-owned chain in Ohio), Bruno's, and Big Star, were all X'd with no descendants.

A&P is a borderline case, not because of their quick sale to ACME, but because the transition to Fazio's Shopping Bag and later Albertsons in the 1970s and 1980s. Likewise, Safeway's "rump states" in divisions they sold off in the 1980s underwent a slower conversion process to Furr's and AppleTree, but it's Safeway that survives and not Furr's or AppleTree.

Again, I don't know the circumstances of Great Scott!, so I haven't put it on there yet.

(Big Bear listed refers to the Ohio chain owned by Penn Traffic).

[pseudo3d]

I created an updated list of stores.

TEXAS (EXCEPT WEST TEXAS) / LOUISIANA / SOUTHEAST
AppleTree Markets (last two stores went independent, closed)
BI-LO (includes RedFood)*
Big Star Markets*
Bruno's (includes successor Belle Foods)
Earth Fare (original run)
Florida Choice*
Gooding's
Lewis & Coker
Rice Epicurean Market (includes Rice Food Stores)
Schwegmann (includes That Stanley!, Canal Villere, Real Superstore)
Seessel's*
Sweetbay Supermarket (includes Kash n' Karry)
The Family Mart*
Weingarten*

MIDWEST / MICHIGAN
Big Bear Stores*
Dahl's
Dominick's (includes Omni Superstore)
Farmer Jack*
Hamady Bros. (includes Chatham)
Hiller's Market (Kroger closed them during conversion)
Marsh Supermarket
Thriftway*

NORTHEAST / MID-ATLANTIC
Best Market
Genuardi's*
Grand Union (original run)
Laneco*
Mars

SOUTHWEST / WEST TEXAS
ABCO Foods Desert Market*
Furr's*
Megafoods

CALIFORNIA / WEST COAST
Big Bear Markets (of California)
Cala Foods (includes Bell Markets)
Larry's Market

NATIONAL/SEMI-NATIONAL
A&P (includes Super Fresh, Pathmark, and Waldbaum's, though some SoCal stores disconnected earlier and converted to Fazio's Shopping Bag)
FedMart
Fresh & Easy
Pantry Pride (includes Penn Fruit, Food Fair, Wooley's, Hyde Park)

Removals: P&C Foods (it looks like it may have been safely converted)
Additions: "California/West Coast", Lewis & Coker, Big Star, Florida Choice, Seessel's, The Family Mart, Dahl's, Thriftway, Best Market
Clarifications: Earth Fare
Other Notes: Combined TEXAS (EXCEPT WEST TEXAS) with LOUISIANA / SOUTHEAST
A * indicates that they were a division of a larger company at the time of their demise and was sold off instead. These include Grand Union (Weingarten, Big Star), SEG (BI-LO), Kroger (Florida Choice), A&P (The Family Mart, Farmer Jack), Penn Traffic (Big Bear), Winn-Dixie (Thriftway), Safeway (Genuardi's), Albertsons (Seessel's), SuperValu (Laneco), Fleming (ABCO Foods, Furr's)

[wnetmacman]

You're also missing Eisner Foods, who was at the time of their demise a division of Jewel; Skaggs Alpha Beta and Alpha Beta. S-A-B in Texas and Florida became Jewel for a time in the 90s before being sold off to Albertsons.