Greg Hatala/For NJ Advance Media
Vintage photos of supermarkets and food stores in N.J.
What would you say was the first supermarket in the United States?
The answer, apparently, isn’t cut-and-dried.
For example, nationalgeographic.org points to the opening of the King Kullen in Jamaica, Queens, in 1930 as the first appearance of a supermarket in America; groceteria.com also agrees with this conclusion. Yet time.com gives the honor to Piggly Wiggly, which opened in Chicago in 1926. And, none of this addresses those of us who wonder where A&P places.
To sift through this, it might be useful to consider what the different stores sold.
Groceteria notes that while chain groceries like A&P were widespread prior to 1926 or 1930, they sold "what are known as "dry grocery" items, or canned goods and other nonperishable staples. Butchers and greengrocers (produce vendors) were completely separate entities, although they tended to cluster together for convenience’s sake.”
Supermarkets like Piggly Wiggly and King Kullen featured at least a small selection of fresh meats and produce along with the dry grocery items. The prime focus was on volume sales; products were often still in their packing cartons with less attention paid to appearance. This combination of volume and the no frills approach resulted in considerably lower prices.
Lower prices, of course, caught on immediately with the buying public; not long after the opening of stores like King Kullen and Piggly Wiggly, A&P began consolidating its numerous smaller stores into larger supermarkets that offered similar selections.
Here’s a gallery of vintage photos of supermarkets and food stores in New Jersey. If you have vintage photos you’d like to see in our slide shows, send them in an email to [email protected].
Courtesy of Bobby Cole Photo Archives
An A&P on Sherman Avenue in Newark is shown in the 1930s.
Courtesy of Lynn Maxwell
Unidentified employees of the A&P supermarket in Tuckerton are shown in this photo from the 1940s.
Courtesy of Kathy Whaley
A 1960s photo of the Food Fair Supermarket in Bloomfield. Boneless round roast is selling for 79 cents per pound.
Courtesy of Bishop's Supermarket
This circa-1950s photo shows the Bishop & Bishop Market in Whitehouse Station, Readington Township.
Courtesy of Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives
Checkout employees are lined up and ready for business at the grand opening of the Kings Supermarket in Millburn in this photo from 1967.
Courtesy of Kathy Franzoi
The A&P on Landis Avenue in Vineland is just about set for its grand opening (they're still paving the parking lot), as shown in this photo from July 1959.
Courtesy of Vintage Bergen County
An undated photograph of the ShopRite supermarket in Lincoln Park.
Courtesy of Sue Reese
The Quaker Friendly Food Store on Bellevue Avenue in Hammonton is shown in the 1950s.
Courtesy of Bobby Cole Photo Archives
Harry Cohen was the owner of the National Family Store. He's pictured in front of his Hackensack business in 1965.
Courtesy of Bobby Cole Photo Archives
Tucked nicely into a corner, this A&P was located at Bloomfield and Mount Prospect avenues in Newark; it's shown in 1965.
Courtesy of the Colts Neck Historical Preservation Committee
The United Service Grocers Store in Colts Neck was also known as the Colts Neck General Store; it's shown in the 1940s.
Courtesy of the Kearny Public Library
Krasner's Shop Rite Market at 169 Ridge Road in Kearny is shown here in the mid-1950s.
Courtesy of Vintage Bergen County
A 1960s photo of the Grand Union on Fair Lawn Avenue in Fair Lawn. The store closed in 2001.
Courtesy of the Gloucester County Historical Society
This photo from the 1960s shows a Dales supermarket visible to the right of Gaudios store in Glassboro. Both Gaudios and Dales were owned by Penn Fruit.
Courtesy of Miguel de Jesus
This A&P supermarket was located at 1940 Getty Ave. in Paterson; the photo is undated.
Courtesy of Point Pleasant Area History
This photo shows that the Royal Scarlet Store in Point Pleasant was still receiving deliveries of milk from a horse-drawn cart in 1943.
Courtesy of the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society
Morvay's Market on Landis Avenue in Vineland is bustling as usual in this photo taken in 1959. The combination farm market and supermarket was patronized by generations of residents.
Courtesy of the Historical Society of Princeton
Peter and Anna Cortelyou are shown in front of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. store in Rocky Hill in a photo that, according to the Historical Society of Princeton, predates the 1920s.
Courtesy of Kevin Felton
An undated photo of the Pantry Pride Supermarket in New Brunswick. Pantry Pride was the trade name adopted by Food Fair stores in the 1960s.
Courtesy of the Wenonah Historical Society
Clark's Store was located on East Mantua Avenue in Wenonah and is seen in a turn-of-the-century photo. The subject of the portrait that appears to be available for sale is unknown.
Courtesy of Lenny DeBrango
The only person identified in this photo from around 1930 is Louis Napolitano, second from the left, in front of the Savoye Meat Market on Kennedy Boulevard in North Bergen.
Courtesy of Joe Johnson
A Pantry Pride supermarket is shown in Bloomfield in 1967. The Westinghouse Corp. can be seen in the background.
Courtesy of Mike Sim
A Walt Whitman store in Westville is shown in a photo from the 1940s.
Greg Hatala/For NJ Advance Media
Vintage photos of small food stores in N.J.
Vintage photos of N.J. - the garden state
Vintage photos of specialty stores in N.J.
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