This Forgotten Grocery Store Chain From The 1950s Was A Dream For Fresh Produce Lovers
As consumer habits have changed over the years, not every grocery store has been able to keep up with the times. Among some of the forgotten grocery stores we wish still existed, one delighted shoppers with its produce. "The best grocery store ever and run by a great family!" gushed a Genuardi's fan on Facebook. Some shoppers recall going out of their way just to shop at the Genuardi's stores.
What started in the 1920s as an operation run out of a horse-drawn cart turned into a series of physical supermarkets splattered throughout the Northeast. Husband and wife team Gaspare and Josephine Genuardi first took vegetables from their own garden and sold them to neighbors out of a truck before five of their sons banded together to open the family's first supermarket. Across decades, the business flourished, and the brothers sold the business to several of their own children who continued to run the stores with a determined growth mindset.
Genuardi's was built on a commitment to community
What was termed "Genuardiness" came to refer to the brand's efforts to build a dedicated customer base by stocking fresh food at attractive prices. In the late 90s, one Genuardi store began posting signage to indicate organic produce and displaying organic products separately. The move helped catapult sales, and soon team members across the brand wore "Go Organic" pins to encourage shoppers to look for organic items.
In 2001, Safeway bought out the family-operated business. Some of these stores were sold to Giant, and others were closed. Unfortunately, the Safeway-run stores slowly lost momentum, and the last closed its door in 2015. "Our favorite grocery store before Safeway bought them out," wrote a Facebook user. "The whole crew at the store was like family." Other shoppers who fondly remember shopping at Genuardi's have echoed the sentiment that the store was ruined. Though the stores no longer operate, the memory of this community-embracing supermarket lives in the hearts and minds of many bargain buyers.