The Market Report

Well I guess any prices from 1955 are going to seem low today, but it's very interesting to compare the Acme ad to this Food Fair ad. Acme had a 1-lb package of hot dogs for $0.49, which is the same as what we're seeing here. But Acme's sauerkraut was fresh in a cellophane bag, 16oz/$0.15. Food Fair's sauerkraut is 27oz in a can for $0.10. Interesting! If I'm not mistaken, this ad was actually a two-page spread, so there's a fair amount that's cut off to the right here, as well as more information to the bottom (including store addresses, probably). I like the cheese choices -- we have Swiss cheese, cheese, sharp cheese, or Gruyere. As for the brands, we have Mayfair, Country Fair, State Fair, or Swiss Fair. No Boar's Head around here! This ad, once again, is from the February 3, 1955 edition of the Elizabeth Daily Journal.

At the time this ad was printed, there would have been two Acme Super Markets (as they were called at the time) in the Daily Journal's trade area, one at 214 Rahway Ave in Elizabeth and the other on Magie Ave in Union. Depending on the timing, it would either have been at the old location (965 Magie) or the new one (1319 Magie). This ad comes from February 3, 1955. Come on, I want donuts 12/$0.19! I typically pay $0.59-$0.99 for an average supermarket donut today.

Starting off today with another ad from July 15, 1937 in the Elizabeth Daily Journal. I'm looking forward to some good Ann Page ketchup for my Memorial Day cookout myself...oh, wait a minute. You have to love the shameless promotion of storebrand white bread as "flavorful, fresh, and wholesome." Anyway, I don't mind as long as it's 8 cents a loaf! Our next ad is from 1955, printed in a different edition of the Daily Journal... stay tuned.

Big Bear was arguably the nation's first supermarket, and its original location was right here in good ol' Elizabeth, NJ. (You can read more history on it over at this article from the Star-Ledger.) It became a local chain, before going out of business by the 1950s or so. This ad comes from the July 15, 1937 edition of the Elizabeth Daily Journal. Notice that many of the prices are not divisible, so that to get the 3 cans of tomato sauce for 8 cents, you'd have to buy 3 cans. This was, of course, a tradition challenged by some good Pathmarking -- that is, giving a single item a single price, which of course became the norm with sale pricing. Now, it's unusual to see more than a few items for 3/$5, for instance, in any given circular.

If you saw the A&P ad from earlier today, you know a little bit of the background here. A while ago, I scanned several supermarket ads from the Elizabeth Daily Journal from the collection of the Elizabeth Public Library. This one isn't a supermarket ad, but it was in the same paper as some of the other ads I scanned. And who doesn't want a nickel drink worth a dime? I've kept the various columns around the ad for some context, and because it's fun. I had originally (incorrectly) listed this as a 1914 ad with the A&P one, but it's actually from the Evening edition of the July 15, 1937 Elizabeth Daily Journal. You've gotta love an ad for Pepsi that says it's a "bracing" and "healthful" beverage.

Ever wonder what food prices were like 105 years ago? You're in luck with this ad from A&P stores. This ad is scanned from the Elizabeth Daily Journal in 1914, although I unfortunately don't have a specific date that it was printed. The scan comes from the extensive archive of Daily Journal and other newspapers on microfilm at the Elizabeth (NJ) Public Library. I scanned this several years ago (possibly even in 2014 and I just scanned a newspaper from that day 100 years ago), but I hope to return to the library within the next few months to do some additional research and get some more scans. In the meantime, we have two more coming today, so stay tuned! How about those prices, and the selection they advertise! You don't see too many circulars today with tapioca or cleaned currants advertised in them. And here's a look at the buildings where those locations were in Elizabeth: 103 Broad St, Elizabeth, NJ 07201 521 Elizabeth Ave, Elizabeth, NJ

Two Guys (originally Two Guys from Harrison, that's right, practically across the street from the Kearny ShopRite ) was a discount de partment store that, at its peak, had " more than 100 locations in upstate New York, eastern Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, and as far as Illinois and California," according to Wikipedia. One of those locations was in Union, NJ, at 1721 Morris Ave. That's where my grandmother bought, on June 17, 1967, a greeting card for $0.40 and $0.02 tax. She then proceeded to put it in this brown paper envelope (which may have actually come from the store) and then put it away, not filling it out or giving it to anyone for the next 52 years. This was soon after she moved into the house she still lives in now. The card, if I'm not mistaken, is still in her attic and still blank.

I took these pictures back in spring 2016 and (because I took them on a family member's cell phone) later emailed them to myself. They have been sitting in my email inbox since July 2016. Now, they can finally see the light of day because they're worth seeing. The Stop & Shop in West Caldwell, NJ at 875 Bloomfield Ave opened in the 1980s as a Stop & Shop-MediMart combination store, which was later sold to local chain Kings Food Markets, occupying the space until 2007. Then, Stop & Shop (which still owned the property) didn't renew Kings' lease and instead moved back in themselves. This garbage can has been floating around the property since the original Stop & Shop opened... Ah, it's beautiful (if more than a little faded, and possibly painted out at least once). It does look like someone tried to paint out the logos, but they came back. Just like the Stop & Shop. Was that an intentional parallel? Absolutely not, but it's a nice coi...

While passing through the Lehigh Valley, I stopped by the Starlite Diner in Allentown (and had an excellent dinner). To my surprise, though, immediately inside the diner was a display of several toy ShopRite trucks. The diner is just north of an approximately one million square foot Wakefern warehouse in Breinigsville, PA so it's not as strange as I had initially thought. It's probably a common stop for Wakefern truckers. I've never seen the Price Rite one before! My local ShopRite usually carries these trucks only around the holidays, when they're probably handy impulse buy gift items. I, unfortunately, do not have any!

Although many stores have created a brand for their loyalty club, few are as recognizable as ShopRite's Price Plus club. It's an instantly-recognizable name and design, even in its newer version . Here's the pre-2002 version, most likely from the mid-1990s. I still really like the older ShopRite logo and branding, although the script text is better than the old lettering . And yes, this card still works. The account has existed for probably 25 years, and it still works to get a free turkey every Thanksgiving.

A common way to keep carts from wandering off on their own from many supermarkets is to require a $0.25 deposit, which is returned when you return the cart. ALDI, along with some ShopRite operators, use this system as an incentive to return your cart. Pathmark took a slightly different approach, instead giving customers slugs, which could be used in place of a quarter to get a cart. This slug even came in its own custom plastic case, which could be attached to a keychain for safekeeping. When the Elizabeth, NJ Pathmark opened (the location this slug is from), the store was built with columns around the entrance and exit area to prevent carts from leaving. Later, the columns were removed partially to allow customers to take their carts into the parking lot, but the quarter system was instituted to regulate the carts. Once the technology became available, the store began using the cart-locking technology to prevent people from taking the carts off of the property. Then A&P ...

The crazy thing about today's memorabilia is that, after a fairly brief time off, you can once again get a Pathmark Advantage Club Card!  I am definitely way too excited about this, but you can see more at pathmark.com . This Pathmark Advantage Club card sure got a lot of use in its day.

While staying in the Finger Lakes (there are lots more supermarkets to come from that region) over the summer of 2018, my family rented a house that included a great old Kmart fan. And let me tell you, that fan did a good job. Pretty standard box fan. But take a good look at that dial on top...

Today's memorabilia is a keychain for what I'm assuming is a chain of convenience stores, although I haven't been able to find any information on it. This also comes from my grandmother's collection, and although she's lived in Elizabeth, NJ for her whole life, there's no telling where she may have gotten this. Anyone familiar with Jiffy Food Stores?

Today's memorabilia comes to us courtesy of my grandmother, a loyal Cost Cutters shopper until the end. Technically, the end came when, well, her Cost Cutters closed, the Elizabeth location . But she still calls the Elmora Farmers Market that took half of the building "Cost Cutters." Why she doesn't call Dollar General, in the other half and nearly identical to it, Cost Cutters is beyond me. (She calls the nearby Food Bazaar "Pathmark" still, or on a good day "that new store where Pathmark was.") Well I can't say this card's design is particularly exciting. Both of the stores' logos are pretty much the store's name in an all-caps sans serif font. But it's not overly unattractive either, although the white space in the bottom left corner is a little awkward. Ah, the good old days when companies would include the word "online" in their URL. For a good long time, Kings Food Markets used "www.kingswebsite.co...