 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Supermarket/Retail |
| Founded | December 5, 1940 (85 years ago) (1940-12-05) |
| Defunct | 1983 (43 years ago) (1983) |
| Fate | Banner eliminated |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Number of locations | 435 (1965) |
| Parent | National Food Products (1940-1978) Grand Union (1978-1983) |
Colonial Stores was a chain of grocery stores once found throughout much of theSouth. Most were transformed toBig Star Markets in the 1970s and later most becameHarris Teeter orA&P.
The chain evolved fromNorfolk, Virginia's D. P. Pender Grocery Stores, the first of which opened in 1900.[1][2][3] In its early years the company used horse drawn wagons to deliver goods to customers.[1] In 1919 Pender opened a second grocery store in Norfolk, later expanding to more locations in Central and Eastern Virginia.[1] Pender retired on January 1, 1926, making the David Pender Grocery Company a publicly owned corporation which later became a subsidiary of National Food Products Corporation.[1] By Pender's retirement the company owned 244 stores and employed more than 1,500 people.[1][2] In 1930 the company made an average of $35,000 in sales per store.[3]
L. W. Rogers opened the first of his grocery stores in Atlanta, Georgia in 1892.[1] In the next twenty years the company expanded to other locations in Georgia and South Carolina.[1] By 1926 Rogers' company was owned by National Food Products Corporation.[1]
In 1937 National Food Products opened two combined Pender-Rogers self-service supermarkets, under the name "Big Star", inGriffin, Georgia andGreensboro, North Carolina.[1][2] Subsequently some smaller stores were also opened under the name "Little Star".[1][2] In 1940 the chains were officially combined under the name Colonial Stores, Inc.[1][2] In 1947 the company introduced its rooster logo. In 1950 the company made $179 million in total sales, an average of $488,637 per store.[3]
In 1955 theCincinnati-based Albers Super Markets and theIndianapolis-based Stop and Shop Companies were acquired by National Food Products and put under the Colonial Stores label.[1][4]
In the 1970s most of the stores were moved to the Big Star label.[1]
In 1978 the New Jersey–basedGrand Union purchased the Colonial Stores chain.[5] This move was initially blocked by theFederal Trade Commission out of fear Grand Union would be violating anti-trust laws.[6] This was later dismissed and the purchase was allowed to go ahead.[7]
The Norfolk stores were closed in the 1980s, and many were purchased by theFood Town chain.[1] In 1988 the stores owned by Grand Union were resold.[2] The North Carolina and Virginia stores were acquired byHarris-Teeter, and the Atlanta stores were acquired byA&P.[1][2]
The company at its peak owned over 500 stores acrossAlabama,Florida,Georgia,Maryland,North Carolina,South Carolina, andVirginia.[1] The company had 435 stores by 1964.[8]
Its headquarters were located in Atlanta in 1955.[9]