Charlotte's First Big Boxes

[otherstream]

I'm suprised A&P held on in Charlotte as long as it did. Most of ours in Southwest Virginia closed in the early '80s.

They left Greensboro about the same time, but held on longer in Charlotte and Raleigh for some reason. In fact, they were still opening new stores in Charlotte until the mid 1980s. It got a little confusing in the later years, as they operated under numerous different names even within the same city: A&P (Park Road, Providence Road), Sav-a-Center (Central Avenue), and A&P Futurestore (Hickory Grove and maybe Matthews). I'm not sure how East Trade and Freedom Drive were signed in the end, although I think they were plain old A&P. They also used The Family Mart in some other places, like Greensboro and Columbia.

Desperation is not pretty...

[DigitalSky]

There was also an A&P on Wendover I think.. after Bi-Lo left that old Kroger spot... because it still had the A&P colors.

[otherstream]

There was also an A&P on Wendover I think.. after Bi-Lo left that old Kroger spot... because it still had the A&P colors.

Maybe, but I'm pretty sure that after Bi-Lo, that spot just became a Save-a-Lot, which a lot of people confuse with A&P's Sav-a-Center. I could be wrong, though...

[DigitalSky]

Maybe, but I'm pretty sure that after Bi-Lo, that spot just became a Save-a-Lot, which a lot of people confuse with A&P's Sav-a-Center. I could be wrong, though...

I believe you're right. I don't know why I keep thinking that store was an A&P... I made that mistake before http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.ph...indpost&p=96660

[NCMike1981]

There was an A&P in Durham at the intersection of Broad and Main Streets until the very early '90's....it became a Whole Foods shortly thereafter once Ninth St transitioned from a street for mill workers to a hip and trendy street for Duke students and the artsy crowd....

:-p

[monsoon]

One of the last old school grocery chains to close in Charlotte was Park & Shop. I believe they held on into the 2000s. Their stores were fairly distinctive as they had a huge covered area in front of their stores that made grocery loading a nice experience even in the rain.

The only one of their former stores operating still as a grocery is at the intersection of Tryon & Sugar Creek in the parking lot where the Asian mall is located. Others were located on Independence (colliseum shopping center), Wilkenson Blvd, and South Blvd & Woodlawn (where media play was located). Park & Shop was a locally owned chain.

[DigitalSky]

Yeah that Park & Shop is now a Compare Foods. We used to go to the South Blvd store sometimes, it was a cool place.