Where did you last buy groceries?

Most likely it was from a supermarket or possibly a convenience store. A few generations ago, groceries came from the smokehouse, the springhouse, the root cellar, and the garden. As settlements grew and there was a concentration of people, stores selling groceries, and probably other necessities, were opened to supply the people clustered in the area. As the settlements grew, the stores often increased in number but most continued to be in the “center” of the settlement. When settlements and villages became more established, neighborhoods gained identity and soon residents became grocers serving their neighborhoods so people did not have to find their way to the town center. These neighborhood stores in turn helped to identify and solidify the neighborhoods. Many of our readers may remember going to the neighborhood grocery store. These stores often catered to the wants and needs of the neighborhood.

Neighborhoods of immigrants found unique products from the “old country” supplied by an aspiring entrepreneur.

This was experienced in Jamestown as it grew from the early days into a village and then a city. In 1875 there are 21 grocers listed in the city directory. Most were located in Brooklyn Square, on Main Street, Third Street, and Second Street. There are three on Winsor Street and one in Dexterville.

By 1900, there are 70 grocers listed, along with 31 meat markets, and 3 wholesale grocery concerns. The center of Jamestown had 33 grocers, along with 7 on Willard Street, 3 on Allen Street, and 3 on Newland Avenue. The other 22 grocers were on 22 different streets. Neighborhood stores were serving the neighborhoods. Most likely the stores along Willard catered to “Swede Hill” residents.

Twenty years later, Jamestown had 103 retail groceries, Celoron had 5, Falconer had 9, and Lakewood had 5. There were 20 more identified as the Flickinger stores, 6 as the Quality Cash stores, and 3 as the Paquin-Snyder stores.

By 1950, the number of retail grocery stores listed hit 172. Included in this number were the grocers in Celoron, Falconer, and Lakewood including the A & P Store, Loblaw’s Grocerterias with 3 locations, and the Gold Star Supermarket in Falconer. Locations of the 11 Quality Cash stores are listed in the alphabetical listing, which brings the number to 183. In the 1930s, stores referred to as supermarkets, had begun to operate in the United States. Gold Star is probably the first in this area to meet the definition of a supermarket.

The next seven decades saw the gradual disappearance of most of the neighborhood grocery stores. Supermarkets became the place to shop; the place to get everything one needed. As the neighborhood stores disappeared, the new chain “convenience” stores emerged. Often found in neighborhoods, but most likely on a main thoroughfare, these stores have a similar stock of needed items, but with added attractions, such as ready-to-eat food and drinks to satisfy appetites of commuters. They may have regular customers from the neighborhood or from the steady stream of people on the move, but they do not have the same feeling of neighbors nor do they have the level of personal service as the old Mom ‘n Pop stores. In the old days, a housewife in the middle of dinner preparation could send one of the children down to the corner store to get a needed ingredient. The clerk, often the owner, knew the people in the neighborhood. The child would ask for the desired item and if they did not have the money with them, the transaction was recorded in “the book” and thus credit was extended to the family. That explains the name Quality Cash stores because they only accepted cash.

In looking at the city directory listings, one sees that some stores remained in place with the same owners while others came and went in a short period of time. Some locations stayed grocery stores, but had many different owners. As more research is done, some of these grocers may be featured in this column.