Twin Valu is a defunct U.S. hypermarket and was one of the first

hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including ...

s in the

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, area. The original Twin Valu store was located on Howe Avenue in

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Cuyahoga Falls ( or ) is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 51,114. The second-largest city in Summit County, it is located directly north of Akron and is a suburb of the Akron metropol ...

. The $10 million, store was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It boasted 52 checkout lanes, a full bakery, deli, meat department, smokehouse, food court, floral department, jewelry department, electronics department, photo department, vision center, and pharmacy in addition to groceries, clothing, housewares, and general merchandise. A Star Bank

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

location was added later. The hypermarket opened to mass crowds and union pickets. Members of the

UFCW The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...

Local 880 picketed the nonunion store. The Cuyahoga Falls store opened on February 26, 1989, and closed on March 1, 1995. The building was sold and converted into a

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

and Best Buy location. A second location was opened in

Euclid, Ohio Euclid is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner ring suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 49,692. History The City of Euclid was originally a part of Euclid Township, first m ...

, in 1990 and closed in 1995. The building became a Super Kmart around 1996, then closed in 2003. The building was briefly reopened as the Great Lakes Expo Center in 2009, which stole the Home and Garden Show from the IX Center in 2010. The concept failed and closed in 2011. Grocery-only locations were in

Maple Heights, Ohio Maple Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 23,138 at the 2010 census. History Maple Heights Transit In 1935, the City created Maple Heights Transit to provide connections t ...

, and Belden Village ( Jackson Township, Ohio; the latter, previously a

Zayre Zayre () was a chain of discount stores that operated in the eastern half of the United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters was in Framingham, Massachusetts. In October 1988, Zayre's parent company, Zayre Corp., sold the stores ...

location (now home to

Burlington Coat Factory Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, is an American national off-price department store retailer, and a division of Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation with more than 1,000 stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico, with i ...

) closed on January 16, 1996. Twin Valu was a division of Supervalu Inc and Shopko Stores Inc. Television commercials for Twin Valu featured

Phil Hartman Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States w ...

as the spokesman.

External links

Facebook page for former Twin Valu employees

Another Facebook page for former Twin Valu employees

References

Summit County, Ohio Retail buildings in Ohio Hypermarkets of the United States Defunct supermarkets of the United States {{Ohio-struct-stub

See also

External links

References