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Genuardi's Family Markets L.P. was a chain of
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more lim ...
s located in the Northeastern United States. Family-owned until purchased by
Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, de ...
in 2000, Genuardi's had its headquarters in the Bentwood Executive Campus in
East Norriton Township, Pennsylvania East Norriton Township is a township and a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is served by the Norristown Area School District. History On March 9, 1909, No ...
in
Greater Philadelphia The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...
. After many of its remaining stores were sold or closed, there was a Safeway-owned store under the former chain's name located in
Audubon, Pennsylvania Audubon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was named for naturalist John James Audubon, who lived there as a young man. The population was 8,433 at the 2010 census. Geography Audubon is loc ...
that remained open until May 2015.


History


Beginning

In 1920, Gaspare and Josephine Genuardi owned a farm near Norristown,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
and grew fruits and vegetables. The couple went around to their neighbors delivering produce to them. Gaspare and Josephine were the parents of nine children. Of the nine were Charlie, Frank, Tom, Joe, and Jim who helped out with the business. The five sons soon became known as the "Genuardi brothers" by the customers. The Genuardi family opened its first supermarket in Norristown in 1954, which until its closure was the oldest surviving Genuardi's in operation. Relatives of the Genuardi family also maintain a nursery and florist in Norristown.


1950s, 1960s, and 1970s

The five Genuardi brothers expanded their supermarkets throughout the western
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
suburbs, spanning
Bucks Bucks may refer to: Places * Buckinghamshire, England, abbreviated Bucks * Bucks, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Michigan, an unincorporated community ...
,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...
,
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
, and Montgomery counties. The company has never had any stores within Philadelphia city limits. In 1975, it acquired some former Pantry Pride (originally known as
Food Fair Food Fair, also known by its successor name Pantry Pride, was a large supermarket chain in the United States. It was founded by Samuel N. Friedland, who opened the first store (as Reading Giant Quality Price Cutter) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in ...
) and A&P stores, and more ex-A&P properties rejected by
Super Fresh SuperFresh is a supermarket brand owned by Key Food Stores which operates in New York City and its New Jersey suburbs. The company currently operates twenty supermarkets. The name previously belonged to a chain of stores run by A&P, based large ...
in 1985.


1980s and 1990s

The chain's first surviving stores outside Norristown opened in the 1980s. As the 1990s approached, the five brothers decided to transfer ownership of the stores to a third generation of family, which consisted of Jim Jr., Joe Jr., Charles A., Larry, Tom Jr., Michael, Anthony, Skip, and David Genuardi. Charles A. was named President/CEO of Genuardi's Family Markets. Also during this time, it owned a discount grocery chain called Mad Grocer. In the late 1990s, the company expanded into
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...
and
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
. The name of the supermarkets was generally pronounced as by the English speakers of the region, including in TV and radio commercials, regardless of any Italian pronunciation that the founding family's surname may originally have had in Italy; thus, , despite being reasonable with respect to an Italian original, was not the usual sound.


Safeway buyout of Genuardi's Family Markets

In February 2001, the Genuardi family sold the chain to Safeway. In the summer of 2004, all Genuardi's stores in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...
were converted to the Safeway banner when they were
unionized A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
. Safeway already had stores of its own in southern Delaware. There were issues and local outrage over the Safeway takeover due to claims of price increases, the changeover of many products to Safeway's own brands, and the use of a
loyalty card A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features and ...
, which was not needed under Genuardi's previous ownership. Except for the Safeway conversions, Genuardi's remained non-union, despite heavy unionization in Safeway's other chains.


2000s and early 2010s downfall

In 2005, grocery delivery was added to select Genuardi's stores. This allowed customers to order groceries via the Genuardi's/Safeway websites and have it delivered by truck in a set time frame. Later on in the year, Genuardi's closed two underperforming stores in East Windsor, New Jersey and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, the latter of which was converted to a ShopRite. During 2010, underperforming Genuardi's stores did not have their leases renewed and Safeway closed store locations in
Newtown Square Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017. History The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...
(Edgmont), Glen Mills, Chesterbrook, and
Lansdale Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. In 1900, 2,754 people ...
in Pennsylvania, and Voorhees in New Jersey. In September 2011, Safeway was looking to sell all or part of Genuardi's. Later that month, a sale of several of Genuardi's locations to
Giant-Carlisle The Giant Company (formerly known as Giant Food Stores) is an American regional supermarket chain that operates stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and provides online shopping and delivery to New Jersey throu ...
appeared to be imminent. On January 5, 2012, Giant announced its deal to acquire 15 Genuardi's Family Markets across the
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
area in a $106 million deal. For three weeks in July 2012, Giant opened 5 of the former Genuardi's stores each week.
Weis Markets Weis Markets, Inc. ( doing business as Weis and stylized as weis) is a Mid-Atlantic food retailer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It currently operates 199 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Je ...
announced on February 13, 2012, the purchase of three stores in Montgomery and Bucks counties. The three Weis stores opened on June 16, 2012. Although it was initially to be acquired by Giant, it was announced on June 6, 2012, that the Newtown store would instead become a McCaffrey's Food Markets. The Newtown store became a McCaffrey's on July 15. After failing to find a buyer for the location, the
Cherry Hill A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...
store closed on August 4, 2012, and later became
Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market IP, Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon, is an upscale American multinational supermarket chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from hydrogenated fats and artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. A U ...
. The Barnegat and
Egg Harbor Township Egg Harbor Township is a township in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The U.S. Census Bureau in the 2020 census reported the population as 47,842, an increase of 4,519 over the 43,323 counted in the previous decade in the 201 ...
/Northfield stores closed on December 12, 2012, the Barnegat store was to re-open as Safeway's sister chain
Acme Acme is Ancient Greek (ακμή; English transliteration: ''akmē'') for "the peak", "zenith" or "prime". It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Acme'' (album), an album by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion * Acme and Septimius, a fictional ...
in 2016 and the Egg Harbor Township/Northfield store became JR's Fresh Market in 2015 but that closed in 2018 and became
Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, w ...
in 2021. The Marlton store closed on February 12, 2013. The Audubon store, the last remaining store, closed on May 27, 2015.
Acme Markets Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presen ...
, the chain's long-time rival, announced in late 2015 it would reopen the closed Barnegat location as an Acme; this was made possible when Albertsons (Acme's parent firm) merged with Safeway earlier in the year, and Safeway continued to hold the location's lease long after it closed. The store reopened as an Acme on February 5, 2016.


References


Sources

*Genuardi Family Markets Employee Handbook, 1995.


External links

* (Archive) {{Supermarkets of the United States Defunct supermarkets of the United States Safeway Inc. Defunct companies based in Pennsylvania American companies established in 1920 Food and drink companies established in 1920 Retail companies established in 1920 Food and drink companies disestablished in 2012 Retail companies disestablished in 2012 1920 establishments in Pennsylvania 2012 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Family-owned companies of the United States