Is Downtown Ready for an Urban Grocery Store?

[fsu813]

tufsu1,

I didn't say they were "lesser", i don't feel that way at all.

Publix has a much better selection first & foremost. That's most important to me. They have everthing I want as far as products. Thier produce (like bananas & oranges) are 100 times better as well.

[copperfiend]

I have heard a few posters mention that Publix costs more. Anything specific you have seen where Publix is higher than WD? I know meat and produce might be because they are higher quality.

[stjr]

Piggly Wiggly was started decades ago by investors in Winn Dixie that got bought out.  Maybe that explains their similarities to this day.  Legend is that part of the deal was they couldn't open any stores in W-D's backyard of Jacksonville but for a very long time their headquarters were right here in Jax!

Wrong.  Piggly Wiggly was actually founded before Winn Dixie in the early 1900's.

My apologies for overstating my understanding.  Here is the actual story below.  At one time, Bill Lovett sold his company, Winn-Lovett into what is now Winn-Dixie.  When he sold out, he eventually acquired 200 Piggly Wiggly stores and became its President and Chairman of the entire corporation.  Full story below:

THE ANONYMOUS POTENTATE? -- When Jax resident William "Bill" Lovett passed away in 1978, the Times-Union called him "perhaps the South's least known multimillionaire."  The eighty-seven-year-old tycoon had created a corporate empire reportedly worth $100 million -- or over $285 million in today's currency!   In large part, the Lovett fortune came from ships, shipyards, supermarkets, and a partnership in Merrill Lynch.   (CLICK HERE for a photo of Mr. Lovett.)   

A flyweight who stood 5'7'' and weighed 130 pounds, Mr. Lovett proved a heavyweight in the retail industry.  Based in Jax, the Winn-Lovett Grocery Company consisted of 73 stores, a sizeable chain at the time.  In 1939, Mr. Lovett sold his controlling interest in this business to a company that eventually became Winn-Dixie.  Although Mr. Lovett no longer owned the stores, the future Winn-Dixie company retained the Lovett name, as shown above. 

Later, Mr. Lovett possessed full or part interest in 200 Piggly Wiggly supermarkets, and he headed the Piggly Wiggly Corporation itself as president and chairman of the board.  This pioneer grocery chain was comprised of about 1,000 stores. 

During the 1960s, moreover, Mr. Lovett purchased two locally-known, competing shipyards.  These were the Merrill-Stevens yard on East Bay Street downtown and the old Gibbs Shipyard on the Southbank, located in the vicinity of today's Charthouse Restaurant.  After merging them into Jacksonville Shipyards Inc., he sold the business to Fruehauf Corporation in 1969.  At one point, the multimillionaire also commanded a fleet of 70 steamships.

Mr. Lovett hailed from the small Florida town of Monticello, near Tallahassee.  For many years, the publicity-shy financier lived in a handsome home overlooking the St. Johns River.  The dwelling still stands on Challen Avenue in the historic Jax neighborhood of Avondale.  Until late in life, Mr. Lovett drove himself to work in one of two 1966 Cadillacs, arriving at about 10:00 A.M. at a spartan downtown office on East Adams Street.  He toiled steadily, breaking only for a meal of peanut butter crackers and buttermilk.  The magnate would leave each evening at 6:00, taking home more work.  One family member described him as being quite devoted to his enterprises. 

In addition to his financial achievements, Mr. Lovett often contributed to a range of charitable causes.  His family has remained one of the River City's most affluent, a mover & shaker on the business scene.

Photo capiton (photo missing): The road running into the northern horizon is Blanding Boulevard, and seen in the distance is a traffic light over the intersection of Blanding and San Juan.  This Westside view has changed quite a bit since 1948, the time of the photo.  Blanding is now multilane, and it is crowded with businesses.  A motorcycle dealership, for example, sits in the location of the billboard to the left.  The Lovett's building has survived as the home of Barnett's Art & Frame Shop.

http://www.jaxhistory.com/Jacksonville%20Story/Picture%20of%20Supermarket,%20Lovett's%20and%20Stewarts.htm

Piggly Wiggly corporate site:

Piggly Wiggly®, America's first true self-service grocery store, was founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1916 by Clarence Saunders. In grocery stores of that time, shoppers presented their orders to clerks who gathered the goods from the store shelves. Saunders, a flamboyant and innovative man, noticed this method resulted in wasted time and man hours, so he came up with an unheard-of solution that would revolutionize the entire grocery industry: he developed a way for shoppers to serve themselves.....

The original Piggly Wiggly Corporation became owner of all Piggly Wiggly properties: the name, the patents, etc., and Saunders began issuing stock in the Corporation. This stock was successfully traded on the New York Stock Exchange for some time, but through a series of stock transactions in the early '20s, Saunders lost control of Piggly Wiggly and had no further association with the company.

Piggly Wiggly Corporation continued to prosper as franchiser for the hundreds of independently owned grocery stores franchised to operate under the Piggly Wiggly name and over the next several decades, functioned successfully under various owners.

Piggly Wiggly® Today
Today there are more than 600 Piggly Wiggly stores servicing communities in 17 states. All Piggly Wiggly stores are independently owned and operated, and are located primarily throughout the southeast and as far north as Wisconsin.

Piggly Wiggly LLC, the corporate headquarters, is located in Keene, New Hampshire and issues Piggly Wiggly franchises to qualified independent grocery retailers. The Company also provides the retailers with services such as retail support, marketing programs and a line of promotional items.

Piggly Wiggly LLC is an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., ranked as the 8th largest privately held company in the nation. For 85 years, C&S has provided first-class warehousing & distribution services to their customers. From over 36 warehouse facilities throughout the United States, C&S Associates serve some of the largest supermarket chains in the nation. Their corporate offices are located in Keene, New Hampshire.

Wikipedia:

The success of Piggly Wiggly was phenomenal, so much so that other independent and chain grocery stores changed to self-service in the 1920s and 1930s. At its peak, the company operated 2,660 stores and posted annual sales in excess of $180 million. In November 1922, Saunders attempted a squeeze on the substantial short interest in the stock, running the share price up from 40 to 120 and profiting by millions on paper. The Stock Exchange Governors responded by deciding that a corner had been established in Piggly Wiggly and removed the stock from the Board eventually forcing Saunders to turn over his assets to the banks that had financed his leveraged position. Saunders reputedly lost nine million dollars in the attempted corner.[3]

Following these events, the company was soon carved up by Merrill Lynch and sold off to regional grocery chains, including Kroger, Safeway, National Tea, and Colonial.[4]

After losing control of Piggly Wiggly, Saunders had no further association with the company although he remained interested in the concept of automated shopping which he experimented with initially with the Keedoozle store until his death in 1953.[5]

The smaller Piggly Wiggly Corporation continued to prosper as franchiser for the hundreds of independently owned grocery stores licensed to do business under the Piggly Wiggly name. During the decades following the 1920s divestment, the company has operated successfully under a variety of owners.

Management of the Toyota Corporation were inspired by Piggly Wiggly's Just-in-time inventory strategy and used this model to develop its Toyota Production System (TPS), a philosophy by which the company organizes its manufacturing and logistics, including its interactions with suppliers and customers.[citation needed]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piggly_Wiggly

[urbanlibertarian]

There's one advantage to shopping at Winn-Dixie and Walmart.  No snobs.  Just my peeps.

[Jaxson]

I would like to shop more often at Winn-Dixie but it has always seemed like they always have long lines at the one or two checkouts that are open.  I have rarely been at a Winn-Dixie where they had more than three cashiers on duty - even during the busiest times.  I like to shop at Publix because I spend less time waiting in line to pay for my groceries.

[reednavy]

Piggly Wiggly, good lord. The last one I saw is in Bristol, FL in Liberty County, the state's least populated county.

[tufsu1]

Piggly Wiggly, good lord. The last one I saw is in Bristol, FL in Liberty County, the state's least populated county.

actually, its in Blountstown (Calhoun County)....just across the Apalchicola River from Bristol

[stjr]

View of Christmas decorations in the produce section at a Lovett's Food Store : Jacksonville, Florida picture (no date):

[reednavy]

actually, its in Blountstown (Calhoun County)....just across the Apalchicola River from Bristol

No, it is on the eastern edge of Bristol, just east of the high school.
11325 NW State Road 20
Bristol, FL 32321

Also in Blountstown:
20118 Central Avenue West
Blountstown, FL 32424

[Lucasjj]

Piggly Wiggly, good lord. The last one I saw is in Bristol, FL in Liberty County, the state's least populated county.

They still have three in the Savannah area. It is where my mother does all of her grocery shopping. I have been in there with her when visiting, and you can easily see the similarities to Winn Dixie.

[blizz01]

Side note: This is the home of the Piggly Wiggly empire/family, down on the Charleston Battery - if you look closely you can see the pig statues!

[tufsu1]

actually, its in Blountstown (Calhoun County)....just across the Apalchicola River from Bristol

No, it is on the eastern edge of Bristol, just east of the high school.
11325 NW State Road 20
Bristol, FL 32321

Also in Blountstown:
20118 Central Avenue West
Blountstown, FL 32424

I've driven through there many times and never saw a store in Bristol....now the Piggly Wiggly website does list one and it does show up on the Streetview of Google maps...but on the aerial, the site is vacant....maybe its a new store?

[vicupstate]

Before the economic meltdown, it seemed to me that Publix was almost always higher in price than the Winn-Dixie, Bi-Lo, Food Lion, etc. chains.  Now, it seems like they are more in line with the others.  Now some items are more, but some are less.  Before, they seem to be higher on almost everything.

Most Piggly Wiggly's in SC are now as upscale (and pricey) as Publix. Their sale items are very cheap, but otherwise, not at all.     

I agree that the age of the building and to some degree the neighborood demographics determines the overall appearance of the store, regardless of chain.  A new W-D will look better than a 10+ year old Publix in most cases. 

Publix does a good job of making their stores appealing looking, but you usually pay for the atmosphere and wider selection too. Publix lovers tend to exaggerate the chains' positives IMO.  They do a good job, and their store brands are pretty good, but a banana is a freaking banana. You only think it tastes better because you didn't have to wait in line with a blue collar worker in front of you.   

WalMart has the best prices,and I do more shopping there when I am watching pennies in my budget. The difference in price often is quite substantial versus Publix or even other chains.

If Walmart were more convenient I would probably do most of my grocery shopping there. Since it is not, the DT Publix in Greenville sees most of my $ these days.  Also, I want to support the DT store, which I hear is doing quite well. The penny item on Sunday helps too.   

[fsu813]

No, a banana is NOT a banana. funny you should use that as an example.

The main reason why I don't use the Downtown Winn-Dixie is b/c thier produce sucks.....thier bananas, in general, are subpar. At least the times that i have gone....

[fsujax]

Well, i bought some bananas there yesterday and they taste just fine to me, as a matter of fact I am eating it now.