New Jersey's Grand Union supermarket chain was one of -if not- the first American retail chains to spin off a discount mart division. Known as Grand-Way (or Grand Way), it premiered in June 1956 in Keansburg, New Jersey.
For the first Grand-Way store, an existing Grand Union supermarket was doubled in size, from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet. Lines of general merchandise were stocked. After the debut of the store, major home appliances -such as refrigerators, ranges, washers and dryers- were added to the inventory. Moreover, a layaway department was created and time payment credit plan instituted.
The second Grand-Way "super general store" opened in Albany, New York in October 1957. This was followed by locations in East Brunswick, New Jersey and Poughkeepsie and Courtland, New York. All of these were created out of expanded -pre-existing- Grand Union supermarkets. The first purpose-built Grand-Way, in Danbury, Connecticut, held its grand opening on July 15, 1958.
On October 13, 1958, the eighth Grand-Way store opened in Paramus, New Jersey. The standard store size had been increased to 85,000 square feet. The first Florida location -in Miami- welcomed shoppers on October 27, 1958. On August 22, 1960, two 100,000 square foot units were dedicated in St. Petersburg. Two more of similar size were simultaneously dedicated in Tampa. By this time, the Grand-Way prototype included a luncheonette, beauty salon, pharmacy, Flower & Garden Shop, Bargain Balcony and Kiddie Corner children's fun center and babysitting service.
By 1964, the Grand Union chain had opened twenty-five Grand-Way discount marts. Early stores had incorporated grocery and general merchandise into a single building. This open plan was altered in the mid-1960s, with a wall being built in each location to separate the two divisions.
By 1966, there were thirty-one Grand-Way stores in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York State, Florida and Vermont. By 1972, Grand-Way had expended into Pennsylvania, but the store count had dropped to twenty-three. Economic doldrums and a so-called "gasoline shortage" resulted in declining sales and profits in 1973.
Grand-Way was in a downward spiral. Going out of business sales commenced at the fourteen remaining stores in June 1979. The Kmart Corporation took over the leases of seven stores, with the Zayre Corporation assuming the leases of five.
TREASURE ISLAND / THE TREASURY
This discount department store chain was founded by David, Robert and Stanley Kritznik, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Originally operated under the auspices of the General Merchandise Corporation, the first Treasure Island store was inaugurated, in Appleton, Wisconsin, on November 24, 1961.
General Merchandise was acquired by the J.C. Penney Company in February 1962. There were eventually thirty-four stores. These were branded as Treasure Island in Atlanta and Appleton, Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Treasury nameplate was used in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Dallas and Memphis. Stores encompassed between 75,000 and 120,000 square feet. A branch, known as Treasury Drug, was established in 1969.
A typical Treasure Island-The Treasury store would include departments devoted to shoes, apparel, toys, hobbies, furniture and small appliances, as well as an optical store, dry cleaner, beauty salon, pharmacy, snack bar and freestanding auto service center. Several Treasure Island-The Treasury stores also included a supermarket. These were shuttered in 1977. The jettison of the grocery division was indicative of the profitability problems that the chain had been experiencing since the mid-1970s.
In February 1981, the Penney's home office announced the closing of all thirty-four stores, which was to conclude in April of the same year. The Treasury Drug division would remain in business until 1997, when it merged with Eckerd Drugs.
