Peninsula Stores, Limited was formed in 1931, when Charles Crouch joined with four investors and bought six San Francisco Piggly Wiggly stores. The enterprise was expanded to the East Bay Area, with a store in Berkeley opening in 1935. An additional East Bay store was built in Oakland, with these two units being even more successful than their West Bay predecessors. Crouch referred to the East Bay units as his "lucky stores." The name stuck.
Graphic from Peninsula Stores, Limited   

By 1945, twenty-nine Lucky Stores were in operation throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Graphic from Lucky Stores, Incorporated

Lucky Stores was incorporated in 1947, with its headquarters being in San Leandro, California. A new logo (seen above) was commissioned.

Graphic from Lucky Stores, Incorporated

In addition, a new store prototype debuted in 1947. Envisaged by master 20th century industrial designer Raymond Loewy, the first "Pylon Store" cost a whopping $248,000! It opened -in San Leandro- in May 1947. The chain's fiftieth store encompassed 21,000 square feet, with its pylon extending for 63 feet. An unnamed location is seen above.

Photo from Lucky Stores, Incorporated Annual Report 1956

The chain expanded during the 1950s and '60s. Jim Dandy Markets {Los Angles} was acquired in December 1955. Food Basket Markets {San Diego} came under the corporate umbrella in June 1956, followed by Cardinal Grocers {Sacramento} in December 1956. Big Bear Stores, of Seattle, were obtained in 1958. Hiram's, Incorporated {Los Angeles} (a store seen above) was purchased in January 1959. By 1960, there were 115 Lucky-owned supermarkets. 

Drawing from Lucky Stores, Incorporated Annual Report 1958

Lucky Stores' corporate offices relocated to Dublin, California in 1971. The company diversified during the 1960s, '70s and '80s, investing in textiles, membership discount stores and auto supplies. A line of Florida markets -known as Kash 'n Karry- was established in 1979. By the mid-'80s, these diverse holdings had become unmanageable and were sold off. The company refocused on its food store business. In 1987, Lucky Stores was running 481 supermarkets in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.

Graphic from Lucky Stores, Incorporated

In 1988, the company was acquired by the Salt Lake City-based American Stores Company. Lucky units in Central California were sold to Modesto-based Save Mart Supermarkets in 1997. In 1998, the American Stores Company -and Lucky Stores- was sold to Albertsons. During 1999, all Lucky Stores units were rebranded by Albertsons.

Photo from Wikimapia / "Sachse"

In June 2006, Albertsons was divided and sold to Minnesota's SuperValu and a joint venture headed by New York's Cerberus Capital Management. The SuperValu division revived the Lucky Stores brand. In March 2013, the Cerberus division acquired SuperValu's Albertsons and Lucky units. In July 2015, a new store format, known as Lucky California, was introduced in the Bay Area. As of mid-2023, there were 160 Lucky stores in California and Utah, with the corporate headquarters located in Modesto, California.

Graphics from https://www.luckysupermarkets.com

LUCKY STORES JUNIOR-ANCHORED SHOPPING MALLS:

*EL CERRITO PLAZA, El Cerrito, CA (1958)

*SOUTHGATE CENTER, Sacramento County, CA (1960)

*SOUTHCENTER MALL, Tukwila, WA (1968)