Bleeding Like A Stuck — 23 comments
Interesting tidbit in The Sun News.
Here's the thing, this store, the one at Pawleys Island / Litchfield Beach and the recently closed store on Garners Ferry Road are all relatively new and upscale stores. This one in Forest Park is especially nice, and the one at the beach is in the same class (though a bit smaller, I believe). When you're abandoning your best stores, that can't be a good sign.
23 Responses to 'Bleeding Like A Stuck —'
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Tom
13 Sep 13 at 6:39 am
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I would have liked to see these become Harris Teeter locations...for many years I have yearned to see Harris Teeter back in the Columbia market (if it ever finally happens, I'd likely be there the day it opens, I'd be that excited)
Andrew
13 Sep 13 at 3:23 pm
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Harris Teeter buying up empty Piggly Wiggly Stores, sounds like a recent Dolly Parton joke I heard merging Big Lots, Harris Teeter, and Piggly Wiggly.
Anyway, Piggly Wiggly's recent radio commercials "Local since forever" have sounded pretty desperate to me.
James
13 Sep 13 at 8:26 pm
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I continue to be haunted by former employee Terry's comments on the Irmo Piggly Wiggly closing page saying that, simply put, Piggly Wiggly is a dying grocery chain and this has to aid his thinking
Andrew
13 Sep 13 at 11:34 pm
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@James - I've never heard the joke and I know Dolly is straight laced, but all my twisted mind can see in your comment is 'big' 'teet' and 'pig'....:^)
Homer
14 Sep 13 at 12:51 am
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It has been a strange week for traditional supermarkets in North Carolina and South Carolina. Thursday Piggly Wiggly Carolina announced its intent to sell 29 stores, 22 to Bi-Lo and 9 to Harris Teeter. Friday, Bi-Lo announced its intent to sell seven stores to Publix.
The future of Piggly Wiggly Carolina is bleak. Sixty stores remain with 29 operated by Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company and 31 independently owned.
Focusing on the upstate in the Greenwood area, Bi-Lo acquired the better store near Coronoca on SC-72/US-221. Ninety Six, independently owned and closed on Sunday, would likely close as Ninety Six customers will drive farther to shop at Bi-Lo. Ware Shoals and the South Main Street Greenwood store (Price Wise Foods) will struggle. Ware Shoals will remain open being the only grocer in town. Price Wise Foods would shutter if new entrant Publix decides to open a second Greenwood store on the south side.
Charleston will have an ugly grocery scene with Harris Teeter and Bi-Lo taking on more stores and Publix watching from the side.
I am curious about the future of Bi-Lo Holdings. It was a bankrupt company that acquired a larger bankrupt company in Winn Dixie, has a pending acquisition of 165 Harvey's, Reid's and Sweetbay stores from Food Lion parent Delhaize, a pending acquisition of 22 stores from Piggly Wiggly Carolina Company and a pending divestment of 7 stores to Publix. One wonders if Bi-Lo Holdings is setting themselves up to be acquired by someone like Kroger.
Tiger
15 Sep 13 at 3:15 pm
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@Andrew & James.... would that be Big Wiggly Teeters? :)
Count me among the folks that would love to see Harris Teeter come back to Columbia. I've been here since 1980 though and their last attempt here was at least their second. Don't think they'll be coming back for thirds. As I've posted in another thread. this market is astonishingly over-served. I'm really surprised that Colombia can support the number of grocery chains that it has.
MrBO
17 Sep 13 at 4:23 pm
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There's nothing left of the older stores anymore. A&P, Red and White, Colonial, Winn Dixie, Harris-Teeter, Big Star, Piggly Wiggly (soon to be gone), and Bruno's. Gone also are all the " E-Z Marts", White Cross, Dodd's, Roses (maybe), Thrifty Mart (Columbia at least), Food Town, 7-11, McCrory's, Woolworths, Kress, C-Mart (how many remember that), Zayer,
Leisure Time Hobby Store (Columbia Mall), Snipes (downtown), Revco, Magic Market, Musicland and others I cant remember off hand.semiquaver2013
20 Sep 13 at 9:29 pm
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Actually I'm pretty sure there is still a Rose's in North Myrtle Beach, and there was still one in Aiken the last time I checked (whch has been a few years).
ted
20 Sep 13 at 10:46 pm
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Roses is planning to open up a store in Sumer Mall in the former Sears there and it wouldn't surprise me to see one in Columbia...
Andrew
20 Sep 13 at 11:00 pm
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@semiquaver - guess I'll show my age and say that I remember all of the store you mentioned except for Snipes. The only grocery stores I remember as a kid were A&P, Red and White, Colonial, Winn Dixie, and alas The Pig.
Some other blasts from the Past: Haltiwanger's, Efird's, Howard's, Session's, Tots To Teens, Berry's, B. Berry's, Britton's, Lourie's, Woolco, Record Bar, Browz-A-Bit, Hickory Farms....I could go on and on.......
Homer
22 Sep 13 at 12:56 am
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You and I may be around the same age..give or take. For some reason, I can remember certain stores and events here in Columbia, but there are plenty more that I just don't remember. I guess being young at the time, or just not paying any attention to the old buildings, houses or stores since you used to see them all the time.
semiquaver2013
22 Sep 13 at 10:41 pm
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the odd thing, is that I remember going with my Mom and Dad to the premier? of "The Glass Bottom Boat" at the NEW Richland Mall Theater back in 1966. I may have seen the Batman movie there too the same year.
semiquaver2013
22 Sep 13 at 10:43 pm
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@semiquaver - I was born in '58 and while I don't recall actually going to a lot of the old downtown stores, I do remember my Mom and Grandma planning their Saturday shopping routes while I sat in the back seat of the car. Bear in mind this was the mid to late '60s. I do remember that all of my clothes (except what Grandma made) came from Tots To Teens.
Like you, I do remember a movie too. My Dad took me to see "The Gnome-Mobile" but I couldn't tell you which theater. The only other movie experience I can recall from the downtown theaters was "Earthquake" at The Jefferson Square. I could never get over the "sensurround" effect. Totally awesome, for the time.
Alas, after Dutch Square opened, we hardly ever ventured downtown any longer. My recollections of those stores are still quite vivid in my mind as I spent most of my high school years hanging out and 'cruising' the mall.
Homer
23 Sep 13 at 12:29 am
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I saw Midway at Richland Mall in Sensaround.
Yeah, the malls had completely eclipsed Main Street by the time I started hanging out. I remember Mom telling me about cruising Main when she was in HS, and I was flat out shocked.
Of course, by that time, the CBD had gone from four lanes to two, and North Main had been decimated by white flight, so you could understand how hard it was for me to believe.
tonkatoy
23 Sep 13 at 2:11 pm
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One of the biggest differences between Columbia of the 60s and 70s versus today, is that back then there were a whole lot of local or regional department and specialty stores, not only on Main St but in the malls as well. Today, there are only a handful left as the national chains have bought out or forced out many local and regional businesses here and elsewhere.
Tom
23 Sep 13 at 11:48 pm
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@Tom - you will get no argument from me on that.
Homer
24 Sep 13 at 1:01 am
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I think the other thing that is happens is that it used to be that owners had a generation to pass the stores down to upon retirement. Now as owners retire, the younger generations in the family have lives taking them in different directions and so stores close down. That's what happened to Lourie's, Millender's BBQ and Western Steer.
It also used to be that a job was a 20-30 year commitment and now it isn't.
Andrew
24 Sep 13 at 11:26 am
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@ Homer, I'm a Thanksgiving Day of 1958 Kid (Nov. 27th). I remember a lot of things, and I don't remember a lot of things. I DO remember when the "new" Post Office" on Assembly was being dug out and the side of the hill behind the then U.S.O collapsed on all those workers and I think 3 were killed? I think I saw one of them being dug out from the dirt. But as a kid in general, I didn't pay attention to a lot of things at that time. I do remember the "Carolina Queen" and Belk's Dept. Store "Santa's Workshop" during Christmas with all the Christmas lights going across the street all up and down main street.
semiquaver2013
24 Sep 13 at 4:44 pm
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"Why is a beloved grocery chain selling out? Because of debt the company took on in converting to an employee stock-ownership plan, along with the pressures of increased competition, according to Supermarket News. "
http://money.msn.com/now/post--why-piggly-wiggly-shoppers-are-in-mourningbadger
24 Sep 13 at 7:50 pm
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This looks to be an interesting look at A&P in particular and the grocery business in general. I'll give the class a book report when done.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0809095432/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I wonder whatever happened to the Carolina Queen. Believe it or not, there's a forum for the World's Fair (http://www.worldsfaircommunity.org/forum/229-1964-65-new-york-united-states-the-19641965-new-york-worlds-fair/), and while a number of Greyhound Escorters have been restored, I don't think any Glide-a-Rides have.
tonkatoy
25 Sep 13 at 6:37 am
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@semiquaver - I vaguely remember the accident at the old USO. Am I mistaken or was the front facade left standing like door to nowhere or is that my imagination? Belk's was my favorite store at Xmas time. I and every other kid were drawn to the animated window displays. I think of it everything I watch the opening to A Christmas Story. Here's an old pic of Belk's with the Xmas display they used to place on the overhang. Click here to see it (if my link works).....
Homer
25 Sep 13 at 11:41 pm
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This could be completely coincidental to the Pig's recent news, but the Pitt Stop convenience stores have notices posted that they'll no longer be honoring the Greenbax stamps, as the Pig as quit giving them out--or something to that effect. I didn't even know that they Pitt Stops accepted Greenbax.
badger
6 Oct 13 at 10:11 am
And today it was announced that BI-LO and Harris-Teeter are buying up 29 P/W stores, with BI-LO getting two Lexington locations and the Forest Drive locations.