This Forgotten Grocery Store Chain From The 1950s Was A Dream For Fresh Produce Lovers - Tasting Table

"What started in the 1920s as an operation run out of a horse-drawn cart turned into a series of physical supermarkets splattered throughout the Northeast. Husband and wife team Gaspare and Josephine Genuardi first took vegetables from their own garden and sold them to neighbors out of a truck before five of their sons banded together to open the family's first supermarket."

"What was termed "Genuardiness" came to refer to the brand's efforts to build a dedicated customer base by stocking fresh food at attractive prices. In the late 90s, one Genuardi store began posting signage to indicate organic produce and displaying organic products separately. The move helped catapult sales, and soon team members across the brand wore "Go Organic" pins to encourage shoppers to look for organic items."

"In 2001, Safeway bought out the family-operated business. Some of these stores were sold to Giant, and others were closed. Unfortunately, the Safeway-run stores slowly lost momentum, and the last closed its door in 2015. "Our favorite grocery store before Safeway bought them out," wrote a Facebook user. "The whole crew at the store was like family." Other shoppers who fondly remember shopping at Genuardi's have echoed the sentiment that the store was ruined."

Genuardi's began in the 1920s when Gaspare and Josephine Genuardi sold garden vegetables from a truck and later opened the family's first supermarket with five sons. The chain expanded across the Northeast into a series of physical supermarkets known for fresh food and attractive prices. The brand cultivated "Genuardiness" to build customer loyalty and emphasized organic offerings in the late 1990s, promoting organic produce with signage and "Go Organic" pins. Safeway purchased the family-operated business in 2001, after which some stores were sold to Giant and others closed. Safeway-run locations gradually lost momentum, and the last store closed in 2015. Many shoppers recall strong community ties and lament the chain's decline.

Read at Tasting Table