Grand Union (supermarket)
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| Private | |
| Industry | |
| Fate | The original company was purchased by C&S Wholesale Grocers in 2001 and downsized. The remainder of the company was purchased by Tops Markets in 2012 and folded into the Tops brand in 2013. |
| Successor | Tops Friendly Markets |
| Founded | Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. (1872, as Jones Brothers Tea Company) |
| Founder | Cyrus D. Jones |
| Defunct | July 2, 2013 |
| Headquarters | Scranton, Pennsylvania (original) Brooklyn, New York (??-1951??) Elmwood Park, New Jersey (1951-1987) Wayne, New Jersey (1987-2001) Clifton Park, New York (2001-2013) Depew, New York (from time of acquisition by Tops) |
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Number of locations
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21 (2012) |
| Website | topsmarkets |
Grand Union Supermarkets, later known as Grand Union Family Markets and often referred to simply as Grand Union, was an American chain of grocery stores that did business primarily in the northeastern United States. It operated stores in other areas of the country including the midwestern and southeastern states, and internationally in the Caribbean and Canada. The company was founded and headquartered in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and moved to Brooklyn, New York in the early 20th century. Grand Union moved again to Elmwood Park, New Jersey and finally to Wayne, New Jersey before the company was forced into Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2001 and sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers.
After C&S bought Grand Union it down-scaled most of its operations, keeping only a number of stores in upstate New York and New England open. The chain was sold to Tops Friendly Markets in 2012, and in 2013 Tops rebranded the remaining stores with its logo and the Grand Union name ceased to be used.
Grand Union started in Scranton, Pennsylvania as the Jones Brothers Tea Company in 1872. By the 1930s it was one of the largest grocery chains in the United States. The name "Grand Union" was inspired by the desire to "unite shoppers with low prices in a 'Grand Union of Value'" as described by company associate Elvin Sanders. The store's mascot was Abraham Lincoln wearing a deli apron, and most stores featured a costumed Lincoln to accomplish deeds, talk to customers, and proclaim the general splendor of the Grand Union, and to urge them to "Save the Union" when the company faced economic hardship.
In the early 1950s, Grand Union began construction on a new shopping center in what was then known as East Paterson, New Jersey. The strip was to include a new Grand Union store with an office tower attached that would serve as the company's new corporate headquarters. The store and new headquarters opened in 1951. In 1987, Grand Union moved its corporate headquarters to Willowbrook Center in Wayne and abandoned the offices in what was now known as Elmwood Park. Grand Union did not close the Elmwood Park store, though, and it remained in operation until 2001.
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