Basics Food Warehouse

From Retailpedia

Basics Food Warehouse was a chain of warehouse-style discount grocery stores operated by Grand Union and later Food-a-rama, operating from 1979 to 1995.

Concept[edit | edit source]

Basics Food Warehouse stores featured overstock products, sold directly out of the boxes and not traditionally stocked on shelves. The stores were also smaller, and had a much more limited offering, noted in one article to be only 3,200 items compared to a typical supermarket's 13,000. The stores also did not provide bagging services or plastic bags, requiring customers to bag items themselves in bags they brought, though bags were offered for 2c each, and boxes for free.[1]

History[edit | edit source]

Basics Food Warehouse began with a store in Sunrise, Florida which opened on November 16, 1979 and was converted from an existing unprofitable Grand Union store.[2] The success of the Sunrise store briefly created local concern, with the volume of traffic leading to 33 accidents in front of the store, with councilman John Montgomery calling the store "an illegal wholesale operation" that "...should not be allowed in shopping centers of this nature".[3] A second store opened in Hialeah, Florida in 1980, followed by a third store in Miramar.[4][5] The chain's first store outside Florida opened on March 16, 1980 in Woodbridge, New Jersey.[6] A location opened in Marlow Heights, Maryland shortly thereafter.[7]

In February 1984, all six stores in Florida were closed, with one store sold to Pantry Pride, as part of Grand Union pulling out of the state entirely.[8][9] In March 1984, ten stores in the Washington D.C. area were sold to Food-a-rama, after being put up for sale that February.[10][11] In 1987, the Wood-Ridge store was converted back to a normal Grand Union, at a cost of $700,000.[12]

In 1985, Food-a-rama was acquired by wholesaler Super Rite Foods, who converted all stores to the Basics name. In 1990-1991, some stores were converted to the Metro Food Market banner, following it's introduction. In 1992, several stores were sold to Shoppers Food Warehouse. The Basics name was finally phased out for good in 1995, with the acquisition of Super Rite Foods by Richfood Holdings, who either sold off or converted the remaining Basics stores to the Metro Food Market banner.[13]

Locations[edit | edit source]

Address City State Notes/References
8100 W Oakland Park Boulevard Sunrise Florida [2]
8601 SW 40th St Hialeah Florida [4]
3108 N University Drive Miramar Florida [5]
8601 SW Bird Road Miami Florida Sold to Pantry Pride[14]
12 Passaic Avenue Woodbridge New Jersey [6]
3270 Crain Hwy Waldorf Maryland [15]
1649 Crofton Center Crofton Maryland [15]
3013 St. Barnabas Road Marlow Heights Maryland [15]
6611 Annapolis Road Landover Maryland [15]
13291 Gordon Boulevard Woodbridge Virginia [15]
7720 Richmond Highway Alexandria Virginia [15]
9644 Fort Meade Road Laurel Maryland [15]
47100 Community Plaza Sterling Virginia Sold to Shoppers[15]
10615 Greenbelt Road Lanham Maryland [15]
8402 Old Keene Mill Road Springfield Virginia [15]
Hialeah Florida Distribution Center[16]
Landover Maryland Distribution Center[16]

References[edit | edit source]