Grocery Shopping Yesteryear: An Eclectic Look Back Down the Aisles

grocery shopping (4)

I love looking at old pictures of grocery stores.  Getting a glimpse of the old packaging is always interesting, and it’s a treat just noting how much times have changed.  So, here is an assorted mix of images of grocery shoppers from “the olden days” of the 1960s through the early 1980s. Enjoy.

 

andy warhol

Andy Warhol picking up some Brillo pads, Coca-Cola and… of course, Campbell’s soup cans.

supermarket 1962

Happy Holidays circa 1962

grocery shopping vintage

(L) Exploring the wonders of the supermarket in 1975 – and possibly the widest aisle in supermarket history. (R) Black leather go-go boots with animal skin minidress; the perfect outfit for grocery shopping.

024_good manners in public (1983)

From a 1983 book titled Good Manners in Public.  Remember “Dinky Donuts” cereal?

1963 butcher

Mid-sixties Kansas City, at the butcher.  Take note of the traditional straw hat.

Sparks band 1980From a 1980 advertisement for a Sparks album.

ralphs sunland ca 1964

Ralph’s supermarket in southern California – a woman admires the shag bathroom rug while an employee pretends not to notice.

grocery shopping (3)

(L) Loading up the basket with booze and cigarette cartons – life in the seventies. (R) Another Pleasant Valley Sunday in 1965 Dallas.

073_1988

A found photo from 1988.  They are really glad they found the toilet paper.  Must’ve been an emergency.

dominicks evanston il

Dominick’s in 1960s Illinois. Here’s a Dominicks commercial from 1973…

According to the description, it was found in someone’s basement, lost to the traces of time.  Thankfully someone had the good sense to restore it and share.

National Lampoon Dec 1975 (5c)

“Domestic tranquility – Happy family of inner-center dwellers relax in Kroger’s split-level.  Outside, stormclouds of war gather.”  From a 1975 issue of National Lampoon.

a&p 1960

At the A&P in 1960

piggly wiggly


The sight of a family getting help with loading the car with groceries does my heart good.  It’s the rare supermarket these days that will provide this kind of service.  For more on grocery store changes, check out Supermarket Makeover: 9 Ways Your Old Grocery Store Has Changed

grocery shopping (2)

I have no explanation or backstory to provide.  Just let your imagination run wild.

jewel gb cheese shop brickyard 1977

Grocery shopping at Jewel Grand Bazaar in 1977

hughes mkt westdale ca

Picking up some Christmas decor at the grocery store in the 1960s – wearing gloves and pearls.

titbits

March 14-20 1974 issue of Titbits featuring a “Grapefruity Girl”

ralphs granada hills 1965

Ralph’s in Granada Hills, CA circa 1965.

general foods 1964

This picture from 1964 provides a brilliant look into the retr0-shopping cart: Tang, Gaines-burgers, Minute Rice, Angel Flake coconut, Alpha-Bits… and, of course, Sanka.

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