TOMS RIVER, NJ – Growing up in New Jersey in the 1980s and early 1990s, you didn’t go to Target, Walmart, or Aldi, you went to Shop Rite, A&P, Foodtown, Pathmark, and Grand Union. Grand Union has vanished from the supermarket landscape since then, but what happened?
— Grand Union, originating as Jones Brothers Tea Company in 1872 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, grew to become a major grocery chain by the 1930s. The name was chosen to reflect the company’s commitment to providing value, symbolized by a mascot of Abraham Lincoln in a deli apron. The character was used in promotional activities and customer engagements, especially during economic challenges, urging patrons to “Save the Union.”
By the early 1950s, Grand Union had merged with Great Eastern and embarked on expanding its presence. This included the construction of a shopping center in East Paterson, New Jersey, later known as Elmwood Park. Here, a new store opened in 1951 along with corporate offices. Despite moving its headquarters to Wayne in 1987, the Elmwood Park store remained operational until 2001.
The chain faced significant financial difficulties in the late 1990s. In 1997, J. Wayne Harris was brought in to revitalize Grand Union. He initiated remodeling of existing stores and the construction of new, larger ones, inadvertently exacerbating the financial strain and leading to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 1998. The company resurfaced in 1999 with $175 million in new capital, which was allocated to completing remodels and acquiring more construction permits. Harris introduced new store formats including “Grand Union Fresh Market,” “Mega Save,” and “Hot Dot,” but these innovations failed to stabilize the company’s finances.
Further troubles arose when several executives, including Don Vaillancourt, were discovered embezzling funds, leading to criminal convictions. Harris departed in 2000, moving to a role at JCPenney to revamp the Eckerd drugstore chain, which also did not succeed and was sold in 2004. The financial struggles culminated in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, significantly impacting Grand Union’s largest supplier and creditor, C&S Wholesale Grocers.
In 2012, Tops Friendly Markets acquired the remaining 21 Grand Union stores in the Adirondack Region and parts of Vermont. By 2013, these stores were rebranded under the Tops name, marking the end of Grand Union as an independent entity.
The brand saw a revival in 2021 when C&S Wholesale Grocers announced the purchase of 12 stores as part of a regulatory requirement following the merger of Tops and Price Chopper Supermarkets. These stores are set to be converted back to Grand Union, with grand openings scheduled from mid-January through mid-February 2022. However, one location in Watertown, New York will transition to a Piggly Wiggly store instead.
Today, Grand Union is making a comeback in Upstate New York. Maybe one day, the brand will return to New Jersey. For now, the closest store to New Jersey is in Oswego, NY.