tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post67559385465858639..comments2024-03-28T03:22:39.407-04:00Comments on Albertsons Florida Blog: Former Albertsons #4317 - Mobile, ALAlbertsons Florida Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17350708223049245195noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-6578521121494146122021-11-25T07:59:17.383-05:002021-11-25T07:59:17.383-05:00Here you go AFB, here's some photos of Capital...Here you go AFB, here's some photos of Capital Circle before the rebuild, it's a really odd layout. https://foursquare.com/v/publix-super-market-at-capital-circle--closed/4b4cbc56f964a52078bc26e3Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00337266333328556930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-17844499138031028332021-11-19T18:32:28.285-05:002021-11-19T18:32:28.285-05:00It's not super common, but I have seen a few t...It's not super common, but I have seen a few times where Publix opted to keep the shell of a competitor's building instead of completely flattening the place in order to rebuild the interior to Publix's standards. A few of the Publix stores in former Albertsons buildings went through that same fate (#4387 in Orlando, #4390 in Winter Park, and #4417 in Naples come to mind there as examples). I guess that means the building was still decent and well-built, but Publix was just being super picky. Either that or it was easier for Publix to get approval for the project by keeping the building rather than getting rid of it entirely and starting from scratch.<br /><br />That's neat Big Lots kept the mural in Tallahassee, especially for one of the unique murals! Certainly a good find there!Albertsons Florida Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17350708223049245195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-30788108556805769892021-11-19T15:16:25.282-05:002021-11-19T15:16:25.282-05:00I guess that means Georgia was only a blip on Albe...I guess that means Georgia was only a blip on Albertson's radar then! It seems crazy that they would even bother with the state to only have one store open for two years! I guess that is another twist in the Brono's-Albertson's story.<br /><br />I agree, I was surprised when I found out that #1427 was previously a Bruno's. I wish I had known before the remodel because I have passed the store many times and never paid it much attention. I wonder why Publix would bother keeping the facade at that point?<br /><br />Last time I was in Tallahassee, I also got to see a nice Patty Mills mural just down the road, across from #1401. Big Lots could have taken out one on the right side of the store but the one on the left remains mostly in-tact and depicts the historic state capitol. I'm glad to know to look for these on old stores!Sing Oil Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04329997295075025626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-20802399581779824022021-11-19T13:16:23.977-05:002021-11-19T13:16:23.977-05:00Albertsons only ever had one store in Georgia, loc...Albertsons only ever had one store in Georgia, located in Fort Oglethorpe just over the TN line, a product of buying a handful of Bruno's stores in the Chattanooga area in 1998. That store didn't last very long, and closed with all the Chattanooga area Albertsons stores in 2000.<br /><br />The Bruno's name actually limped along until 2012, when all of the company's remaining stores were rebranded to Belle Foods following an acquisition of what was left of the chain. Belle Foods flopped only a few years later, ending what was left of Bruno's. Bruno's had a really sad and painful demise, a crazy end to what was once Alabama's dominant grocery chain.<br /><br />That's interesting about the Bruno's-turned-Publix in Tallahassee. I never knew about that one. According to what I could find, that was originally Publix #689, which opened in 1999. Publix closed that store for a complete gut and rebuild to create the current Publix #1427 we see today, so only the facade is original to Bruno's anymore. It's a shame Publix did that, as I'd have loved to see what the inside of that store looked like prior to it being rebuilt!Albertsons Florida Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17350708223049245195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-61786732443756544902021-11-19T11:59:46.827-05:002021-11-19T11:59:46.827-05:00Interesting history indeed! Do you know if Albert...Interesting history indeed! Do you know if Albertson's ever operated any stores in Georgia? I never realized they had locations in Alabama and Mississippi but it makes sense if they were so sparse. <br /><br />Bruno's has an interesting history tied to it and how the plane crash essentially led to the slow demise of the company. I didn't realize that the crash happened that long ago because I remember a Bruno's store in Miramar Beach, FL lasting until 2008-2010. I suppose it was one of their last stores because I don't remember seeing any others after that one closed. The Winn-Dixie that was in the building behind it has since taken over the space.<br /><br />To tie in some more Florida retail history, I also find it interesting that Publix acquired one of their 4 corporate-owned Tallahassee stores (one being the GreenWise market by FSU) from Bruno's in 1998. (Here is the link to the Leon County Property Records: https://cvweb.leonclerk.com/public/clerk_services/official_records/download_document.asp?book=2192&page=1645) I guess this was part of Bruno's efforts to shore up some finances after the loss of their corporate leadership. It looks like Bruno's built the store here in 1993 but Publix must have done extensive renovations around 2012 because it looks like a new-build Classy Market 2.5 store on the inside. I decided to take some pictures of it a few weeks ago because I believe it is the last Classy Market 2.5 store left in Tallahassee; meanwhile, the Killearn store is in the middle of a Classy Market 4.0 / Evergreen remodel. Sing Oil Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04329997295075025626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-25020827039895676992021-11-13T17:38:10.892-05:002021-11-13T17:38:10.892-05:00I've actually never heard of Mangurians until ...I've actually never heard of Mangurians until just now! Doing a little research, the company did have stores in Florida (all of which closed in 1978), but was actually based out of Rochester, NY. The company's CEO did became a prominent Floridian real estate mogul and horse breeder later in his life though.Albertsons Florida Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17350708223049245195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-72097395816392395902021-11-10T21:28:18.937-05:002021-11-10T21:28:18.937-05:00Thank you! Stories like this are always fun to lea...Thank you! Stories like this are always fun to learn about, and to be able to tell. I agree about the ad, too!<br /><br />I doubt investing more in Alabama would have been very beneficial in the long run; the state seems to be a strange grocery market. It wouldn't hurt to have a chain player with a bigger presence, but to get that foothold today it would've had to have been established years and years ago, and it would've been pretty difficult in those days to go up against Bruno's with how strong they were -- at least, that's my understanding of the situation, anyway.Retail Retellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12636351832804174132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-7817414133150332172021-11-08T15:15:34.366-05:002021-11-08T15:15:34.366-05:00Awesome post as always, I like hearing into obscur...Awesome post as always, I like hearing into obscure forays of retail chains such as these. Do you believe it would have paid out better in the long run for Albertsons to invest in Alabama?<br /><br />And you gotta love the 1982 newspaper ad - interesting to see how far the GM selection extended at Albertsons, and the fact that it included one of the most infamous video games of all time.BatteryMillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02438239313093459501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-82848245615915013922021-11-07T22:25:10.785-05:002021-11-07T22:25:10.785-05:00Thanks! That's an interesting theory about why...Thanks! That's an interesting theory about why Albertsons didn't succeed very well in Alabama. I can definitely see that playing a role.<br /><br />Ah, thanks for the correction on the décor this store would've had! I think I'm so used to hearing about Blue and Gray Market from AFB that it didn't cross my mind that this store would've closed before that package came into existence, haha XD Seeing that 70s Stripes décor would have been very neat; I wonder if Bruno's ever kept any elements of that, or wiped it all away in later remodels. The 80s Multicolor Slashes décor looks awesome as well, I love that photo you linked to.<br /><br />The Alabama Albertsons stores are obscure and forgotten indeed. For that matter, many of the old Kroger stores in the state suffer the same fate. Alabama seems like an odd grocery market all around.Retail Retellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12636351832804174132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-60678901934899466932021-11-07T22:21:07.144-05:002021-11-07T22:21:07.144-05:00Thanks for the compliment, and ha, the title is on...Thanks for the compliment, and ha, the title is only temporary, so call me whatever you want XD That's interesting that Havertys is yet another chain that has tried and failed in (or, at least, made the decision to exit) Houston. I had no idea Havertys has even been around that long to begin with, honestly. I'm also not too familiar with other furniture chains... of those that you mentioned, I'm only familiar with the name of Heilig-Meyers, and Manguarians I've never heard of before at all. Around here, we've got a lot of local chains, as well as franchisees of things like Ashley HomeStore and the like.<br /><br />I'm glad as well -- furniture stores certainly seem like easy places to be accosted by annoying salespeople. Fortunately, I've actually had positive experiences so far at all of the different furniture stores I've photographed, and that number is surprisingly large given the large amount that have opened in the Mid-South in recent years. I can think of at least five that I've been to off the top of my head, and interestingly, they've all since closed... hmm. Three were temporary, but the other two weren't! Anyway, that Nebraska Furniture Mart certainly sounds like quite the store -- that's insanely huge in square footage, and I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that their selection is so varied given they've got all that space to fill. Interesting indeed! If anyone were to end up photographing the place, I don't know that they could get the whole space documented in just one visit :P<br /><br />I didn't know about Bellas-Hess before, either. I would have tried to get some better pics had I thought anything about the building while I was there. Unfortunately the roof isn't very noticeable from ground level, so I didn't register how neat it was until AFB told me about it and I saw the aerial views!Retail Retellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12636351832804174132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-90220504741484191862021-11-07T21:50:40.753-05:002021-11-07T21:50:40.753-05:00***only 4 were Skaggs model stores. My mistake.***only 4 were Skaggs model stores. My mistake.YonWooRetail2https://www.blogger.com/profile/08255107904539545011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-22594726698243228922021-11-07T21:47:29.590-05:002021-11-07T21:47:29.590-05:00Nice photos of "Brunosons" 4317! I alway...Nice photos of "Brunosons" 4317! I always thought Albertsons might have been a hard sale to Alabamians. I get the impression people in Alabama like things more "Southern" and this grocery chain from Idaho for whatever reason didn't impress them. <br /><br />It would've been neat to been able to see all seven of these stores in 1985 when Brunos took over. The 5 older Skaggs model stores would've closed with "70's Stripes". The three trapezoid model stores in Montgomery and Huntsville probably closed with a decor package that I've dubbed "80's multicolor slashes". Here's a perfect example of that decor in Lake Jackson, TX in a 1984-built trapezoid store there :<br /><br />https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IKcD91C0_tj4TtzVtZk5pYbPEKpW3UlF/view?usp=drivesdk<br /><br />Blue and Gray Market from what I've seen in archives and older images from Albertsons stores wasn't widely used until 1990 or 91. These are such obscure and long forgotten stores now. Montgomery's two stores are the most well preserved in the state. Huntsville's two stores have been totally demolished.YonWooRetail2https://www.blogger.com/profile/08255107904539545011noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628100700550321985.post-28206649248032824772021-11-07T20:35:06.219-05:002021-11-07T20:35:06.219-05:00Wow, this is a great post from the Albertsons Alab...Wow, this is a great post from the Albertsons Alabama Blogger...or is that the Albertsons Mississippi Blogger? Lol, well, either way, it's a good post. Havertys is an interesting subject as they did once have a large presence in Houston. Well, I suppose that's not unlike Albertsons once having a large presence in Houston, but Havertys has been long-gone from the Houston market. To the best of my knowledge, Havertys was around in Houston from around 1961 to about 1981. Not unlike Albertsons yet again, Havertys has had more success elsewhere in Texas and I think they are still around in some parts of the state. They are long gone from Houston though and it's interesting to get a look inside one of their modern stores. For reasons that I can't fully explain, furniture retailers from the Southeast such as Heilig-Meyers, Havertys, and and Manguarians (I wonder if AFB knows anything about Manguarians as I believe they were from Florida) have tried the Houston market, but none of them managed to stick around for a long time.<br /><br />I'm glad your experience photographing the Havertys was positive. Photographing furniture stores can be tricky since salesmen are always lurking and keeping an eye on the shoppers. I'm hoping one of our intrepid Texas retail bloggers will visit the Nebraska Furniture Mart in The Colony, Texas (Dallas area) one day because that place is simply awesome from what I can tell. The store is 560,000 sq. ft.! They also have a full electronics department including some high-end Hi-Fi stuff! I can't blame our bloggers for being nervous about photographing that place as it might be a bit difficult.<br /><br />I didn't know about Bellas-Hess. That seems like a neat story. If nothing else, that is a neat roof!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com