Mail call: Questions about Food Fair supermarkets
Today’s letter comes from Patty Hollander of York Township. She had read the memories shared by Wayne Breighner and called them “really an enjoyable read.”
“I do have a ‘mix-up’ in my mind, though,” Patty says. “Mr. Breighner referred to the first Food Fair supermarket opening in the early fifties near W. Market St. and Dewey. Could one of your readers tell me what I have mixed up: I remember a Food Fair opening in the second block of North Penn St. before I graduated from William Penn in ’46. Having relied solely on Ma and Pas and the farmer’s markets (not open daily) this new supermarket caused quite a stir. I hope someone can tell me what I have mixed up!”
Any ideas for Patty? I’d love to hear more about Food Fair in general, and in particular its earliest stores in the area. The Food Fair wikipedia page mentions that it later became Pantry Pride, and that the chain opened in Harrisburg in the 1920s (!), and that the company later bought J.M. Fields (double !). But not too much about its stores in our area, which is, of course, where you come in. Any ideas?
