A Nifty Fifties Thriftimart

Here’s another wonderful Southern California gem, shown through the courtesy of the Orange County Archives. This Thriftimart supermarket opened in mid-1955 in Garden Grove, California on the northwest corner of Chapman Avenue and Brookhurst Street, in what was originally slated to be known as the Melody Park Shopping Center, a nod to the adjacent Melody Park and Melody Estates subdivisions. A year later, plans were announced to significantly expand the shopping center, by now known as Orange County Plaza, adding J.C. Penney, W.T. Grant , and J.J. Newberry stores, plus Thrifty Drug and Safeway, although these didn’t materialize for nearly three years. Chris Jepsen’s O.C. History Roundup site has a great photo of the shopping center’s Googie sign.

Note the Van de Kamp’s windmill, a great regional icon, just below the “liquor” blade sign on the (very wide) pylon. Tailfins, palm trees and pylons, it’s my kind of scene!

Safeway's Windmill?

This photo (from 1963, location unknown) is intriguing to me for a couple of reasons – first, because it shows the “March of Progress” – a classic 50’s Safeway about to realize its destiny as a parking lot for the brand-new, gleaming Safeway/Super S store seen under construction in the background. On the new store, the plastic insert for the round, red “S” logo isn’t even installed yet!

Secondly, because of the famous Van de Kamp’s windmill sign on the pylon of the older store. Out of the many vintage Safeway photos I’ve seen, this is a first. As anyone who grew up in pre-1970 Southern California knows, the windmill signs were a fixture (literally) of grocery store facades all over the region. Vons, Thriftimart, Market Basket, A & P (before they cleared out of L.A. in the early 60’s), Food Giant and many others all featured Van de Kamp’s bakery departments and thus sported the familiar sign. In the couple of vintage film clips I’ve seen of them, the windmill blades really did turn, though I’m not sure if it was purely from the wind or with the assistance of a small electric motor.

I’ve always assumed that Safeway did their own baking for their stores. If someone knows the backstory on this, please let us know!

(Thanks to the sharp-eyed PFS reader who identified this store's location - at the corner of 3rd and Vermont in L.A. - now a Vons.)

Every Day's A Special Day

One more look at Thriftimart for now, this time a set of great interior views. These 1964 photos are from a brand new Thriftimart, which was located at 4030 Centinela Avenue in Culver City, California. I love the shield above the liquor department. Must have focus-grouped yellow tones for this one.

Thriftimart Class of '63

By the early 1960's, some new Thriftimarts featured toned-down "T's", possibly owing to zoning or cost reasons. Even so, the stores provided very nice examples of mid-century modern supermarket design, as these photos of new units from 1963 attest. The first photo is of a Santa Ana store (1308 Edinger Street), the second is from 1117 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley.

Thriftimart - The Tall T

Burning bright above the L.A. Basin at dusk were the red, 40-foot tall "T's" - the iconic logo of the late, great Thriftimart supermarket chain. A fondly-remembered sight of Angelenos (and selected San Diegans and Vegas-ites), these gigantic signs emerged on the local landscape through the 50's and 60's.

The company that would eventually be named Thriftimart, Inc. was created in 1930 when a group of former A&P managers headed by Roger Laverty, Sr. purchased a company called Fitzsimmons Stores, Ltd. (the name the company would bear until well into the 1950's). In its earlier years, the company grew through acquisitions, including the 9-store "Thriftimart" and the 17-store Roberts Markets chains in the 1940's. In 1955, the company purchased the Smart & Final Iris Company, which at the time was strictly a wholesale operation.

By 1961, the company had over 60 stores and had renamed itself after its famous trademark. This photo is circa 1965.