Groceries on Main Street
By Chris Bain
As recently as the 1960’s there were numerous grocery stores up and down Main Street, along Port Washington Boulevard as well as in Soundview and Manorhaven. Grocery stores had grown into chains of stores back in the 1930s in various parts of the country with their most explosive growth after WWII. Names such as King Kullen, Kroger, Safeway, A&P, Safeway, Ralph’s, King Sooper, and Piggly Wiggly, dotted the national landscape.
In the late 50s and early 60s, with "Super Markets" still a bit in the future, Port Washington had numerous grocers to choose from. The first few blocks of Main Street, for instance, had several. Across from the present day Frank’s Pizzeria, was Manhattan Foods (Right).
Above: Main Street Market, 1960s
(Left) On the second block was Bohack on one side of the street and Main Street Market on the other [Bohack later moved to where North Shore Farms is now.] Note the sign for “King Korn Stamps” which were given out to shoppers who later traded them in “valuable gifts.” My mom, shopping at the A&P (where Rite Aid on Port Blvd is today), collected Plaid Stamps, and saved enough to trade them in for a bridge table and chairs. Also note the “Self Service” sign, since markets of an earlier generation had staff that would wait on you.
Another view from a decade or two earlier.
Note the art deco type on their sign!
At 137 Main Street, in the 1960s just east of Central Drive, was Budget Foods. J. Grace was the proprietor, featuring groceries, vegetables, and frozen food. Imagine that!
You can see Port Washington Market, seen here in the 1960s.
Then again, the same building, still a market, back around 1910. It has most recently been a fine jewelry store, and has always been one of the most recognizable buildings on lower Main Street.
Finally, at 284 Main Street, Premier Food Market, just one door uphill from what is now Fish On Main.
Another day, we'll cover Grocers on Port Washinton Blvd, Soundview Shopping Center, and Manorhaven Blvd,
all before the era of supermarkets drove them out of business, though not out of our memory.
