"Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren"

[NW Mailing List]

Jeff, thanks (again) for following up.

Dad's maternal grandfather, T.E. Jamison, started Jamison Chain Stores in
1920, as if chains were (still) a novelty, and opened three stores in
Roanoke in 1921.  They expanded using dedicated LCL on the N&W from Roanoke
to Luray, Bristol, and points west.

So Piggly Wiggly was the first, but eventually sold out (?).  Jamison sold
all 106 stores in 1929 to Kroger, who then sold all of the stores west of
about Marion to Piggly Wiggly.

Grant Carpenter


> Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2013

>

> Grant,

> ?

> Don't know if your question was answered. According to A History of The

City of Roanoke?by Raymond P. Barnes, Piggly-Wiggly opened on July 26,
1919, at 314 1st Street, S.E. Roanoke.

> ?

> Jeff Sanders

>  

> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2013

>

> Hello Skip,

>

> Would you happen to know what year they opened?

>

> Grant Carpenter

>

> > Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2013

> > Subject: "Takin' Twenty with the Virginian Brethren" by Skip Salmon

> >

> > Raymond East told us about getting a flyer for the new Piggly Wiggly

> > grocery store, now open in Roanoke. We have now come full circle on this

> > one: A little history, Piggly Wiggly was the first grocery chain opened

in

> > Roanoke, and the first to allow customers to shop for themselves instead

> of

> > having a clerk gather their items from a list.