Why a site about supermarket history and architecture?
Why not? It’s a topic I’ve found interesting since I was a kid, and I started the whole thing as a feature on one of my other sites. Supermarkets are such an important part of everyday life and yet no one pays much attention to them. You can find any number of books and sites on old motels, diners, train stations, or whatever, but no one much cares about the grocery store. My college background is in urban geography and history, and I’m a big research geek. I like knowing what used to be where. And I’m fascinated by commercial architecture and urban commercial archaeology. And supermarkets over the years have had some of the most interesting architecture and design you’re likely to find. How did you first get interested in supermarkets? When I was a kid in the 1970s, I was fascinated by the really old A&P stores which were still operating in my hometown in North Carolina. I also liked the other old stores in town (and even some of the then-newer ones). We used to play supermarket at my
