High's Dairy Stores

 

Former High's Dairy Store - 5405 Kenilworth Avenue Riverdale Park, MD 20737

This building style is typical of High's locations from the late 1960s and early 1970s.

High's Dairy Stores grew from a small chain of ice creams stores and a dairy located in Richmond, VA.  By the 1940s, High's had around 50 stores and was owned by North Carolina based Convenient Systems Inc.  In the mid-1980s, High's was sold to Capital Milk Producers Cooperative who grew the chain to about 350 stores.  The majority of High's locations were in Maryland, Virginia and eastern Western Virginia.  In 1987, High's stores in Virginia, West Virginia and the Maryland stores in the DC suburbs were sold to Southland Corporation which owned 7-Eleven.  Most stores were converted to 7-Eleven locations.  Those that were not closed.

This left the High's locations in the Baltimore area and the rural areas around and west of Baltimore owned by High's of Baltimore, Inc.  By this time High's had ventured into fuel sales.  Stores were co-branded with Shell and Citgo.  In 2012, Carroll Independent Fuel Company purchased High's as an entry into the convenience store business.  High's now has 60 stores in Baltimore, the Baltimore suburns, west towards Frederick, MD and south of Baltimore towards Annapolis, MD.  A modern High's store has fuel, typical convenience items and store prepared meal choices.  Former High's locations like the one pictured above are scattered around the DC and Baltimore areas.  Many of them still function as convenience or small markets for the areas they serve.

Sources:

High's Dairy Stores
CSP Daily News
Wikipedia

Now Former Safeway - MacArthur Blvd - Washington DC

 

Safeway took over an existing grocery store at 4865 MacArthur Boulevard NW in 1952.  That store had opened in the early 1940s.  It is possible that the original store that operated here was a Sanitary Grocery.  Safeway took over Sanitary in 1928 but did not convert the stores to Safeway until later. Safeway expanded the store seen here in 1956.  If you look closely behind the "W" in the Safeway logo on the store you can see similar horizontal brick lines like those to the right of the Starbucks logo.  That is the division between the original store and the expansion.

In the mid-2010s, this site became the focus of potential redevelopment.  A condo development was met with significant resistance from the neighborhood.  From the start of potential redevelopment plans, Safeway has said that it would not be a part of those plans.  Safeway sparked controversy when it attempted to insert clauses into the plans that would prevent another food retailer from operating at the redeveloped site.  Safeway had attempted to insert this clause because it owned the site and was looking to ground lease to whoever would complete the redevelopment.  Surrounding areas were also concerned about the area becoming a food desert.  The closest remaining Safeway stores are over a mile away.  There is also a Trader Joe's in Georgetown.

Safeway closed here on May 4, 2019.  At the time of the store's closure, it was the longest running Safeway store on the east cost.  Construction started in 2021 on a memory care complex for seniors.  There is still a possibility that a grocery store will be a part of the ground level retail in the complex.

Sources:

Potomac Times
WJLA
Greater Greater Washington

Early Giant Food - Bladensburg, MD

Giant Food is the DC area's hometown grocer.  The company was founded in 1939.  Giant brought many innovations to the DC grocery market such as self-service, combination grocery and drug stores as well as UPC scanning.  The first Giant store was at Georgia Avenue and Park Road NW.

The building here is one of the first stores Giant built outside the District.  Located at 4900 Annapolis Road Bladensburg, MD 20710, Giant opened here in 1949.  Imagine the tower with 

G-I-A-N-T in each of the squares.  As of 2014 when this picture was taken there was still a Giant logo in the terrazzo floor as you entered.

Here is a view of the Giant logo as you enter the store.  Still extant in 2014.  Thank you to Gary of the old dcgrocery.com site for this picture.