Michael J. Cullen

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Michael J. Cullen (1884 - 1936) is generally considered to be the inventor of the modern supermarket.

Born of Irish immigrant parents, Cullen learned about the grocery business during his early years of employment. At 18 he worked as a clerk for the The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, moving on to general sales manager at Mutual Grocery and Kroger Stores.

While working at Kroger, at the time a chain of small grocery stores, he developed the idea of a supermarket. He wrote a letter to the president of Kroger, describing his idea, but his letter went unanswered. Undaunted, and confident in his ability to see his idea become a reality, he quit his job and moved his family to Long Island.

It was there that Cullen leased a vacant garage on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, just a few blocks from a busy shopping district, and on August 4, 1930 opened the doors to the world's first supermarket, King Kullen Grocery Company.

Success was rapid. People came from miles around. To many of his customers, Cullen offered convenient and affordable food and was described as the "World's Greatest Price Wrecker." By 1936 there were 17 King Kullen supermarkets turning-over approximately $6,000,000 annually.

Although Cullen died suddenly, just six years after opening his first store, "King Kullen" continued to grow and expand through the leadership of his wife and the support of family members. It is owned and operating by the third generation of his descendants.