Smitty's

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Smitty's was a local grocery store chain founded by Clyde Smith that operated stores in Arizona from 1964 until 1999[1]. Early stores carried the Smitty's Big Town name; certain locations also operated under the Xtra name toward the end of the chain's existence. Smitty's was purchased by Smith's Food and Drug in 1996, who continued to operate the stores under the Smitty's banner. The purchase of Smith's by Fred Meyer in 1997 caused the majority of Smitty's stores to be rebranded Smitty's Marketplace. Smitty's locations were unique in that they included grocery and non-grocery items of various types under the same roof as well as food service, years before the advent of discount chains, warehouse clubs, or supercenters such as Wal*Mart.

[edit] Departments

In addition to standard grocery items, most Smitty's stores included other non-traditional departments such as clothing, sporting goods, shoes, a garden center, and office supplies. Many of the supermarket locations also featured a full-service restaurant in addition to a candy counter and quick-serve pizza counter.