New Deal Supermarket

New Deal Supermarket is a chain of grocery stores in the United States, based in Jackson, Mississippi, primarily operating in the state of Mississippi. Although always two separate companies, New Deal Grocery history dates back to 1933 in both the state of California and Mississippi. The Modesto, California based New Deal Market founded in 1933 ceased operations in 2002 and the chain, once a prominent player in the grocery industry in Northern California, no longer exist. The Jackson, Mississippi based New Deal Stores Inc was founded March 21, 1933, once a prominent player in the grocery industry in the state of Mississippi had grown to almost 100 stores. By 2009, the promising grocery franchise chain had been reduced to only one store close to the original founding location in the Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District in Mississippi's Capital City Jackson, Mississippi. In 2014, the company was sold and poised again for growth as the chain began to expand and resurrect the historic brand.

History of New Deal brand

The name New Deal derived from President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal Plan to lift the nation out of the Great Depression. The supermarket version sharing this name still defines the meaning stimulating the economy by helping the consumer save emphasizing the thought of buying more for less.

History of New Deal Markets California

The Modesto, California based New Deal Market was founded in 1933 at 406 14th Street in Modesto, California by Walter Heckendorf Sr. By 1980, this chain business had expanded to 15 locations, with stores in Turlock, Modesto, Stockton, Manteca, Merced, Oakdale and Los Banos. The original store was deemed too small that year and was sold. The building still stood until February 2008 as home to the Fair Mart Market. The Fair Mart burned at this time and the remaining structure was demolished. In 1991, the Heckendorf family sold the chain to Provigo Corporation, following this sale, New Deal Markets private brand became President's Choice. By 1994, that company had closed stores in Modesto and Merced. In 1995, the chain was down to 10 stores. It was sold to Bay Area Food, which operated two other chains—a price imapact warehouse grocery chain known as Cost Less Foods and cost plus 10% chain known as Best Deal Grocery. By 1997, four more stores were closed, reducing the chain to six outlets—five in Modesto and one in Oakdale. By the early 2000s, the chain had only two locations in Modesto; one at McHenry Village and one on Oakdale Road. In 2002, the two New Deal Market locations in Modesto had closed making the end of an era for the historic grocery chain in the State of California.

History of New Deal Supermarkets Mississippi

On March 21, 1933, also following the Great Depression, with the success of the New Deal Market chain in Modesto, California, another New Deal Supermarket brand, a discount grocery chain targeting low incomed areas owned by Rayvon Smith, a Mississippi native, based in Jackson, Mississippi was started in the Historic Farish Street district. The chain soon grew to over 50 stores by the 1990s and in 1998, the stores were sold to former Jitney Jungle district supervisors Kenneth Leakes and Greg Price. New Deal Supermarket then became the first African American owned supermarket chain. Greg Price also owns the Jackson Cash & Carry which operates a wholesale grocery store on West Capitol Street in West Jackson. This is a former Kroger, Jitney Jungle, later Winn-Dixie store. By 2008, the once promising New Deal chain had been reduced to one location at 110 West Monument Street in the Historic Farish Street District.^[1] By 2009, under the direction of Kenneth Leakes, the chain closed the last remaining store on Monument Street store, which marked an end of an era for the historic chain. In 2014, under the leadership of the current generation of the original founders, the Mississippi New Deal Supermarket chain is growing and poised for success. For 50 years, the New Deal Supermarket chain of Jackson, Mississippi was a success with stores all over Mississippi and as far off as Camden, Arkansas. New Deal Supermarkets was one of the first grocery retail business to be owned by African Americans, which unfortunately was unlikely during the Civil Rights era. New Deal was also the first to invent the "more for less" discount meat packaged deal aimed for low to middle income families, respectively called the Pick 5, which allowed consumers to pick 5 types of packaged meat all for $19.99. This led to larger chains offering the same. Other local chains, such as McDade's Market, Food Depot, County Market, Vowell's Market Place, Grocery Depot, Ramey's Marketplace also have moved into the more for less discount meat deal. Food Depot offers family sized Pick 5 for $19.95, while Grocery Depot, a relatively new grocery chain which prices with the "shelf plus 10%" pricing format, offers the same for $17.99 plus 10%. Due to rise of larger chain stores such as Kroger and Wal-Mart, the original New Deal Supermarket chain owned by Mississippi native Kenneth Leakes was unable to have a strong presence in Mississippi, unlike its predecessor Jitney Jungle. Due to the rise of fierce competition nearby and consumer theft, given its more urban inner city location, This store underwent cuts, size reduction and soon after closed. Winn-Dixie's decision to leave the Central Mississippi area gave other New Deal and other smaller chains room for rapid expansion. The current owners New Deal Supermarket also reopened several former Jitney Jungle, later Winn-Dixie stores and has since rebranded those stores into the New Deal brand and remains successful today. The current New Deal Supermarket chain is probably the closest to being the successor to Jitney Jungle as New Deal Supermarket carries the former brand Food Club, which Jitney Jungle carried for many years before being sold to Winn-Dixie. New Deal Supermarket is also very similar to Jitney Jungle in format, primarily because majority of New Deal stores are former Jitney Jungle locations and have kept the original Jitney Jungle interior decor package and their logos are similar as both had red oval logos. One such Jitney Jungle decor package that is still in many of their former stores is the 1992 decor which has a checker board pattern that emphasizes the sales floor and features a blue wall decor border with respective departments written in italic cursive lettering format. This decor package is present in most medium-sized former Jitney Jungle locations about 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m²) in size. Many of these stores' successors have kept this decor as the cost of remodeling these stores makes little sense given the volume. In 2010, Brookshire Grocery Company, announced their intentions to pull out of the Mississippi market leaving behind four stores which they acquired from Albertsons in 2002. Two Brookshire locations closed until Virginia College bought one location in North Jackson and Mississippi based Food Depot purchased another location in South Jackson while the other two suburban Jackson locations were sold and rebranded to Kroger. New Deal Marketplace has two (2) locations that are former Albertsons stores, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Monroe, Louisiana.

New Deal Private Label Brands

The current New Deal Supermarket chain does not have its own private label. New Deal Markets, owned by Johnson Grocery Inc, is a dealer for Associated Grocers and carries the Topco brands: Shurfine private label brand, Valutime deep discount private label brand and Topcare in HBA private label brand.

Early in New Deal Markets history, the California chain sold the President's Choice brand under its affiliation with parent company Provigo. In 2000, no longer under its ownership by Provigo and now under the ownership of Modesto, California native Mike Strickler, the chain was supplied by Fleming and sold their Best Yet private label. The Mississippi chain was also supplied by Fleming until 2003 before Fleming was acquired by C&S Wholesale Grocer in Birmingham. The chain sold Fleming's (later C&S) private label Best Yet brand.

New Deal Supermarket departments

Customer Service Center - Specializing in Utility Bill payment, Western Union, Money Orders, making copies, Notary Public, making keys, accepting EBT cards for low income families, Quick Access for low incomed individuals receiving government benefits, with this technology, those individuals can receive government benefits up to five days early. In certain stores, Customer Service can even cash payroll checks, only in locations without a in store or on site bank.

Smoke Shop - Selling Tobacco Products in stores.

Wall of Values - department selling dollar or discounted items.

Beer - Stores selling alcoholic beverages.

Juices - Selling juices by the gallons, including fruit flavored daiquiri mixes.

Seafood - Specializing in raw or cooked seafood in certain areas.

Fresh Meat - Cut or whole meat. Also specializes in Pick 5 Meat Special for $19.99 in more price conscious areas.

Smoked Meat - smoked or cooked meats. Also apart of New Deal's Pick 5 Meat Special for $19.99.

Dairy - Milk, butter, eggs, and other Dairy products.

Bakery - Cakes, bread and other bakery items.

Deli - Hot deli lunches, catering, and Cooley's Catfish Shack franchise.

Produce - Fresh produce. Stores in more upscale areas, specialize in organic produce.

Floral - Flowers and other plants.

Pharmacy - Medicine, on site pharmacist filling prescription medications and various over the counter medicines.

New Deal Express - On site gas station. One such location is a former Pump and Save for a Jitney Jungle grocery store. The complimenting grocery store has since closed and converted to a Hudson's Salvage Center, but its fuel center is operating as a New Deal Express.

New Deal Market

New Deal Express

References