Grocery shopping is easier today with all of the choices that we have.  We have stores such as Harris Teeter, Publix, and Food Lion for us regular shoppers.  For those who are looking for speciality stores we have Trader Joes, Whole Foods or Earthfare.  Back in the day when the city was smaller, we could go to our neighborhood grocer or to one of the early supermarket chains that had stores in the area.  While they were not the large stores that we are used to (and some of us expect!)  they filled a need for fresh food at good prices.

One of those early chains was Colonel Stores.  Started as Pender’s Stores in Richmond, Virginia in the early part of the 20th century they grew into the Carolinas and had several stores in the Charlotte area, including one located at 209 North College Street which was demolished and is now the Wake Forest School of Business and the Holiday Inn Center City.

Colonial Store “Rooster Logo” via rkpuma.com and Google Images

I wish that I could have found a picture of the old store but could not find one.  I know that I will be exploring these old stores in future blog posts.  For more history about grocery stores both here in the Charlotte area and in other parts of the South, please check out the Grocerteria blog at http://www.groceteria.com.  You will not only learn about the history of familiar chains such as Winn Dixie and A&P, but also where they were located and what may or may not be there now.