Kings Closing on Friday

Sifting further through the Rutger's holdings, I found this: 

There are also photographs of displays in various Kings Stores, among them
images of the Ivy Hill and Upper Montclair stores with “As Advertised in
Life” notices in the front windows (ca.
1948, 1951), a “National Apple Week” display (ca. 1956), a King Korn Stamp
display at Maplewood (ca. 1956), Beatrice Bildner demonstrating the
self-service BBQ chickens at the Millburn store (1968), and a joint
merchandising venture with Bloomingdale’s at the Short Hill Mall (1982).

And this:

Grand re-opening [emphasis mine], Kings Super Market—Maplewood, NJ (Allen
Bildner and Leonard Schechter pictured with town crier, interior
and exterior photos of store), September 1961

Komarovsky said:

Galileo, thank you for sharing these memories.  Here's the 1949 Sanborn map of the village, showing what you described of the site where Kings is now.  Sadly no store names, but a few notes of what goods the store sold in a few cases.  

 It's pretty cool that they label the movie theater as Moving Pictures.

Thank you,Komarovsky for the very interesting map. I see the then called Maplewood Bank and Trust. I think it was the only bank in town. You can see the 2 small store where Kings is now. The yellow buildings were residences,some are still there.

Ell Cee , I don't think the South Orange Kings was in anyway connected to Maplewood. 

I really hope a similar store can replace Kings. It will be hard because of the parking. I must admit not going there as often as I once did. I tend to go to a larger supermarket where the parking is good and the prices are lower. Kings was a very welcoming store. Years ago there was a great manager,Angelo who had Kings work with the town on different projects. There was a plaque for him in what is now Ricalton Square. I'll have to see if it's still there.The workers and checkers were so friendly and would go out of their way to greet my little boys. I'll always remember Stanley the dairy man and Nancy the checker. This all helps business. 

Off topic, but related.  There was a Kings in Summit, on Springfield Avenue where the luggage store is. There was also a Kings in Millburn Avenue  where the Flywheel exercise is. Millburn also had a Grand Union supermarket across from Bunchers Hardware

So, Kings started the 50% off sale this afternoon. I was there a little after 4 - all the produce was gone, very little meat was left, a lot of frozen things were still available, some cheese, salami, and the shelves were starting to empty in a big way. 

It's a sad day in Maplewood. 

There's almost nothing left as of tonight (Thurs).  I'd say they have maybe 5% of their inventory remaining.

galileo said:

Kings was closed yesterday and today. According to a window sign everything will be selling at 50% off starting tomorrow. Sounds like closing date will be very soon.                                                                     As to the history of the store - I've lived in Maplewood for over 80 years. I can remember walking through the village on the way home from junior high. That would be in the 2nd World War years. I honestly don't think Kings was there. If you look at a picture of the store you can see a  building in back. I remember a few smaller buildings there. One was a fabric store. It was a different time and sewing was popular. They would have a sale once a year and there would be a line outside. The name escapes me.. There were basic stores in town - a few butcher shops, 2 bakeries, Strubbes,great homemade ice cream,a 5 and 10(not the more recent one),etc, What they didn't have were restaurants- there were just 2 ,one by the movie theater and one on  Highland Place.No pizza. Also a few pharmacies,a hardware store,lots of beauty parlors and quite a few small realtor shops.The stationery store that is no more was there forever as was the movie theater. There was a super market for just a few years around where Sirota's is now. Super markets were a new thing then.  Of course stores keep changing,even more so today.

Susan Newberry --  In actuality -- Kings Market was indeed in Maplewood at 159 Maplewood Avenue in 1942.  If you look at the Directory of the Oranges for 1942 - King's is listed as a grocery (as is the store in South Orange at 25 Valley St. (at the corner of Valley and First St.).  There were two township building permits applications for metal signs for the store at 159 Maplewood Ave. dated in April and June 1942 and also two issues of the Maplewood News in  July 1942 which displayed ads stating that Kings had sponsored War Bonds.  As the Township Historian I have to do my research before I date something!

War Bonds .... Savings Bonds.

Is anyone old enough to remember, when they were a 'ute, Savings Stamps?  Ya got 'em in school or at the post office. They cost a dime. When you got a book full, you took 'em to the post office and turned them in for a savings bond.

Ya can't even get a savings bond no more.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

War Bonds .... Savings Bonds.

Is anyone old enough to remember, when they were a 'ute, Savings Stamps?  Ya got 'em in school or at the post office. They cost a dime. When you got a book full, you took 'em to the post office and turned them in for a savings bond.

Ya can't even get a savings bond no more.

 I don't remember those Savings Stamps but your post brought to mind S&H Green Stamps, which I remember pasting into little booklets and redeeming the booklets for merchandise.

alha said:

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

War Bonds .... Savings Bonds.

Is anyone old enough to remember, when they were a 'ute, Savings Stamps?  Ya got 'em in school or at the post office. They cost a dime. When you got a book full, you took 'em to the post office and turned them in for a savings bond.

Ya can't even get a savings bond no more.

 I don't remember those Savings Stamps but your post brought to mind S&H Green Stamps, which I remember pasting into little booklets and redeeming the booklets for merchandise.

 This!  We had literally dozens of these books, saving them up for the big things!

so will Ashley market  get busier?
I think it should 

Ashley busier? I doubt it. It is only open because of the deep pockets of the owner.

Does anyone know where the Ivy Hill store mentioned by Elle Cee was located?

Losing Kings is certainly not good for business. Less people will come to town .I understand  The Trattoria is closed for a while(South Orange store is open) the Bank of America has been closed for many months, the restaurant in the new building is closed,etc. 

galileo said:

Losing Kings is certainly not good for business. Less people will come to town .I understand  The Trattoria is closed for a while(South Orange store is open) the Bank of America has been closed for many months, the restaurant in the new building is closed,etc. 

Do you think people came to downtown Maplewood specifically to shop at Kings? I'm genuinely curious.

Speaking for myself (a limited sample size) my trips to the store were usually because I was in town for something else and needed a few items at the grocery store. If I needed much more than a bag full I would probably just head to Stop and Shop. Pricing and selection being my primary motivations. (For the same reason I do my large shopping trips at Shoprite in Essex Green).

The transition from Pathmark to Stop & Shop is probably a big contributing factor. It's pretty close and an order of magnitude bigger than Kings. You've got the Trader Joe's right over in Millburn for people looking for a different shopping environment, and Whole Foods for the upper echelon shopper who might eschew the proletarian Stop and Shop but still wants a large store with lots of variety.

I'd be surprised if another grocery store would flourish in downtown Maplewood, to be honest. I think an upscale market with a butcher, bakery, cheese shop, and gourmet stuff might be a better fit given how the town is changing. And if they had a few shelves with staples that would be good too.

we go (used to go ) to town specifically to shop at kings very often and will miss it.

mrincredible said:

galileo said:

Losing Kings is certainly not good for business. Less people will come to town .I understand  The Trattoria is closed for a while(South Orange store is open) the Bank of America has been closed for many months, the restaurant in the new building is closed,etc. 

Do you think people came to downtown Maplewood specifically to shop at Kings? I'm genuinely curious.

Speaking for myself (a limited sample size) my trips to the store were usually because I was in town for something else and needed a few items at the grocery store. If I needed much more than a bag full I would probably just head to Stop and Shop. Pricing and selection being my primary motivations. (For the same reason I do my large shopping trips at Shoprite in Essex Green).

The transition from Pathmark to Stop & Shop is probably a big contributing factor. It's pretty close and an order of magnitude bigger than Kings. You've got the Trader Joe's right over in Millburn for people looking for a different shopping environment, and Whole Foods for the upper echelon shopper who might eschew the proletarian Stop and Shop but still wants a large store with lots of variety.

I'd be surprised if another grocery store would flourish in downtown Maplewood, to be honest. I think an upscale market with a butcher, bakery, cheese shop, and gourmet stuff might be a better fit given how the town is changing. And if they had a few shelves with staples that would be good too.

if most people shopped like you, the store wouldn't survive.....

oh, wait.

drummerboy said:

if most people shopped like you, the store wouldn't survive.....

oh, wait.

 So wait. It's my fault now? 

oots said:

we go (used to go ) to town specifically to shop at kings very often and will miss it.

 What brought you there? 

I would go into the Village once a week during senior hours to pick up what I needed.  Then I would head home with my purchases.  Nothing much else, was open at 7 am on a weekday. 

The attraction during pandemic was that the store would be virtually empty of customers at that early hour making it safer for us seniors/high risk individuals to do in person shopping for things like produce which can not be as reliably purchased online for home delivery.  It was also a good source for hard to find items such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and cleaning products not nearly as reliably found elsewhere.  These factors more than justified the higher prices.

I did quite a bit of shopping at Kings until Stop and Shop opened.  After that it was more just a matter of stopping in to get this or that if I was passing by.

I looked at the old map and I thought it was interesting that the only business (other than the theater) that appears on that map and in the current (figurative) phone book is Nelson's.

mrincredible - You are right. Most people didn't come down town only for Kings. It was usually just to pick up a few things there and then get pizza or something else.The parking was a big thing. Buying too much was hard to handle if you had to park a distance. Nevertheless, their deli was wonderful as was their meat department.If I wanted to splurge on filet mignon that's where I'd buy it. I will certainly miss them. Wonder how long the Short Hills store will stay open.

oots said:

we go (used to go ) to town specifically to shop at kings very often and will miss it.

Same here.  I made countless trips specifically for Kings to pick up one or a few items.  Big shopping trips are at Stop & Shop.

mrincredible said:

 What brought you there? 

 the stuff in the store

oots said:

 the stuff in the store

 All stores have stuff. I'd argue other local stores have lots more stuff. Often at lower prices. Was there stuff at Kings that was better?

mrincredible said:

 All stores have stuff. I'd argue other local stores have lots more stuff. Often at lower prices. Was there stuff at Kings that was better?

 It was super convenient if you just needed to stop in and pick up a couple of things on the way home from the train/karate class/a haircut/a movie/coffee and a scone......

Only item I could not get anyplace else:  European dark rye bread.  Kings stocked 3 or 4 varieties (from Mestermacher in Germany).

I don't do Stop & Shop (their prices for staples are too high), so Shoprite for staples and Trader Joe for the remaineder.  However, I will have to go to Short Hills Kings for my rye bread.

jamie said:

 I would think it's kinda close for them to open a second location.

 And the West Orange store is far smaller than the one in Queens.