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Eisner Food Stores

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Eisner Food Stores, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary of The Jewel Companies, Inc.
IndustryRetail
Founded1901; 125 years ago (1901)
DefunctTemplate:End date and age
FateConverted to Jewel brand
Headquarters
Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
Area served
Central regions of Illinois and Indiana
Productssupermarket and food-drug retail outlets
Parent
SubsidiariesBig E Warehouse Foods

Eisner Food Stores operated as a supermarket chain across Illinois and Indiana. In 1957, it became part of The Jewel Companies, Inc.. By 1985, the Eisner brand was phased out and replaced with the Jewel name.

History

Albert Eisner, Sr. (1851-1926), originally from Hungary, established the Eisner Grocery Company in June 1906 in Champaign, Illinois. In 1919, he secured a franchise deal with Piggly Wiggly, recognized as the pioneering self-service grocery chain,[1] launching several Piggly Wiggly stores in Champaign and nearby communities. These locations were eventually rebranded to Eisner stores after the franchise agreement was terminated in 1951 under the leadership of Albert Eisner, Jr. (1885-1980).[2][3] Following Albert Eisner, Sr.'s passing in 1926, his son Albert Jr. assumed control, expanding the company to over 40 supermarket locations across downstate Illinois and western Indiana by the 1950s.

Acquisition by Jewel

In 1957, The Jewel Companies, Inc. completed the purchase of Eisner Food Stores, which operated 41 locations across Illinois and Indiana. Management of Eisner remained based in Champaign, Illinois after the acquisition. Over the subsequent years, the Eisner outlets gradually adopted a look and marketing approach that closely mirrored Jewel’s branding and retail style.

Eisner-Osco Family Centers

The initial integration of an Eisner Food Store with an Osco Drug store occurred in September 1970 in Lafayette, Indiana, marking the debut of the Eisner-Osco Family Center concept. These two stores were positioned adjacent to each other beneath a shared roof, separated by a partial divider, while utilizing a common entrance and exit area but maintaining distinct checkout counters. This layout later became recognized as a side-by-side partitioned store format. Within the same year, a second Eisner-Osco Family Center was launched in Bloomington, Indiana.

By March 1971, a similar family center opened its doors in Decatur, Illinois. This facility featured an Osco Drug store alongside an Eisner Food Store located within Northgate Mall. The Osco outlet was notable as the 186th store since its founding in 1937 and served customers across 16 states. The Eisner store represented the 35th in the Illinois and Indiana region. Both stores were owned by Jewel and situated next to each other, with retail spaces measuring approximately 21,000 and 10,000 square feet respectively.

In November 1972, Indianapolis saw the introduction of its first two Eisner Food-Osco Drug Family Shopping Centers. Each location offered around 40,000 square feet of retail space. Over the next three years, three additional centers opened in Indianapolis, bringing the total to five combined food and drug store facilities in the city.

Combo stores

Beginning in 1980, Jewel initiated the development of what came to be known as Eisner-Osco Combo stores. These new locations eliminated physical barriers between the two retail sections, allowing merchandise from both to be displayed together on a unified sales floor and purchased at a single checkout area. Electronic cash registers, integrated with computer systems, were utilized to allocate transactions correctly between the two store departments. The first Eisner-Osco Combo store debuted in Mattoon in January 1981.[4] In July 1982, another Eisner-Osco combo store opened its doors in Bloomington, Indiana.[5]

Turn-Style/Eisner Family Centers

In late 1970, Jewel introduced three Turn-Style/Eisner Family Centers in Indianapolis that merged a Turn Style discount department store with an Eisner Food store inside a single building.[6][7] However, this combined format was short-lived; by November 1977, all three Turn Style stores within these family centers had been converted into Osco Drug stores.[8][9]

Big E Warehouse Foods

In 1976, Eisner launched a warehouse store concept named Big E Warehouse Foods, which offered groceries and various products at significantly reduced prices. Initially, several Big E locations opened in Indianapolis, marking the city's introduction to a no-frills shopping experience. These stores operated under Eisner Food Stores, a subsidiary of the Jewel Company. Most of the Big E outlets emerged by transforming existing Eisner supermarkets into warehouse-style stores.

The Big E stores targeted budget-conscious consumers, particularly factory workers, emphasizing low costs over convenience. The shopping environment featured recorded country music and deliberately avoided amenities such as free bags, carry-out service, or upscale store fixtures. The initial conversions included a Turn Style location that had underperformed previously.

By August 1977, the chain had expanded to eight stores in Indianapolis, all converted from former Eisner supermarket sites. However, this venture struggled financially and was short-lived. In 1983, Eisner sold five of its Big E stores in Indianapolis to competitor Preston-Safeway, resulting in significant layoffs. The remaining three stores were closed later that year due to unprofitability.

Additionally, during the same era, a Big E Warehouse replaced an underperforming Jewel Food store adjacent to a Turn-Style discount department store in Racine, Wisconsin.

End of the Eisner brand

In 1984, the parent company of Eisner, Jewel Companies, was unable to withstand a costly hostile takeover attempt by American Stores. Following this acquisition, American Stores opted to reduce expenses by integrating Eisner directly into Jewel and rebranding all Eisner locations under the Jewel name in 1985. Gradually, the former Eisner assets were divested. One of the earliest disposals was the Eisner warehouse in Champaign, sold in 1986. The closure of this warehouse led to diminished profitability for many ex-Eisner outlets, as they then relied on the more distant Jewel distribution center located in Melrose Park, which contributed to further store closures.

Within central Indiana, Jewel divested its two Bloomington stores in January 1990. Subsequently, all three Jewel stores in Lafayette ceased operations in May 1994 due to prolonged unprofitability. These closures marked the end of Jewel’s presence in that region after years of financial losses.

Similarly, several former Eisner locations in central Illinois were shuttered over time: Mattoon stores closed in 1991; Decatur locations followed suit in 1995; Champaign-Urbana outlets ended operations in 1998; and Springfield stores were closed by 2006. Each closure reflected ongoing challenges in maintaining profitability under the Jewel banner after the Eisner brand was phased out.

Central Indiana

The Eisner Grocery Company established its operations in Lafayette, Indiana, beginning in May 1925 with the launch of its inaugural store under the Piggly Wiggly banner.[10] By November 1951, as the company transitioned its Piggly Wiggly outlets to the Eisner Food Stores brand,[3] it was operating two locations in Lafayette.[11] In September 1970, a new Eisner-Osco Family Center debuted in West Lafayette, complementing three other Eisner stores already serving the greater Lafayette region.[12]

Expansion continued with the opening of an Eisner-Osco Family Center in Bloomington, Indiana, in November 1970.[13][14] This marked the company's initial entry into Southern Indiana. Later, in July 1982, a second Eisner-Osco store was introduced in Bloomington.[5]

In Indianapolis, the Eisner brand made its debut during the fall of 1970 through three Turn-Style/Eisner Family Centers.[6][7] The brand further extended its presence within Indianapolis by opening two Eisner-Osco Family Shopping Centers in November 1972,[15][16] followed by additional openings: a third Eisner-Osco store in August 1973,[17] a fourth in August 1974,[18] and a fifth in April 1975.[19][20]

By the close of 1976, all three Eisner Food stores adjacent to Turn-Style locations in Indianapolis had been transformed into Big E Warehouse Foods outlets,[21][22] and by the end of 1977, the Turn-Style stores themselves were converted into Osco drugstores.[8] Subsequently, by August 1977, the remaining five Eisner Food stores next to Osco drugstores also transitioned into Big E Warehouse Foods.[23] In 1983, Preston-Safeway acquired five of the eight Big E stores located in Indianapolis,[24] with the remaining three closing that same year. This development marked Eisner’s exit from the Indianapolis grocery market while maintaining operations in Lafayette and Bloomington.[25]

The Eisner brand ceased to exist within Indiana when the last three stores in Lafayette and two stores in Bloomington were rebranded as Jewel outlets in May 1985.[13][26]

Eisner Park

In 1944, the Eisner family gifted a 4-acre parcel to the city of Champaign, intended for park development. Subsequently, the area was named Eisner Park to honor their contribution.

See also

References

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  4. ↑ The Eisner-Osco in Charleston maintained a partitioned layout, referred to as a "side-by-side," whereas the larger Mattoon Eisner-Osco was designed as a "combo" store, according to Carl Kolpin, Osco Drugs' manager there. This format streamlines shopping by permitting customers to pay for all items through one checkout lane. The Mattoon facility spans ... square feet, with approximately 60 percent dedicated to groceries and 40 percent to drugstore products. Notably, this was the first Eisner-Osco location constructed from the ground up featuring shared registers for both departments. The store provides eight standard checkout lanes alongside two express lanes for faster service. Carry-out assistance is also available. Without any dividing walls, patrons can place food and non-food items into the same basket and complete their purchase at one register.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Osco Drug Co. launched a new Eisner-Osco location within Whitehall Plaza at 3477 West Third Street in Bloomington.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 These centers pioneered a self-service concept combining specialty shops under one roof for both food and department store merchandise. The inaugural public preview took place on October 17, 1970, at two locations: 7803 East Washington Street and 8040 South U.S. 31. Each of these expansive 127,000-square-foot complexes featured distinct specialty shops identified by unique colors and decorative themes.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 A third Turn-Style Family Center opened November 15 at West 38th and High School Road near I-465, increasing Turn-Style’s Indianapolis presence to three stores and expanding employment to approximately 900 staff across Turn-Style and Eisner food operations. Similar to the earlier centers, this new location offered 127,000 square feet of retail space.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 John Spurlock, vice president and COO of Turn Style, announced that the conversion of three Indianapolis Turn Style locations into Osco Drugstores would be completed by November.
  9. ↑ The remodeling process allowed stores to remain operational during transition. Osco Drug and Turn-Style, along with Eisner food stores adjacent to Osco locations in Indianapolis, were all subsidiaries under Jewel Companies Inc.
  10. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ljc-1925may22
  11. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ljc-1951nov01
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named jlc-1970sep24
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named bht-1985may08
  14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named btm-1970nov22
  15. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1972nov16
  16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indynews-1972nov14
  17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1973aug08
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1974aug12
  19. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indynews-1975apr29
  20. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1975apr29
  21. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indynews-1976oct12
  22. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1977jan23
  23. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1977aug04
  24. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1983mar22
  25. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named indystar-1983nov03
  26. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named jlc-1985may14

Template:Supermarkets of the United States

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