Hills Supermarkets
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Grocery store |
| Founder | H. Frederick Hill |
| Fate | Sold to Pantry Pride in 1977; stores closed by 1978 |
| Headquarters | New York , United States |
Area served | New York |
Hills Supermarkets, a grocery store chain headquartered in New York, was owned by H. Frederick Hill and gained significant popularity during the 1960s. In May 1977, the chain was sold as a division of Pueblo International Inc. to Pantry Pride.
Expansion
In March 1955, Hills Supermarkets secured a lease for 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) at the Pine Oaks Shopping Center, located on Boundary Avenue in North Massapequa, New York. The subsequent month, the company entered into a fifteen-year lease agreement for a new store at the Hub Shopping Center, roughly one mile north of Amityville, New York.
By October 1961, Hills operated 23 stores and had plans to inaugurate seven additional locations along with expanding an eighth within the upcoming year. Each new store was designed to cover approximately 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2), except for one larger outlet in the Walt Whitman Shopping Center in Huntington, New York, which spanned 29,000 square feet.
As of December 1972, the Hills supermarket network had grown to encompass 75 outlets.
Decline and Closure
Between 1974 and November 1976, Pueblo International, Inc. shut down 29 Hills stores and also closed a distribution center situated in Brentwood, New York. By 1977, the financially troubled chain—comprising 43 stores—was sold to Food Fair for approximately $7 million. Following Food Fair’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in October 1978, nearly all remaining Hills locations—42 stores—were closed soon after.
In 1979, amidst the roller disco craze, the former Hills store at 1276 Hicksville Rd, Seaford, NY 11783 was converted into a United Skates of America facility, which continues to operate today.