Flashback Photos: When Atlanta shopped at the A&P

Local News

Flashback Photos: When Atlanta shopped at the A&P

From the AJC archives: Once, A&P was as ubiquitous as Starbucks, McDonald's or Walmart.

In this installment of the AJC's Flashback Fotos series, we focus on the days when the A&P supermarket was the local grocery store in many an Atlanta neighborhood. Founded in 1859, A&P finally shuttered all of its stores in 2015 after 156 years in business. Step back in time with us and see if we've found the old A&P that served your family years ago. This A&P, photographed in January 1949, was located on Flat Shoals Road in Atlanta.

In this 1929 photo, Decatur's Watkins Building housed an A&P and Rogers butcher shop.

An A&P butcher gets to work in a College Park store in this October 1967 photo.

The old A&P on Euclid Avenue in Little Five Points, shown here in March 1953, closed in the early '70s but the store building was converted to a vintage Piggly Wiggly during the Atlanta area filming of "Driving Miss Daisy" in the late 1980s.

The checkout area of the A&P Food Store at 1937 Peachtree Street as shown in the 1940s.

Shoppers' cars flank the A&P supermarket on Highland Avenue in Atlanta. This photo was taken in 1948.

Prior to Halloween 1967, these department heads look over the candy display in the College Park A&P.

Child's Pharmacy and the A&P Super Market, shown in April 1952, along Bankhead Avenue in Atlanta.

Shoppers take in deals at the A&P on 752 North Highland Avenue in December 1961. Many of A&P's stores were located in cities, a strategy that worked well for the company until customers started moving to the suburbs in the 1950s.

At its peak, A&P operated a whopping 15,709 stores around the country. By the 1950s, that number had decreased to 4,500. This Atlanta area store was photographed in the 1940s.

This 1940 photo shows the interior of the A&P at 1055 Peachtree Street and 851 Gordon Street in Atlanta.

A new A&P supermarket opens at Williamsburg Village in May 1965, complete with costumes and interviews with local media.

Talk about your direct competitors. In the 1940s, grocery chain rivals Piggly Wiggly (left) and A&P battled it out side-by-side.

On Gordon Street in Atlanta, A&P (left) fought for customers with the Piggly Wiggly right across the street in 1945.

Workers move in to fill a huge chasm under Ponce de Leon Avenue outside of the A&P in this August 1955 photo. The cavity at Penn Avenue extended 42 1/2 feet below the street and was 25 feet in diameter.

1 / 16

In this installment of the AJC's Flashback Fotos series, we focus on the days when the A&P supermarket was the local grocery store in many an Atlanta neighborhood. Founded in 1859, A&P finally shuttered all of its stores in 2015 after 156 years in business. Step back in time with us and see if we've found the old A&P that served your family years ago. This A&P, photographed in January 1949, was located on Flat Shoals Road in Atlanta.

Today's Gallery Headlines

Dream-Valkyries battle for winner-take-all Game 7 in WNBA Finals

1h ago

PHOTOS: Georgia defeats Florida in Atlanta

1h ago

PHOTOS: Pregame scenes before Florida vs. Georgia in Atlanta

PHOTOS: Famous faces from the WNBA Finals Game 6 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta

More Galleries

PHOTOS: Renderings of Amsterdam Walk redo and its first apartment building

PHOTOS: Renderings of Jamestown's North Point Mall development plan

PHOTOS: Renderings of Atlanta Botanical Garden expansion and Beltline connection

PHOTOS: Formula 1 demo brings motorsports to Atlanta