Two whole pages and no love for the late, lamented Food Villa in Fairfax!

I was very young when my dad had his store down there, but I remember conversations about the Purity market came in..and that's when my dad decided to shut down..

HowieCA666 wrote:

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The Safeway on B Street did have a skanky reputation, and for many years I refused to shop there,but no more. It was remodeled several years ago and then further upgraded just a few months ago, and now it look more like Whole Foods, without the high prices. Check it out and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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Sorry to hear you did not like to shop a B street Safeway. I worked there from 86 to 92 and it was a blast. You never new what the junkies or homeless were going to do. Boy do I have some stories to tell.

Jam, Whole Foods was SoCal chain Mayfair Market, then Alpha-Beta, then Parducci's Market.

Anyone recall what was on that block long spot before Mayfair, or who Parducci's was ?
The wine family is the only wild guess I have.

25 cent scoops at Thrifty was high for us. I remember the three scoop sizes going for 5-10-15,
10-15-20, and 15-25-35c. Thrifty ice cream is still there at, I'm guessing 1.50, 2.50, and 3.50.

The Whole Foods in San Rafael used to be Alpha Beta and then was it a Bell Market?

And in Montecito shopping center across the street the Rite-Aid (I think that's what's there) used to be Thrifty where we children of the late 70s could buy a scoop of ice cream for a quarter.

My family always did our shopping at the United Markets (the one closer to San Anselmo especially) which are still going strong, and what used to be Living Foods, then Wild Oats, now...? (I should know this since I drive by there often enough, but this is what comes of spending the majority of your life in one place)

The only Safeway in San Rafael that I remember is the one that's still on B street and always had a skanky reputation...perhaps it still does. I spent more time at the 7-11 across the street, getting slurpees.

Longer than that Paul, I bought a sando there yesterday. Same family I think, too.

Bobs' Market was on Bridgeway, south of town..the current location of Venice Wine and Deli. It sat on Bridgeway, right across from the water.

I have a postcard from the 50's or 60's that is taken from a boat that shows the market (it was my Dad's market).

Rich, Was Budworth's in the spot that was later Lee's Market ?

Just guessing, while waiting to hear more about Bobs'.

Does anyone remember Bobs' Market on Bridgeway in Sausalito? Owned by two Bobs..hence the appostrophe after the S?

a couple of the best groceries where Guasco's. One in kentfield, now the Pacific Cage, next to what was John Appostolis garage. The other Guasco market was in San Anselmo, sort of where Center blvd met the Hub.

Rob, do you remember there being a hardware store in the building between Madera Foods & Tamalpais Drive? I have foggy memories of there being one there run by the Richards family, the one up by Parkside Market is a clearer memory, is it possible we had 2 in town at the same time?

How about King Henry VIII in kentfield and san rafael, also a&w drive in in san rafael, copper penny in corte madera, sam' in san rafael, i clearly don't ever recall an Arby's in CMC, & i've been here all my life! How about Parkside Market in old town corte madera,
Madera Foods in corte madera, Petrini's in greenbrae, Lee's Market in san rafael.

Paul wrote:

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Paul Penna , did you dad ever work with Chalmer Betterton, he told me he worked at the old Safeway store on San Anselmo Ave.

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No, that name doesn't ring a bell. If he was a member of the Retail Clerk's Union, my father might have met him at one of the meetings he occasionally went to, but I never heard him mention the name.

Blackie wrote:

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Do you remember Charlie's Market on 4th in SR? Run by a very nice man that let us kids run around and look at the magazines (clean, of course... the Playboys were hidden).

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Would that have been way out on 4th, in the San Anselmo direction, maybe in the 1500-1700 blocks? If so, my mother made special trips up there from Larkspur from time to time, to get frshly made ravioli..

My father, Guy Penna, was a life-long groceryman. Started in San Francisco in the late 20s, eventually advanced to Manager positions in Skaggs, later Safeway stores. Those were pre-supermarket days when size-wise a Safeway was similar to a Mom-and-Pop store. Later he opened his own store in the Mission, the "Deluxe Groceteria." I don't care what anybody says, I think that's one of the all-time great store names.

After selling his store around 1950, he spent the rest of his working life at various Marin markets. First at the Rainbow Market in Larkspur (see him here). After that, a couple years at the Home Market in San Anselmo (on San Anselmo Ave., a block or so south of Tunstead). Then quite a few years at the Jolly Store in Kentfield (now the Woodlands Market). Later, Jolly opened or took over a market in Fairfax, later selling out to Cala, where he worked until his retirement in 1966. He took a few part-time jobs after that, one at a market in Mill Valley, and also the Paradise Market in Corte Madera.

Speaking of smaller markets, there was Pastori's on Sir Francis Drake in Fairfax. I remember that one because my godmother lived on Alder Court a couple blocks away. Whenever she was hosting a big shindig for our two families, there always seemed to be some last minute thing that was needed and some of us would head over to Pastori's to pick it up. Often some Italian specialty, like foccacia.

Someone was nice enough to list previous San Anselmo Safeways so here is the Mill Valley line up.
I believe they first opened at Throckmorton & Bernard which was later Old Mill Tavern and now Vasco.
Then moved to E. Blithedale and Sunnyside which became Golden Gate Market
and then Golden Valley Mkt and now is a bank.
Then they built the store at Miller Ave. and Camino Alto which had a parking lot on both sides. Later they built the current store in the northside lot and the tore down the old one.

I think Whole Foods was called G & G with Gosser's Meats.

Jolly King Liquors was the liquor department for Top Hat Mkt which became Food King and then The Port and now Marin Theatre Co. etc.

Another good sized market was Food Mart which last I looked was a floor covering store at E. Blithedale and Dell Ln. and also Purity where the Cantina Center is today.

I remember a small old timey grocery accross from Old Mill School, also one
at Montford Ave. and Locke Lane and another where 7-Eleven Tam Valley is.

Where were the previous San Rafael Safeways ?

I don't think we ever had an Albertson's before Mayfair turned into Alpha-Beta then Lucky then Albertson's except Larkspur Landing which was built as Fry's, became Save Mart then Lucky's.
I heard Save Mart was buying some Albertson's so they may be back.

The remaining Bell Mkts are now DeLano's Markets

golden valley market in mill valley was where westamerica bank is now - corner of sunnyside and blithedale

before living foods opened next to sweetwater, gv market had organic produce

and the red cart market was where long's is now

I cannot remember the name, but who ever owned the Flatiron in SR back around 1994 bought his BBQ sauce recipe and had his name on the ribs they sold.

I used to love to get the Hot link wrapped in the burrito w/bbq. His side were great too.

Does anyone remember the name of the BBQ place in the front of the store of the Corte Madera Co-op?

Red Cart
Petrini's (especially loved the deli and the wine department)
Co op with the natural food store adjacent
Golden Gate Market in Mill Valley near Lawson's Drug Store (Dotty was always there and scared me)
Purity

There were two Safeway locations in San Anselmo before they moved to Red Hill in the '60s: The first was where Insalata's is now, the second at the now-post office. The PO was once in the building where Comforts is; you can see the logo still on the building. It was also on Tunstead. There was a KFC at the hub, along with an Orange Julius and nearby Taco Bell and Jack-in-the-Box (still there).

I remember the old grocery store next to the Lark Theater, small with wood floors, old guy running it, very old-school for the '70s.

Anybody remember SunKiss at Yolanda Station? Campolindo next to the Lions Share? Or when Van Morrison's parents ran the record store in Fairfax?

there is a kfc in mill valley. one in san rafael that was just torn down but is being rebuilt.
the yardbirds site was also an alpha beta supermarket.
fairfax bell was jolly, then cala, now bell.

Cala market in Corte Madera, had those yellow, orange and red stripes on the front. They had a mechanical horse out front, too. Their liquor department was sort of separate, divided by a half wall topped by glass, up in the front of the store. Very mysterious when you were a kid. There used to be a carnival in the front parking lot of Cala, during the summer. My dad talked me into going on the Zipper, when I was about 11. I was terrified!
It was called Littlemans before it was Cala.

I can't remember when the motor movies were torn down. I do remember going with my family, to see Paint Your Wagon. I slept through most of it, until all the barrels of gunpowder started exploding.

Cathleen