Eisner Food Stores Explained

Eisner Food Stores, Inc.
Type:Subsidiary of The Jewel Companies, Inc.
Fate:Rebranded as Jewel
Industry:Retail
Products:supermarkets/food-drug stores
Parent:
Hq Location City:Champaign, Illinois, U.S.
Subsid:Big E Warehouse Foods

Eisner Food Stores was a chain of supermarkets in Illinois and Indiana. It was acquired by The Jewel Companies, Inc. in 1957. The Eisner stores were rebranded as Jewel in 1985.

History

Albert Eisner, Sr. (1851-1926), a Hungarian immigrant, incorporated Eisner Grocery Company in June 1906 in Champaign, Illinois. In 1919, he entered into a franchise agreement with Piggly Wiggly, the first self-serve grocery store,[1] and opened a few Piggly Wiggly locations in Champaign and the surrounding areas. Those stores would later rebrand to Eisner stores when the franchise agreement was ended in 1951 by his son, Albert Eisner, Jr. (1885-1980).[2] Eisner, Jr. took over after his father's death in 1926, and by the 1950s, Eisner Grocery Company had more than 40 supermarkets in downstate Illinois and Western Indiana.

Acquisition by Jewel

In 1957, The Jewel Companies, Inc. acquired Eisner Food Stores with its 41 stores in Illinois and Indiana.[3] [4] Eisner continued to be managed from Champaign, Illinois. Within a few years, the Eisner stores began closely resembling Jewel in appearance and marketing strategies.

Eisner-Osco Family Centers

In Indianapolis, Eisner opened the first two Eisner Food-Osco Drug Family Shopping Centers in 1972 in which an Eisner Food and an Osco Drug are placed side-by-side underneath a single roof and separate by a partial wall.[5]

Following the acquisition by Jewel, most Eisner stores were remodeled into Eisner-Osco stores, which combined the products Eisner and Osco Drug sold. The new stores included common checkout stands but separate store management, all under one roof.

Turn-Style/Eisner Family Centers

In Indianapolis, Jewel opened three Turn-Style/Eisner Family Centers in late 1970 that combined the two stores under one roof.[6] [7] This concept did not last very long and the three Indianapolis family centers were converted into Osco Drug stores in 1977.[8]

Big E Warehouse Foods

In 1977, Eisner created a warehouse store chain called Big E Warehouse Foods which sold food and other items at deep discounts.[9] [10] This money-losing experiment did not last very long. In Indianapolis, Eisner sold five out of eight Big E stores to rival Preston-Safeway[11] while closing the remain three stores in 1983.[12]

Demise of the Eisner brand

In 1984, Eisner's parent, the Jewel Companies was unable to defend itself from a very expensive hostile takeover by American Stores.[13] After the takeover, American Stores decided to save money by merging Eisner directly into Jewel, converting all stores to the Jewel name,[14] [15] and slowly started to sell off the former Eisner properties. One of the first properties to let go was the former Eisner warehouse facility in Champaign in 1986.[16] With the Champaign warehouse facility gone, many former Eisner locations became less profitable since they had to be serviced from the more distant Jewel warehouse at Melrose Park, justifying the elimination of those locations. The west central Indiana stores, three in Lafayette and two in Bloomington, were sold off in 1990.[17] Jewel also closed central Illinois locations that were formerly Eisner in Decatur (in 1995),[18] Champaign-Urbana (in 1998),[19] and Springfield (2006).[20]

Eisner Park

In 1944, the Eisner family donated 4-acres of land to the city of Champaign for use as a park. The park was later renamed Eisner Park in their honor.[21] [22] [23]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eisner Food Store · Early Jewish Life in Champaign-Urbana · Champaign County Historical Archives . 2023-03-17 . urbanafree.omeka.net.
  2. Web site: Kathy's #Mailbag, Feb. 3, 2023 . 2023-03-17 . The News-Gazette . en.
  3. News: Jewel Tea Acquires Eisner . . March 14, 1957 . 4 . . Jewel Tea Co. completed acquisition of Eisner Grocery Co. of Champaign, Ill., a chain of 41 stores in Illinois and Indiana, through exchange of stock..
  4. News: Eisner chain, Jewel effect stock merger: Make Disclosure at Celebration . . March 13, 1957 . B7 . . The merger of Jewel Tea Company and Eisner Grocery Company, operator of 41 stores in central Illinois and west central Indiana, thru an exchange of stock has been formally completed..
  5. News: Happenings . . November 16, 1972 . 71 . subscription . Two new combination food store-drug store facilities operated as Eisner Food-Osco Drug Family Shopping Centers, open today at 8902 East 38th Street and 3902 South Madison Avenue. Each store contains 40,000 square feet of operating space..
  6. News: Turn-Style, Eisner Open Today . . October 17, 1970 . 29 . . Self-service merchandising will take a new turn today, into specialty shops under a single roof for food and department store items, with the preview opening of two Turn-Style Family centers and Eisner Food stores. An "open house" preview for the public will be held today from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the two new-store locations, 7803 East Washington Street and 8040 South U.S. 31. Unique in the mass-merchandising field, the 127,000-square-foot Turn-Style and Eisner combination is designed as a series of self-service specialty shops, each distinguished by its own identifying color and decorative motif..
  7. News: Turn-Style Adds 3rd Unit . . November 5, 1970 . 35 . subscription . A new Turn-Style Family Center will open in Indianapolis Nov. 15 at West 38th and High School Road near 1-465, bringing to three the Turn-Styles in the city. The additional store brings to 900 the number of employes in the Turn-Style and Eisner food store operations in Indianapolis. Like the stores on East Washington near 1-465 and the one on U.S. 31 South, the West 38th operation will have 127,000 square feet of sales space..
  8. News: Happenings . . June 24, 1977 . 43 . . Three Indianapolis Turn Style stores will be converted to Osco Drugstores, John Spurlock, vice-president and chief operating officer of Turn Style announced... Transition is scheduled to be completed in November..
  9. Book: Curtis . Mann . Melinda . Garvert . [{{Google books|id=NwZtDQAAQBAJ|title=Springfield|page=PA54|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} Springfield ]. 54 . Arcadia Publishing . 2017 . 9781467124232.
  10. News: Shopping Experiment Proves It's Savings Over Convenience . John H. . Lyst . . January 23, 1977 . B13 . . The current competition has been fueled by the recent conversion of three former Eisner Food Stores to "Big E Warehouse" stores by parent Jewel Company, itself battered by a big price war in Chicago last year. Aimed at the bargain-minded factory worker, the Big E stores play recorded country music for the shopping folks and make a point offering "no free bags, co carry out and no fancy fixtures... no games, no gimmicks, just low prices." Located on the East, South, and Westsides, the three stores were all conversions, the first a Turn Style store that hadn't been doing that as well as expected..
  11. News: 5 Indianapolis Big E stores sold to Preston-Safeway . Kyle . Niederpruem . . March 22, 1983 . 24 . . Eisner Food Stores has sold five of its Big E Warehouse operations for an undisclosed sun to Preston-Safeway grocery chain leaving two-thirds of the Big E employees out of work. The five store will be closed for remodeling April 16 and will reopen later as Preston-Safeway Food Stores..
  12. News: Eisner will close last 3 Big E stores here . . November 3, 1983 . 42 . . Eisner Food Stores close its three remsining Big E Warehouse Food store in Indianapolis Nov. 26. A spokesman for the Illinois company said Wednesday the closing is "quite simply to a lack of profits"..
  13. News: New American Bid Gets Jewel . . June 15, 1984 . Steven . Greenhouse.
  14. News: Eisners have a new name and new look . . May 8, 1985 . 19 . . Eisner Food Stores in Bloomington opened this week with a new name, Jewel Food Stores, the name of the parent company, and a new look. Jewel purchased the Champaign. Ill.-based Eisner Food Store in the 1960s. The first Bloomington Eisner store and a sister Osco Drug Store was opened at 514 College Mall Road in 1970 and was remodeled in 1977. A second Eisner, which also included an Osco Drug Store, was opened in the Whitehall Plaza shopping Center in 1982. Jewel, the suburban Chicago-based regional chain of over 200 super-markets in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan, was founded over half century ago, In 1984 Jewel was acquired by American Stores Co..
  15. News: From the J&C Archives: June 29, 2015 . . June 29, 2015 . . 19th (last) picture in image gallery . Joe Rupp, top, and Jim Volland, bottom, of Doyle Sign Co. in Chicago change the Eisner Food Store and Osco Drug sign, 950 Navjo Drive, West Lafayette, to Jewel and Osco. Jewel Food Stores Inc. has announced that more grocery items and remodeled departments are part of a new image the company is presenting this month while changing the three Greater Lafayette Eisner Food Stores signs to Jewel. Photo taken July 3, 1985..
  16. News: Gateway will replace Jewel as Eisner supplier. . https://web.archive.org/web/20150904053027/http://business.highbeam.com/4524/article-1G1-4479579/gateway-replace-jewel-eisner-supplier . dead . September 4, 2015 . Supermarket News . October 27, 1986 . . Gateway will replace Jewel as supplier of products and services to the more than 60 independently owned and operated Eisner stores in Illinois. The Eisner stores had been supplied by Jewel's Champaign, Ill., warehouse, which is scheduled to close Oct. 31 and is for sale, according to a Jewel spokesman..
  17. News: Jewel plans to close Bloomington stores . . December 27, 1989 . . subscription . Bloomington's two Jewel Food Stores will close Jan. 10, the company announced late Tuesday. The assets of the stores - one at 512 College Mall Road and the other in Whitehall Plaza - will be purchased by Wetterau Inc., the St. Louis, Mo.-based food distributor that has a large warehouse and distribution operation in Bloomington. The east-side Jewel is expected to become a Mr. D's and the west-side store to become an IGA. Jewel came to Bloomington about 10 years ago when it purchased the Eisner Co., which operated the 512 College Mall Road store. The west-side Jewel/Osco opened in Whitehall Plaza when it was built. . https://web.archive.org/web/20150904053027/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=HTBIN&p_theme=htbin&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=144EAB1B363A4748&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM . 2015-09-04 . dead.
  18. News: Jewel to close 2 stores - Osco Drug Stores will remain open . . January 8, 1995 . A1 . Ted . Kleine . subscription . The city’s two Jewel stores will close Jan. 28, laying off 115 workers, the company announced Saturday. Both stores were formerly called Eisner. The name was changed in the mid-1980s when Jewel Food Stores, the parent company, was bought by American Store Co. . https://web.archive.org/web/20150904053027/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DH&p_theme=dh&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=104066BF5853740A&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM . 2015-09-04 . dead.
  19. News: Jewel will close down two C-U stores after April 18 . . April 6, 1998 . Anne . Cook . subscription . The Jewel stores in Champaign and Urbana will close for good after the business day April 18, managers said. . https://web.archive.org/web/20150904053027/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CNGB&p_theme=cngb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FABA2B1C208B9F4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM . 2015-09-04 . dead.
  20. News: Local Jewels to close, reopen / Unidentified new owners plan month of renovations . . July 21, 2006 . 1 . Tim . Landis . subscription . The two Jewel-Osco stores in Springfield are expected to close by early fall, apparently for renovation and new ownership. . https://web.archive.org/web/20150904053027/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=JR&p_theme=jr&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1131561959334B40&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM . 2015-09-04 . dead.
  21. Web site: Eisner Park . Champaign Park District. 19 December 2016 .
  22. Web site: Eisner Park (formerly West End Park) . ExploreCU . University Library, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
  23. News: What's in a name? Eisner Park . Marcus . Jackson . April 1, 2016 . The News-Gazette.

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