Special offer
Home > Blogs > Barbara S. Duncan > Barbara Duncan's blog
bookmark_border

Downtown Searcy Arkansas Safeway Store....a long time ago.

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage

 

 Safeway StoreInside Safeway

 

Today we have wonderful photos loaned to me by the daughter of the first manager of Safeway in Searcy AR.  It was on one of the main streets of Searcy, right in the middle of downtown.  It's hard for us to imagine now that people went DOWNTOWN to shop for groceries.  Horrors!  Where'd they park?  How'd they push the carts to their car to load the groceries? 

She has also included a picture of the inside of the store!  Not a vast selection of groceries, was there?

And the most interesting thing of all could be the street showing in front of the stores.  Brick!  It looks like it would be the old original brick pavers that was later covered with asphalt.  The city thinks they might be able to get the asphalt off but sounds like a terribly hard job to me. 

Thank you Paula Windsor Thompson for loaning me the photos.

Show All Comments
Karen Gentry>>Charlottesville, Virginia Real Estate Professional
RE/MAX Excellence-Charlottesville VA - Charlottesville, VA

Barbara, that is really neat.  We used to have a Safeway here, years ago.  The buildings remind me of our downtown mall today.

May 28, 2008 09:33 AM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

Absolutely stunning pictures Barbara. It really does show us all how times keep changing doesn't it?

May 28, 2008 01:57 PM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Karen, thanks for stopping by.  This Safeway store predates my living in this town but the store buildings are still there and are fascinating.

Gary, thanks for looking at our little town picture.  We are working on restoring downtown and this section is now undergoing renovation.

May 28, 2008 02:16 PM
Jennifer Davis
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR

Barbara, where exactly was that Safeway located?

May 28, 2008 08:50 PM
Charlottesville Solutions
Charlottesville Solutions - Charlottesville, VA

Now those photos are hard to beat. I love the way the cans are so neat on the shelves! Those were the days :-)

Your friend in Charlottesville!

May 29, 2008 12:08 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

It was beside the Lee Biggs (now) law office.  Where Cothern's Mens Store was.

Charles, thanks for looking and commenting.  Your photos will someday be viewed like these because you do such good photography.

May 29, 2008 12:16 AM
Anonymous
Anita Fuller

My memory of the store was smelling the ground coffee beans when you entered the store.  As  little girl, growing up in Searcy, we NEVER bought unground coffee beans!  At Safeway they were ground, put in "sacks" (paper bags to you Northerners)....just like they do now at Starbucks, and most other groc. stores.   As my husband's father was manager of the rival Kroger's...I'll probably get some flak.  Kroger's probably ground the coffee beans, too. 

May 29, 2008 12:49 AM
#7
Anonymous
Paula

I took the pictures using the camera I won at the Family Shoe Store in 1948.

The pictures were for a Girl Scout Photography Merit Badge. The task was to take pictures

of buldings in Searcy. I have a personal web page where all the pictures may be seen but

unfortunately I can't put ithe URL link in this comment because the comment won't show. Tried it twice.

Some of the scenes on the webpage are postcards so I take no credit for them.

I remember playing in the Safeway store after hours when I was about 6 years old. My favorite

memory is the spilled coffee around the grinder and the wonderfull odor it produced. I also loved to

play with all the empty boxes while daddy finished up his work. Wonder if grocery stores let kids

in the back today??

Paula Anne

May 29, 2008 03:33 AM
#8
Mary PAUL, ABR, CRS,GRI, e-PRO,
RE/MAX Advantage Realtors, Searcy, AR - Searcy, AR

Barbara,

Great photo!  I also remember that Headlee's Drug moved into the old Van Atkins building, they served lunch and had great chicken salad sandwiches.

May 29, 2008 04:39 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Anita, aren't those memories great!!  Thanks for the comments.

Paula, the pictures you made were great.  Next I'll do you holding your winning prize in front of the Family Shoe Store.  Thanks for comments!!

Mary, aren't the old photos great.  You need to meet Anita and Paula, who supplied them to me.

 

May 29, 2008 01:49 PM
Anonymous
Beth Hogue

Oh, Barbara! I have looked at so many of your old photos and this one took my breath away! I love to see Searcy the way it was! Thank you so much for introducing my town to me!

Beth Hogue

Jul 07, 2008 01:21 PM
#11
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Beth, thanks for the comments.  I'm glad you enjoyed the old photos.  They were shared by my friends.

Jul 07, 2008 01:38 PM
Anonymous
Sharon Whiteman Johnson

Didn't Safeway or some grocery store used to be located where Regions bank is today.  It had an covered parking lot that was dark

Jul 10, 2013 02:41 AM
#13
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Sharon, the Searcy Sleuths would know the answer to this question probably.  Perhaps they will chime in.

Jul 10, 2013 10:20 AM
Don Thompson
Donthomp Associates - Sunnyvale, CA

I'm surprised folks can't see the store is next to Headlee Drug Store which was at 

Spring and Market.

Apr 10, 2017 04:16 PM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

But Don, Headlee ended up across the street which could add to confusion!

Apr 10, 2017 06:15 PM
Anonymous
K. D.

My dad was born in Searcy in 1935. I bet my grandparents shopped in that same Safeway!

Jul 28, 2018 03:22 PM
#17
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

K. D., who were your parents?  The Searcy  Sleuths may remember him.

Jul 28, 2018 05:02 PM
Back to Top

What's the reason you're reporting this blog entry?

Are you sure you want to report this blog entry as spam?