No more shopping: the dead A&P Supermarket of Vicksburg

Former A&P supermarket, 1016 Mission 66, Vicksburg (Panasonic G3 digital camera)

When my wife and I first moved to Vicksburg, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, still operated two supermarkets in town. One was at 1016 Mission 66. The other was at the location now occupied by Fred's Super Dollar at 3427 Halls Ferry Road. By the mid-1980s, A&P was already a tired old company with unattractive stores, uninteresting food merchandise, and, to be blunt, questionable maintenance and cleanliness.

The company started as a coffee and tea company in 1859. It grew rapidly in the late-1800s, and by the early 20th century, the A&P was one of the world's largest retailers. According to Wikipedia,

"In 1930, A&P, now the world's largest retailer, reached $2.9 billion in sales ($44.4 billion today) with 16,000 stores. In 1936, it adopted the self-serve supermarket concept and opened 4,000 larger stores (while phasing out many of its smaller units) by 1950. 

A&P's decline began in the early 1950s, when it failed to keep pace with competitors that opened larger supermarkets with more modern features demanded by customers. By the 1970s, A&P stores were outdated, and its efforts to combat high operating costs resulted in poor customer service."

A new CEO tried to save the company in 2010 by developing "Values,""Goals," "Strategies," and "Burning imperatives."

"The burning imperative is a sharply defined, intensely shared, and purposefully urgent understanding from each of the team members of what they are “supposed to do, now.” Get this created and bought into early on—even if it’s only 90 percent right. You, and the team, will adjust and improve along the way." (from Forbes, 2011)

OK, well, you know where that went. Whenever some CEO starts to blather about goals or values, run.

I recall shopping (rarely) at the A&P in Warwick, Rhode Island, in the late 1970s, and being unimpressed with the ambience or experience. I recall a very smelly bag of potatoes because one deep inside was rotted.

Oddly enough, A&P's Bokar coffee was pretty good, and in the 1980s, A&P may have been the only source for coffee beans in Vicksburg. Yes, Vicksburg was a coffee desert back then. I usually mail-ordered coffee beans from Houston, Texas, but occasionally I was caught beanless and hopped into the A&P. The Eight O'Clock variety was pretty weak, not worth grinding and brewing. A&P sold off the Eight O'Clock coffee manufacturing unit in 2003, and I am amazed that someone still owns the trademark and sells it at various merchants, such as Amazon and larger Kroger stores.

The Mission 66 A&P building is still sitting unused, decade after decade. The building is reasonably intact and I am surprised that it has not been vandalized.

Linoleum or vinyl floor, drop ceiling - so 1970s.

 Some little person left their toys on a window sill?

The rear of the cinderblock building is a disgusting mess. I wonder if the flooded loading ramp is a mosquito-breeding swamp? Any interesting snakes? Originally, a drain connected to the storm drains, but clearly the bottom of the ramp has become clogged with debris. A 2004 Vicksburg Post article addressed the standing water with respect to West Nile Virus.

These images are from 2014, but from the road, I see no change. These are digital files from a Panasonic G3 digital camera. This was an excellent little camera which served me well around town and even on Mt. Kilimanjaro. The wide-angle views were from the Olympus M ED 9-18mm ƒ/4.0-5.6 micro Four Thirds Lens.

Come to the Supermarket (in Old Kathmandu)

Well, maybe Cole Porter did not write exactly these words in Aladdin (see the full lyrics below), but he was probably thinking of a place like the Asan Chowk market in Kathmandu. According to Wikipedia, "a chowk (Urdu: چوک) is a Town square, an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings, market square, or simply traffic intersection."
The Asan is a short walk from the Thamel tourist area of town, but it can be an adventure getting there and back. The first thing that struck me was the crowds. Late afternoon, the streets were mobbed! Where are all these people going? It's such a contrast to many American cities, which often are deserted downtown after 5 pm. In the second photograph, you can see the fabrics hanging along the buildings. This is one of the fabric areas that I mentioned in the previous Nepal article.
Once you reach the Chowk, it's as crowded as the surrounding streets. Watch your feet or you'll step in a vendor's merchandise or in a hole in the sidewalk.
This is the famous salt from northern Nepal and Tibet. For hundreds of years, workers mined the salt in Tibet and traders/merchants carried it south to India (sometimes on goat back). In return, traders brought rice and other products north through the Himalaya. Towns like Lo Manthang and Kagbeni became prosperous salt centers. This commerce finally diminished in the mid-20th century when factory-manufactured salt containing iodine became readily available in India. But the traditional salt is said to bestow medicinal properties. Who knows about that, but it tastes good in cooking. The black salt has a strong H₂S aroma when you grind it up, the pink much less so.
Do you want spices? Here you can find them, anything your cuisine needs.
Nuts and beans? Anything you want.

Roots, garlic, ginger, and ginseng? This is the place.
Fruits? Yes, indeed.
Many of the vendors bring their wares to the Chowk on sturdy bicycles. I think most of them are from India and have only one gear. They also have rod-operated brakes rather than cable, like most modern western bikes.
Do you need some incense, bells, or other religious supplies? Come to the Asan Chowk.
These leaves are woven into little boats. Hindu pilgrims place food offerings in the leaves and float them down the Basmati River, which runs through town some distance from here.
These vivid powders are also used in Hindu activities.
Need a chicken or a mallard to go with those vegetables and spices? Plenty from which to choose.
And plenty of paper goods on which to serve your feast.
How about a kite or kite string? This fellow will help you.
Finally, how about some elegant flip-flops for your party? Cole Porter never anticipated these....

COME TO THE SUPERMARKET (IN OLD PEKIN)

From Aladdin, music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Aladdin was originally broadcast by CBS as the "Du Pont Show Of The Month" on February 21, 1958. First LP release: February 10, 1958.

If you want a fancy fan
Or a turkey born in Turkey-stan
Or a slave that's awf'lly African
Or a Teapot early Ming,
Come to the supermarket in old Peking.

If you want to buy a kite
Or a pup to keep you up at night
Or a dwarf who used to know Snow White
Or a frog who loves to sing,
Come to the supermarket in old Peking.

They have: sunflow'r cakes, moonbeam cakes,
Gizzard cakes, lizard cakes,
Pickled eels, pickle snakes,
Fit for any king,

If you want a bust of jade
Or an egg that's more or less decayed
Or in case you care to meet a maid
For a nice but naughty fling,

Come to the supermarket,
If you come on an ostrich, you can park it,
So come to the supermarket
And see Pe-
King.

If you want a gong to beat
Or a rickshaw with a sassy seat
Or a painting slightly indiscreet
That is simply riveting,
Come to the supermarket and see Peking.

Well, If you want some calico
Or a gentle water buffalo
Glow worm guaranteed to glow
Or a cloak inclined to cling,
Come to the supermarket in old Peking.

They have bird's-nest soup, seaweed soup,
Noodle soup, poodle soup,
Talking crows with the croup,
Almost anything.

If you want to buy a saw
Or a fish delicious when it's raw
Or a pill to kill your moth'r-in-law
Or a bee without a sting,

Come to the supermarket,
If you come on a turtle, you can park it,
So come to the supermarket
If you come on a goose, you can park it,
So come to the supermarket
And see
Pe-
King!

(I have a 1960 recording on LP from the London Coliseum performance - brilliant.)