A List of Whiting-Robertsdale Neighborhood Grocery Stores from 1937

In January 1989, 94-year old Orville Piper told the Historical Society that 50 or 60 years earlier Whiting and Robertsdale had 66 grocery stores. He was very close with his number, if not on the mark. A look through the 1937 City Directory for Whiting and Robertsdale identifies 86 food stores, but that includes meat markets, dairies, and fruit markets, as well as grocery stores. 

Below are the names of the 86 food stores in the 1937 Directory, listed by the street each was on and its address. Stores were generally known to neighborhood residents by the name of the person who owned and operated them. That’s why most of the stores in the list below have the owner’s name listed. The majority of store owners were men, but this was one profession in the 1930s where it was not unusual to have stores operated by women, as the list shows.

Although all of these grocery stores are gone, some of the buildings they were in remain. Today, if you drive through town and look at the buildings at those address, see if you can identify which of them used to be grocery stores 80 years ago.

Atchison Avenue

1645                       Sugar, Aaron (fruit)

2104                       Polinak, Joseph

Berry Avenue

2939                       O’Keefe, Anna

Birch Avenue

2351                       Milwicz, Mary

Calumet Avenue

1608                       Yurkanin, Michael

1908                       Dicks Dairy Store

1910                       Thornton Brothers (poultry)

1916                       Palko, Paul

Center Street

1727                       Haluska, John

Clark Street

2023                       Boyzak, John (poultry)

Cleveland Avenue

1700                       McGowan, Florence

Davidson Place

2026                       Churley, Ann

Fischrupp Avenue

1409                       Pleasant View Dairy Store

Fred Street

1500                       Kollada, Paul

Indianapolis Boulevard

1461                       Crystal Market & Grocery

1714                       Rybnik, Francis

1718                       A & P Food Store

1720                       Ness, Charles (meat)

1720-1/2              Kroger Consumers Store

1743                       Cannells, John

1809                       Jansen, Percy (fruit)

1876                       West Park Grocery

1950                       Jancosek, John

2007                       Poracky, John

2040                       Bercik, Joseph

2321                       Pleasant Valley Dairy Store

2332                       Olio, Stephen

John Street

1441                       Senchak, Emil (milk)

1549                       Uhrin, George

Lake Avenue

1604                       Shorr’s Food Shop

Lincoln Avenue

1832                       Novotny, Andrew

2104                       Banas, John

Myrtle Avenue

957                         Paunicka, Steven

1503                       Kosco, John

1520                       Janota, Rudolph

1549                       Bydolak, Walter

New York Avenue

1913                       Gurevitz, George

1914                       Lee, Harry & Son

1928                       Whiting Fruit Market

1951                       Weiner & Son

2120                       Brozovich, Joseph

Parkview Avenue

1723                       Morganthaler, George

Reese Avenue

1004                       Miklusak Brothers

Roberts Avenue

1605                       Studer, Joseph & Sons (wholesale meat)

1639                       George, Bertha

1645                       Buksar & Romanovich

Schrage Avenue

2110                       Golub & Son

2614                       Marek, Martin

Stanton Avenue

2104                       Zabrecky, John

Steiber Street

1537                       National Dairy

Superior Avenue

2103                       Kukuch, J.

2104                       Paunicka, Louis

White Oak Avenue

2438                       Murzyn, Angeline

2446                       Dominik, Joseph

2462                       Stanczak, Frank

2474                       Dybel, George

2527                       Maskin, Mary

112th Street

404                         Briggs, John

116th Street

1111                       Mostil, Edward

119th Street

709                         Kampo, Anna

821                         A & P Tea Company

904                         Shimala, Charles

1020                       Petris, Anthony

1024                       Grover, Glenn

1112                       Kroger’s Consumers Stores

1113                       Miklusak Brothers (poultry)

1116                       Condes, Demetrios

1123                       Henos, William (fruit)

1344                       American Meat Market

1346                       Riffer, Harry (fruit)

1400                       Colonial Fruit Store

1404                       A & P Tea Company

1411                       Tharp, B.L.

1419                       McNamara Brothers

1424                       National Tea Company

1442                       Farmers Meat Market

1522                       Hanusin, Joseph

1719                       Grenchik, Joseph

1741                       Paunicka, Joseph

120th Street

1200                       Dado, Stephen

121st Street

1204                       Petzold Brothers

1250                       Murzyn, John

1401                       Wojcik, Peter

1549                       Gyure Brothers

129th Street

1829                       Slivka, George

131st Street

1837                       Kubacki, John