West Star Fruit, next to the Bluebird Groceteria on 20th Street, 1930. Photo Credit: Local History Room - Saskatoon Public Library - PH-2010-210
HOMEtown Reflections The Changing Landscape of Saskatoon’s Grocery Stores Part 1 of 2 It’s all supermarkets and mega-marts these days. People buy groceries at Wal-Mart and kids’ clothes at Superstore, and everything you could possibly imagine at Costco. But once upon a time, the mainstay of the grocery trade in Saskatoon
56 | Summer 2021 Saskatoon HOME
By: Jeff O’Brien was the independent, neighbourhood store. The Corner Store They were everywhere. Dozens of them, strung out along the commercial streets and scattered across the residential districts.
They operated out of homes, sometimes with an addition tacked onto the front, sometimes by just remodelling the front room. Other times there was a store on the main floor and apartments above. They were named after the
proprietors: Joe’s Grocery, or Minovitz and Hussman. Or they had names like the Sunshine Grocery, or my favourite, the Universal Grocery. I want to imagine incense and hippies, but it was 1930 so probably not. They were close enough
