Red & White Food Store – Milan, Ohio

On the way home from photographing the former location of Trail's End Motel on Sunday, I did a little detour through Milan so I could pick up Route 113.

On my way into town on W. Church Street, I happened to notice the above vintage-looking Red & White Food Stores sign behind the buildings on N. Main that face the town square.  You can see its location in the photo below.

I'd never heard of the grocery store chain, so of course I Googled it. It was (and still is, apparently, in some places) a cooperative of independent grocers not unlike IGA.

1953 Red & White Food Stores magazine ad
(Courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/retroarama)

You can read a little about the chain's history here. It was very big in small towns, so it makes sense that there was an outlet in Milan.

Part of a 1956 Red & White Food Stores magazine ad
(Courtesy of rogerwilkerson.tumblr.com) 

The presence of a Red & White Food Store in Milan seems to date back to March of 1941. An ad in the Friday, March 7, 1941 Sandusky Register announces, "Another Red & White Store To Serve You - Grand Opening Saturday - Kramer and Lavey, Milan, Ohio."

I found a few more mentions of Kramer's Red & White Food Store in Milan in some Sandusky Registers from 1947 and 48. But those are the only mentions of a Milan store that I could find online.

Vintage celluloid button
(Courtesy oldpolitcals.com)

There still seem to be some Red & White locations scattered around the country, with updated signage. If anyone has any knowledge of when the Milan store closed, please leave a comment.