Michigan Radio & TV Buzzboard

It was 15 years ago today that the Detroit-based grocery chain Farmer Jack went out of business forever.

If I remember correctly, what put them out of business was a buyout by A&P in the mid-90s, followed by expansions into the Toledo, Flint, and Lansing markets, with mixed results, and eventually, A&P filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and closed the final Farmer Jack store on this day in 2007.

I frequently went to the Allen Park store, which was demolished in late 2017. There was also a Lincoln Park store on Fort and Emmons in the Lincoln Park Plaza shopping center. That location has remained unused for 15 years but the building is still there, and I believe that the trademark farm landscape scene on the exterior is still there.

I will always remember that "Always Saving Time" jingle, and the interior aesthetic distinctively marked by checkerboard designs. I still can't get used to the fact that Farmer Jack is closed.

Farmer Jack had a few stores in the Toledo area, but they weren't as popular as they were in Metro Detroit.

That jingle was amazing too.

For a period of time, I dabbled in brokering food products. I called on Farmer Jack. Little inside baseball. If you had a food product carried by Farmer Jack, you had to pay a pretty penny to be featured in their weekly ad. Once you did so, depending on the amount you gave them, it could be featured on page one, two, three or four. Here's the kicker, the advertised price was the exact same price they charged everyday. Never a discount.

Here's another beauty. If you had a new product you wanted them to carry, you had to pay a fee for them to do so. They called it a "slotting fee." I called it extortion. Of course, if the product you had became so popular by being available at other grocers, eventually they would put it in. Yet, if you didn't pay something as a "slotting fee" good luck getting another product on their shelves.

I'm glad Paul Borman and the rest of the crooks are no more.

It was my first job, and I loved working there. As for the top management, they did suck. They totally mismanaged the company.

As for the allegations of extortion and sale prices being the same as regular, that part is bullshit.

radioandtventhusiast wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 4:29 pm

Farmer Jack had a few stores in the Toledo area, but they weren't as popular as they were in Metro Detroit.

That jingle was amazing too.

Don’t forget the ring and ticker tape sounds on WJR.

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:18 pm

It was my first job, and I loved working there. As for the top management, they did suck. They totally mismanaged the company.

As for the allegations of extortion and sale prices being the same as regular, that part is bullshit.

How many items did YOU try to get them to carry?

You have a habit of weighing in on things you know nothing about. You should listen to people who were brokering deals for $50,000 truck loads of product while you were putting groceries in a bag.

EDJUKaTE yourself dumbass.

https://www.dotactiv.com/blog/slotting-fees

Bryce wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:49 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:18 pm

It was my first job, and I loved working there. As for the top management, they did suck. They totally mismanaged the company.

As for the allegations of extortion and sale prices being the same as regular, that part is bullshit.

How many items did YOU try to get them to carry?

You have a habit of weighing in on things you know nothing about. You should listen to people who were brokering deals for $50,000 truck loads of product while you were putting groceries in a bag.

EDJUKaTE yourself dumbass.

https://www.dotactiv.com/blog/slotting-fees

I only listen to you when it comes to canine advice, and that’s not going to change.

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:13 pm

Bryce wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:49 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:18 pm

It was my first job, and I loved working there. As for the top management, they did suck. They totally mismanaged the company.

As for the allegations of extortion and sale prices being the same as regular, that part is bullshit.

How many items did YOU try to get them to carry?

You have a habit of weighing in on things you know nothing about. You should listen to people who were brokering deals for $50,000 truck loads of product while you were putting groceries in a bag.

EDJUKaTE yourself dumbass.

https://www.dotactiv.com/blog/slotting-fees

I only listen to you when it comes to canine advice, and that’s not going to change.

If you wish to remain ignorant, that is your choice. Not a wise one, but a choice none the less.

Bryce wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:23 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 11:13 pm

Bryce wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:49 pm

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 07, 2022 9:18 pm

It was my first job, and I loved working there. As for the top management, they did suck. They totally mismanaged the company.

As for the allegations of extortion and sale prices being the same as regular, that part is bullshit.

How many items did YOU try to get them to carry?

You have a habit of weighing in on things you know nothing about. You should listen to people who were brokering deals for $50,000 truck loads of product while you were putting groceries in a bag.

EDJUKaTE yourself dumbass.

https://www.dotactiv.com/blog/slotting-fees

I only listen to you when it comes to canine advice, and that’s not going to change.

If you wish to remain ignorant, that is your choice. Not a wise one, but a choice none the less.

You claimed that sales prices and regular prices were the same which is a lie. I leveled those shelves so I saw the sales. So, you may have maintained certain brands on the shelves, but I doubt you were involved with price control.

MotorCityRadioFreak wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 08, 2022 12:14 am

You claimed that sales prices and regular prices were the same which is a lie. I leveled those shelves so I saw the sales. So, you may have maintained certain brands on the shelves, but I doubt you were involved with price control.

That is exactly how most of the prices in their weekly ad worked. I'm guessing you stocked shelves for them after they were acquired by The Greater Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company and were no longer a Borman entity. Things changed at that time.

I worked summers in their warehouse. It was a pretty good paying job, but very hard work. I got it because my aunt worked in the executive offices. Drove a "tugger"and pulled orders 10-12 hours a day, overnights. Came home exhausted every morning. But the summers paid my college expenses.

I enjoyed shopping at Farmer Jack's larger, more modern stores (16 Mile and John R, as an example). Their donuts were phenomenal. Check out was always speedy even during busy periods.

I think one problem faced by the chain is it held onto its small, outdated neighborhood stores for far too long. They were paying rent on stores that were losing money. Walking into the Center Line store was like stepping into a time capsule from 1978. One and a quarter miles down the road was a much larger and more modern store of theirs (10 Mile and Hoover).

I suspect many radio stations around town were sad to see Farmer Jack disappear. As recently as 2002 or 2003, I believe the chain was still #1 in grocery market share in Metro Detroit (Kroger was second and Meijer third).

It's just a matter of fact

The one here in Novi is now a Bucsh's

The only Busch's I set foot in was the one near Eisenhower and Main in Ann Arbor, some 22 years ago.

It was a rebadged former Kroger store (it had the classic mid 60s to 70s Kroger Superstore exterior architectural elements).

I remember being underwhelmed. I recall narrow aisles and mediocre prices. Still not nearly the shithole as the Kroger at the corner of Stadium and S. Industrial at the time.

Meijer on Ann Arbor - Saline Rd. was my preferred store.