Alabama Photos: Kwik Chek in Montgomery

In going through some papers at mom's recently, I found the small recipe collection below; I've included a few sample pages. The "Kwik Chek" name was vaguely familiar, so that sent me to the research farm known as Google. As luck would have it, I turned up some Kwik Check photos in the Alabama state archives digital collections.

The site has quite a few black-and-white and color photos taken from 1954 until 1966 at Kwik Check stores in Montgomery. Most are interior shots. I've chosen just two and included them below.

Since mom' house is in Huntsville, I presume the recipe booklet came from a store there. The pamphlet is 5.5" x 3.5" and has 16 unnumbered pages. Products on the back cover are promoted in the booklet, as shown in the recipe for "Barbecued Potatoes" that mentions Mazzola Corn Oil and Reynolds Wrap. 

Several copies of this pamphlet are up for sale on Amazon and eBay, each with a different store listed at the bottom of the front cover. The one on Amazon lists the publisher as the National Broiler Council, which makes sense given the emphasis on chicken. Their logo is on the back cover of the pamphlet. The date stated for the Amazon copy is 1972. A couple of the entries on eBay claim the 1950s and 1960s. Who knows? No date is given in the booklet I have. 

I came across a 2009 blog post that places the Kwik Chek chain in "Winn-Dixie's Family Tree". Kwik Chek seems to have begun in the Tampa and Miami areas and expanded beyond Florida during its lifetime from the 1950s into the 1970s. Winn-Dixie retains the "Chek" image in it's logo and Chek brand of sodas. 

Montgomery store located at 2252 Mt. Meigs Road on 1 August 1955
Photo by John E. Scott

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History 

Interior shot taken by John E. Scott at the Montgomery store in the Normandale Shopping Center on East Patton Road 27 October 1960

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives & History

Finding Bruno's in Fort Myers

People of a certain age in the Birmingham area will remember the Bruno's grocery store chain. From 1932 when Joseph Bruno opened his first grocery in the city until around 2012, the firm at its peak operated as many as 150 stores under the Bruno's, Food World, Big B Drugs and other names. At its height 14,000 people were employed in the operations.

Bruno had retired by 1977, and his brother Angelo and several other executives were killed in a plane crash in 1991. In 1995 the firm was sold to the first of several new owners, and the decline began. After two bankruptcies, the remaining locations were sold to Belle Foods in 2012. Belle entered bankruptcy the following year, and Bruno's and its other stores slowly disappeared until all were gone. Details of the long, sad tale can be found on the BhamWiki page linked above.

Dianne and I were recently on a Florida trip that included a weekend visit to the Fort Myers area. Our hostess drove us around the area along the coast to show us the endless parade of mansions and tourist rentals and retail shops. I had not been to that part of the state since the late 1960's when my family spent summer vacations in Naples. Dianne had never been that far south in Florida.

At some point we passed the convenience store below on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers. Naturally my first thought was how did this remnant of Bruno's end up here? But I guess it's just one of those weird coincidences, and the Bruno here is not the Birmingham Bruno. Ah, well.... 

Source is here. I was unable to get a photo myself. 

Bruno's logo in the 1960's

A later logo

Source for both logos: BhamWiki

36 Grocery in Lacey's Spring

When I visit mom in Huntsville, I exit I-65 in Hartselle and head east on Alabama Highway 36. I've written before about some of the sights and history encountered on this route: Cotaco, Lacey's Spring, and Valhermoso Springs. 

In that previous post about Lacey's Spring, I noted:

"Lacey's Spring is an unincorporated community at the base of Brindley Mountain in Morgan County. American Revolutionary veteran John Lacy and his brothers settled there in 1818. A post office was established in 1831.


You'll find Lacey's Spring by going south on US 231 out of Huntsville. After you cross the Tennessee River you are essentially there. More of the community is also down Alabama Highway 36 as you head west toward Valhermoso Springs and Hartselle and I-65."

The abandoned business below is one of several seen along 36. A little research turns up the address as 9383 Highway 36 East and the name of the business expanded to 36 Grocery and Restaurant. Gary Morrow was listed as the "principal", presumably owner, of the establishment. Another web site gives the date it opened as 2008, although I would have guessed much earlier than that. Interestingly, that same address is listed as a small grocery store named Kate's Place that opened in 2005 with three employees. Perhaps more than one business has operated in the location.  

I've made a few comments below the photos. 

Glenn Wills has published two books documenting his extensive travels through "Forgotten Alabama"; more information is here. 

That's Highway 36 you see to the right. In the background are some of the pretty rolling hills to be seen along this route. I wonder when gas was just under three dollars at this location.

Lots of groceries and gas sold and meals eaten at this place once upon a time. 

As you face 36 Grocery, you see this little building to the left. I'm not sure what it was. In the background are what seem to be other old buildings.

Here's the view across 36. That's a bathtub at the end of the slab.