My then-teenaged brother made an artful but fake Gemco card with the name Pontius Pilate on it. Nobody ever noticed. Gemco, Alpha Beta, Zodys and Whitefront are all stores I remember from my LA area childhood.
@peteo100 Gemco was owned by Lucky's Supermarkets. They closed the Gemco stores to stage off a hostile takeover. Many locations were bought by Target and other companies. Lucky's also divested of other stores they had during this time.
Ha! I worked at a Gemco in the Chino area and they had me do the stupid announcement that played in the store about it being a Going Out of Business Sale. Nothing like working and hearing your own voice overhead all friggin day.
I remember the Gemco in Santa Ana on Seventeenth and Grand- it was always crowded- always. When it closed, it became a Target. Anyone remember the Fedmart in Garden Grove? They had the BEST jelly donuts in the world. We kids would swear to God to be good while our parents shopped there just so we'd get a hot, fresh jelly donut. Now, it's a Toys"R"Us. Progress.
Gemco should still be around these days. I remember Smith's Food King Mart endeavored in the mid-90's to take the stage in California where Gemco left roughly a decade earlier but I never understood why they pulled out altogether?
There was a Gemco in National City at the corner of Sweetwater Road and Highland. I remember watching Star Wars when it first came out on Selectravision, which was basically laserdisc, around 1982. That day there were like 30 kids standing all around the tv area watching it. It hadn't even been on HBO yet, I believe.
@swfan007 There was also one out in La Mesa (the La Mesa Springs Center, University/La Mesa Blvd/Allison area) it is what is now Vons and one up in Kearny Mesa on Balboa, just west of Convoy) that later became Lucky Advantage, then Lucky-Savon, then Albertsons-Savon, and now it's empty.
Yes, the food section was Lucky. They carried Lady Lee products. I loved Lady Lee Ice Cream. I remember trying to sneak through without showing my 'Gemco Card'. You just acted like you were with someone else. I worked a lot of times.
Yeah, I remember asking my parents to buy 45's in the "record" section and watching tv in the electronics dept while my mom shopped. The one I used to go to in San Leandro became a Target which is now being converted to a Wal-Mart
yeah i remember shopping at gemco when i was little. they had a grocery store in the back and, if i remember correctly, you needed a membership. they turned the gemcos in sac to target stores (like the ones on broadway, mack, and alternative arden expwy)
My then-teenaged brother made an artful but fake Gemco card with the name Pontius Pilate on it. Nobody ever noticed. Gemco, Alpha Beta, Zodys and Whitefront are all stores I remember from my LA area childhood.
annidez 2 months ago
Target is Gemco, owned by the same company, they declared bankruptcy as Gemco and opened up under the Target name.
peteo100 5 months ago
@peteo100 Gemco was owned by Lucky's Supermarkets. They closed the Gemco stores to stage off a hostile takeover. Many locations were bought by Target and other companies. Lucky's also divested of other stores they had during this time.
ctmikect 3 months ago
Ha! I worked at a Gemco in the Chino area and they had me do the stupid announcement that played in the store about it being a Going Out of Business Sale. Nothing like working and hearing your own voice overhead all friggin day.
SurfingTrucker 8 months ago
I remember the Gemco in Santa Ana on Seventeenth and Grand- it was always crowded- always. When it closed, it became a Target. Anyone remember the Fedmart in Garden Grove? They had the BEST jelly donuts in the world. We kids would swear to God to be good while our parents shopped there just so we'd get a hot, fresh jelly donut. Now, it's a Toys"R"Us. Progress.
PJCoan 1 year ago
Looking to borrow a Gemco card, message me if you have one that I can borrow!
FreakCitySF 2 years ago
Gemco should still be around these days. I remember Smith's Food King Mart endeavored in the mid-90's to take the stage in California where Gemco left roughly a decade earlier but I never understood why they pulled out altogether?
DetroitLove4U 2 years ago
Comment removed
pinktee1 2 years ago
the one here in Vallejo became a Target as well, I wonder if Target bought Gemco out or if it's just a coincedence
Disneydanny 2 years ago
My under standing is when Gemco folded
Target bought most of the Gemco/Memco
owned properties as a Entry to the West cost. Some of the leased properties were just let go.
slombardo101 2 years ago
i remember the gemco we had here in riverside,ca on arlington ave. and the 91 fwy back in the mid 80's. today it is a target store.
951oct 2 years ago
i spent alot at the Fresno one on Shields Ave,which since 1987 is Target
deckard97 3 years ago
There was a Gemco in National City at the corner of Sweetwater Road and Highland. I remember watching Star Wars when it first came out on Selectravision, which was basically laserdisc, around 1982. That day there were like 30 kids standing all around the tv area watching it. It hadn't even been on HBO yet, I believe.
swfan007 3 years ago
@swfan007 There was also one out in La Mesa (the La Mesa Springs Center, University/La Mesa Blvd/Allison area) it is what is now Vons and one up in Kearny Mesa on Balboa, just west of Convoy) that later became Lucky Advantage, then Lucky-Savon, then Albertsons-Savon, and now it's empty.
cmmolthr 1 year ago
Used to go to the one in Oceanside and Escondido areas in the early 80's.
ChrisMew2 3 years ago
We used to walk to Gemco in West Covina CA when I was a kkid in the 60's
melaniestevens 3 years ago
I remember that too. It was on Azusa next to Frederated and Toy's R Us. :)
strumpeteer 3 years ago
Yes, the food section was Lucky. They carried Lady Lee products. I loved Lady Lee Ice Cream. I remember trying to sneak through without showing my 'Gemco Card'. You just acted like you were with someone else. I worked a lot of times.
maxineweiss 4 years ago 2
Yeah, I remember asking my parents to buy 45's in the "record" section and watching tv in the electronics dept while my mom shopped. The one I used to go to in San Leandro became a Target which is now being converted to a Wal-Mart
drzg 4 years ago 2
i remember Gemco in Fountain valley and the one in santa ana, i use to go there when i was a kid..i was those type of kids that destroyed everything
jflores949 4 years ago 2
yeah i remember shopping at gemco when i was little. they had a grocery store in the back and, if i remember correctly, you needed a membership. they turned the gemcos in sac to target stores (like the ones on broadway, mack, and alternative arden expwy)
jste77 4 years ago 2
And the one on Mack is now an Asian Supermarket..
PortPowerKS 4 years ago
What gemco going out of business! NOOOOOOO!
MrSExperience 4 years ago
Gemco Cerritos #520 Rules!
I will never forget all the happy memories working in the Men's & Children's Dept! 1977-81 Ed R.
houseofrobertson 4 years ago
I also worked at Gemco Cerritos, 520 from 76 through 79. I was the receptionist. Do you remember Mary?
gemcocerritos 4 years ago
I didn't know Gemco was part of Lucky! I remember them growing up in the SF area. The one near my house is also now a Target.
flynnbadillo 4 years ago
Great, I will link to it on the GEMCO page.
royhooper dot com/gemco.html
OjaiRoy 4 years ago
Oh, how I miss those days...
fiwaszewski 4 years ago
Ahh, finally, a Gemco commercial.
I remember going to the one in Gardena (now a Target)
Kuahmel 4 years ago