The Roanoker - Sept/October 2021 - 130
then and now
Mick-or-Mack
written by Jenny K. Boone First opened in 1927, this popular grocery retailer once covered 38 cities in three states.
A
t one time, Mick-or-Mack was a household name in
the Roanoke Valley.
The grocery retailer, whose name was inspired by Irish
and Scottish nicknames, opened its first Roanoke Valley
store in 1927 on Church Avenue in downtown Roanoke.
Ten years later, it had 49 stores across 38 cities in three states.
The Mick-or-Mack corporate headquarters was based in the
Roanoke Valley, though most of its stores were owned individually
by franchise operators.
The grocer's motto early on was " cash talks. " That's because much of
the region's grocery business was credit based. Mick-or-Mack aimed
to offer low prices, stock national brands, and sell groceries for cash,
according to a Roanoke Times article published at the retailer's 25th
anniversary.
Pictured here is a Mick-or-Mack store at 5301 Williamson Road,
located in what now is the Williamson Road Plaza. According to city
records, the first listing for this Mick-or-Mack location was 1958. The
last listing for the grocer at this address was in 1984.
The number of Mick-or-Mack stores began to dwindle in the
1980s. The last Mick-or-Mack in Roanoke, located on Winborne
Avenue in the Grandin Village, closed in 2019.
The Williamson Road Plaza no longer houses a grocery store.
Currently, its tenants include Advance Auto Parts, Southern Elevator,
TLC Nails, Warehouse Billiards and Gator Hall. I
JENNY KINCAID BOONE is a Roanoke-based freelance writer and former business journalist. She is a Roanoke College and Northwestern University graduate who is passionate
about exercise and chai latte.
130 September/October 2021
TheRoanoker.com
JULIANNE RAINONE JACOB / ARCHIVAL IMAGE COURTESY OF THE VIRGINIA ROOM, ROANOKE PUBLIC LIBRARIES
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The Roanoker - Sept/October 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - Sept/October 2021
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The Roanoker - Sept/October 2021 - Cover3
The Roanoker - Sept/October 2021 - Cover4
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