Big Star was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 supermarket

Supermarket

A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

 chain founded in 1937 as part of the David Pender Grocery Company.

History

The Big Star stores were self-service supermarket operations which began to replace the small full-service stores Pender's had operated up to that point. By the late 1940s the entire company had rebranded under the Colonial Stores name. The Big Star name was revived around 1968 for a new discount chain owned by Colonial; eventually all stores were closed or converted to the Big Star name. Grand Union

Grand Union (stores)

Grand Union is a supermarket chain operated by C&S Wholesale Grocers of Brattleboro, Vermont. Originally based in Elmwood Park, New Jersey , the company operated mostly in the northeastern United States but at times its reach extended into the Midwest, Southeast, and the Caribbean...

 purchased the chain in 1982. The North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, and Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 stores were sold to Harris Teeter

Harris Teeter

Harris Teeter is a chain of supermarkets based in Matthews, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte. , the chain operates 207 stores in eight Southern states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.Harris Teeter is a...

 in 1988, while the Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 stores were sold in 1992, with most of the Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

 locations going to Super Fresh

Super Fresh

Super Fresh is a chain of supermarkets owned by A&P, which introduced the banner in 1982, converting its Mid-Atlantic region's stores to the new name. Super Fresh's 24 stores are mostly in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, plus Delaware and southern New Jersey...

, itself a division of A&P

The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a supermarket and liquor store chain in the United States. Its supermarkets, which are under six different banners, are found in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. A&P's liquor stores, known as...

. These stores were heavily remodeled, but eventually sold to Kroger

Kroger

The Kroger Co. is an American supermarket chain founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$ 76.7 billion in sales during fiscal year 2009. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume and second-place general retailer...

 in 1999. Stores currently operating under the Big Star name in places like Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, and Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 were part of a franchise operation that was never connected to the Big Star chain.

Alex Chilton

Alex Chilton

William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...

 and Chris Bell

Chris Bell

Chris Bell may refer to:*Chris Bell , singer-songwriter and guitarist of the band Big Star*Chris Bell , former Congressman and 2006 candidate for Governor of Texas...

 named their Memphis rock band of the same name after the supermarket chain.