William Bonner McCarty
Encyclopedia
William Bonner McCarty, Sr. of Jackson, Mississippi
was a founder of the now defunct Jitney Jungle
(also known as the Jitney-Jungle Stores of America).
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, acquired the chain. The chain quickly became debt-ridden, and its ill-advised 1997 acquisition of Delchamps didn't help the situation. In 2000, Winn-Dixie acquired Jitney Jungle and Delchamps, and rebranded the stores to Winn-Dixie.
filed a lawsuit against Jitney Jungle over the use of "self-service" store setup. Saunders had a patent granted in 1917 for "Self-serving store" and was suing anyone using those processes. In court, William Bonner McCarty showed that the self servicing process was preexisting by pointing to a similar store in California by the name of "Alpha-Beta". McCarthy won the lawsuit leading to widespread adoption of the self-servicing method.
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
was a founder of the now defunct Jitney Jungle
Jitney Jungle
Jitney Jungle was a chain of supermarkets that began in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1919.-Origins:Originally, brothers Judson McCarty Holman and William Henry Holman and their cousin William Bonner McCarty founded a charge-and-carry grocery store in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1912...
(also known as the Jitney-Jungle Stores of America).
About Will
¹"It was (Will) who conceived the idea, and helped coin the name of Jitney Jungle, and who then made plans to install Jitney Jungle stores all over the country." Will along with his two cousins Judson and Henry Holman opened the first Jitney Jungle on April 19, 1919. His son William Bonner McCarty, Jr. served as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Jitney Jungle, Incorporated.How It Began
¹"Will's father, William Henry McCarty, was a groceryman, who operated a plantation store at Rising Sun, on the banks of the Yazoo River." He later opened a store in Jackson, Mississippi known as Jackson Mercantile Co. The original store on McTyere Street in Jackson was a converted barn. William Henry McCarty died in 1910 and two cousins of his, Judson McCarty Holman and William Henry Holman purchased the grocery from the estate. Will soon joined the partnership in 1912 after finishing law school at the University of MississippiUniversity of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
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Jitney Jungle
Jitney Jungle was a chain of supermarkets that got its start in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1919. By 1992, Jitney Jungle had over 100 stores under several names. By the mid-1990s, the New York investment firm Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co.Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co.
Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. is a private equity firm focused on growth capital investments in middle-market companies in the consumer products, specialty retail and restaurant sectors....
, acquired the chain. The chain quickly became debt-ridden, and its ill-advised 1997 acquisition of Delchamps didn't help the situation. In 2000, Winn-Dixie acquired Jitney Jungle and Delchamps, and rebranded the stores to Winn-Dixie.
Lawsuit by Piggly Wiggly
Clarence SaundersClarence Saunders
Clarence Saunders was an American grocer who first developed the modern retail sales model of self service. His ideas have had a massive influence on the development of the modern supermarket...
filed a lawsuit against Jitney Jungle over the use of "self-service" store setup. Saunders had a patent granted in 1917 for "Self-serving store" and was suing anyone using those processes. In court, William Bonner McCarty showed that the self servicing process was preexisting by pointing to a similar store in California by the name of "Alpha-Beta". McCarthy won the lawsuit leading to widespread adoption of the self-servicing method.