Waldbaum’s Was Everywhere on Long Island… Until It Wasn’t

You’ve probably walked into one without thinking twice. Maybe in Patchogue. Maybe along Jericho Turnpike. Maybe one of those massive stores that somehow always smelled like cold cuts and nostalgia.

But here’s the part nobody tells you: Waldbaum’s wasn’t just a supermarket chain. At one point, it was one of the most powerful companies on Long Island… and its story gets a little strange the deeper you go.

It Started As a Tiny Shop… Not a Supermarket

• In 1904, Israel “Izzy” Waldbaum opened a butter and eggs shop

• The original location was 911 DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn

• The Waldbaum family were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine

• By the time Izzy died in 1947, the business had grown to seven Brooklyn stores

The Woman on the Label Was Real… and You Could Call Her

• Julia Waldbaum, Izzy’s widow, became the literal face of the brand

• Her image appeared on almost all Waldbaum’s store-brand products

• She once joked, “They left me off the dog food and the bathroom tissue”

• She made surprise visits to stores to check quality well into old age

• Her phone number was listed publicly because she wanted customers to call her directly

• Some shoppers thought she wasn’t real, comparing her to Betty Crocker

• She lived to 99 years old, passing away in 1996

When Waldbaum’s Became Waldbaum’s

• The first official Waldbaum’s supermarket opened in 1951 in Flushing, Queens

• The chain expanded to every borough of New York City except Manhattan

• They did open one Manhattan store… it closed after just eight months

• The company went public in 1961, but the family still held 81% ownership

• Headquarters moved from Brooklyn to Garden City in 1964

Click here for more stories about Long Island’s food and restaurant history.

It Was Breaking Barriers Decades Ago

• In 1938, Waldbaum’s hired identical twins Ernest and George Brown, African-Americans

• They were promoted to checkout positions in a white neighborhood, which was extremely rare at the time

• Both eventually rose through the ranks to become company executives

By the 1970s, It Basically Owned Long Island

• Sales hit $197.4 million by 1967

• From 1970 to 1979, the chain grew from 80 stores to 138

• In 1974, headquarters and distribution moved again to Central Islip

By the end of the decade:

• Waldbaum’s was the second-largest company on Long Island by sales

• It was also the third-largest employer

The Billion-Dollar Era…

• In 1984, Waldbaum’s and three other chains pleaded no contest in a price-fixing case involving double-value coupons

• By 1985, the company reached $1.76 billion in sales

The Buyout That Changed Everything

• In 1986, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) bought Waldbaum’s for $287 million, or $50 per share

• At the time, it was the 12th-largest supermarket chain in the United States

• Many said the stores lost their distinct personality and “ethnic spice” after the family was gone

• By 1990, 47% of locations failed New York State sanitation inspections

• Labor tensions with the Teamsters added more strain

• In 1994, Waldbaum’s was still the #1 grocery store on Long Island

The End

• In 2015, all A&P-owned stores, including Waldbaum’s, shut down

• Many former locations were taken over by chains like Stop & Shop

You’ve probably driven past one of the old locations without even realizing it. Same parking lot. Same footprint. Completely different name.

But if you remember Waldbaum’s, you remember more than a grocery store. You remember a time when a family-run business from Brooklyn somehow became one of the biggest forces on Long Island… complete with a real person on the label who might’ve actually answered your phone call.