The year was 1947.
On the international scene, Arabs and Jews rejected a British proposal to divide Palestine.
In the United States, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi began broadcasting in Hollywood.
And in San Leandro, the first modern supermarket opened at 1550 East 14th Street.
Soon that downtown site, now a parking lot, will be the home of a retail and restaurant plaza known as the Village Marketplace.
This new plaza , the industrial designer hired to give that pioneering Lucky store consumer appeal.
The San Leandro Lucky, which opened on May 15, 1947, earned a paragraph in the Wikipedia entry on the not-so-fortunate chain:
It featured a coffee shop and other conveniences. Also known as "Lucky #50", this store was managed for years by San Leandro native Anthony (Tony) Minniti. Mr. Minniti was known for his old-fashioned approach that emphasized customer service. Tony enjoyed having a personal rapport with many customers over the years, and maintained a highly profitable store during his tenure. After his retirement, the store's customer base (and profitability) declined over time. It was the last Lucky Store to be re-branded after the takeover by Albertsons. Due to dwindling profits, it later closed in 2005.
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