By Dewey E. Born 

In 1935 and 1936, Prescott had a population of about 5,000 and, like the rest of the country, was in the middle of the great depression. The surprising thing is that this small town had some 25 grocery stores. They varied from the national chain stores to small family stores, but they all seemed to make a profit.

The stores were a little different from the supermarkets of today. No pharmacy. Prescriptions were filled at one of the half-dozen drug stores in town. No frozen foods either, though some stores did have a small freezer for ice cream. Fresh fruits and vegetables were available in season only. Most of the bread was local, baked by the Ideal B bakery on North Cortez. It was packaged in waxed paper decorated with designs borrowed from the Hopi. You could get any kind you wanted as long as it was white. Some stores also sold bread shipped in from Phoenix, usually Roman Meal. Both the Home Bakery on South Cortez and Brinkmeyer's Bakery in the Brinkmeyer Hotel baked bread but it was only sold in the bakery. Milk was sold by the quart in a few stores but was not in great demand. Milk was delivered to homes by the several dairies serving Prescott. With one exception, all the stores closed on Sunday. The exception was the New China Store at 222 N. Cortez, almost at the end of the street. 

If there were such a thing as an elite grocery store, it would have been the Bashford Burmister. Known locally as simply the "B & B", it was located on Gurley Street across from the Plaza in the three-story building that today is called the Bashford Court. The Bashford Burmister was Prescott's only true department store. In 1935 it listed the following departments: dry goods, furniture, gents furnishings, hardware, meat, retail grocery, shoe, and wholesale. 

William Bashford and Robert H. Burmister opened their store in the fall of 1872 as a general merchandise store. The original building was destroyed in the July 14, 1900 fire. The rebuilt store was enlarged by making it wider. The grocery department was located on the ground floor where Stolts was for many years. 

The two men were very close. Robert Burmister was married to Margaret Bashford and their two homes were side by side on East Gurley Street. The Bashford home was later moved to the grounds of Sharlot Hall Museum, where it houses the Museum Store. 

The meat department was in the same area as the grocery department and boasted a large refrigerator display cabinet and a walk-in refrigerator for meat storage. The grocery department carried the more expensive brands of canned foods, crackers, cookies and candy. The Bashford Burmister department store closed in 1940. 

Two national grocery chains had stores in Prescott, the Piggly Wiggly and Pay'n Takit. Piggly Wiggly was located between The B & B and Montezuma Street. The store was originally owned by E.A. Kastner and even after it became the Piggly Wiggly it was still often called Kastner's Market. 

There were two Pay'n Takit stores in 1935; Store number 7 about the middle of the 100 block of N. Cortez on the east side of the street and store number 90 in the 200 block of S. Montezuma, across the street from the Salvation Army. Sometime during 1935, store number 90 closed. The Cortez street store continued to operate for several more years. The Pay'n Takit chain later became Safeway. 

There were several privately owned grocery stores in Prescott. With three or more employees and well stocked shelves it was possible to complete you grocery shopping in one store. On the east side of town was Lantz Market on the north side of Sheldon Street just east of Mt. Vernon. The building is still there, home to some small business. 

The three Allen brothers, Dick, Mearle, and Joe each owned a grocery store. Joe Allen's Market was located on the corner of Gurley and Grove. Allen's Nu Way Market was at 330 W. Gurley. The building is still there, the home of Prescott Natural Foods. The Allens had another store at 131 N. Cortez and a wholesale place next door called the Food Supply Company. These were both closed in 1936 and moved to a large brick building in the Old Ball Park called Thrifty Wholesale. 

The Old Ball Park was an area of fairly level ground just north of Granite Creek. While there were no exact boundaries, it was the area east of Campbell Street and South of Comfort. There was a small grocery called the Ball Park Grocery, surrounded by big shade trees, on Prospect Ave which ran through the Old Ball Park. 

Thrifty Wholesale sold in quantity. Canned goods were sold by the case or in the large institutional cans. Sugar was sold in 25 pound cloth sacks and flour in either fifty pound or hundred pound sacks. These flour sacks had print designs on them and when the flour was gone they could be made into shirts and dresses. 

For those with enough money to stock up, there were some real savings buying wholesale. A can of corn might sell for seven cents but, by the case, the per-can-cost would be five cents. Ranchers were good customers since they could buy in quantity and reduce the number of trips to town. This was especially important in bad weather. The climate was both wetter and colder at this time. There were very few paved roads and none of them went to the ranches. When it rained, the roads often turned to mud and there were usually several good snowstorms each winter. At Thrift Wholesale they could load the truck with cases of canned goods, sacks of sugar and flour, a large package of yeast and a 25-pound can of lard. Let it snow! 

Another large grocery, Howard's Market, served Miller Valley. Located at the site of the long-time El Chaparral restaurant, Howard's was the most complete food store in Miller Valley. It later became J.R. Williams Market. Christy Food Market at 437 S. Montezuma was the most complete grocery for the residents in that part of town. Christy's store was still in operation in the early 1950s. 

Several of the smaller stores specialized. The southeast corner of Willis and Cortez was occupied by the Bukove car dealership. Next door was Ploetz Grocery dealing in bulk foods. On either side of the doorway were large open containers of beans. On the right as you entered the store was a container of large white beans and another of navy beans. On the left side a container of pinto beans and one of roasted coffee beans, rice, dried peas and other bulk foods. Ploetz also carried a number of dried fruits and vegetables, applies, apricots, prunes, raisins and many others. In the fall he always had a large container of fresh cranberries and bins of nuts. 

On the other side of the street at 138 N.Cortez was Black's Market specializing in fish and poultry. While Black's carried fresh whole chicken and in November and December fresh whole turkeys, the store was best known as a fish market. The seafood was shipped in from California by Railway Express, packed in ice in insulated containers and rushed up the street to the store, usually arriving in good condition. Sometimes, however, it was not that fresh and everyone on Cortez Street knew it. 

There were two meat markets, Bishop's Meat Market and Sandler's Market. Bishop's store was on Cortez Street next to the Masonic Temple. Sandler's Market was on the north side of Gurley near Granite Street. These two stores carried more complete lines of beef, pork, and poultry than most of the other markets. 

In among the bars on Whiskey Row was Sam Dreyer's Grocery and General Store. Sam carried canned goods and "staples" such as flour, sugar, and salt. He also had a variety of other items for sale including men's pants and shirts. 

Swanson's Grocery and Service Station was an early example of the service stations of today. Located on the corner of Hillside and Miller Valley Road, Swanson's was primarily a service station selling gas and oil. There was also a small convenience market that served the people living in the area. 

Some stores specialized by offering home delivery. My grandmother bought her groceries on line, telephone line, that is. She would make out her grocery list and then call Model Cash Grocery on South Montezuma and place her order. An hour of so later the box of groceries would be delivered to the back door, place on the kitchen table and the deliveryman would be paid. 

Actually the word cash in the name was a carry over from an earlier time when many stores offered credit to their customers. With a few exceptions, this practice was discounted during the depression. Items were paid for at the checkout before leaving the store. One exception in Prescott was the Santa Fe Market. Located on Sheldon Street between Cortex and Marina, it was company store serving the employees of the Santa Fe Railroad. The store would extend credit to employees until the next payday. 

There were also a number of small "mom and pop" stores. DeWitt's Retail Grocery and Young's Market on North Cortez, the Prescott Grocery at 126 1/2 S. Montezuma, West End Grocery at 646 W. Gurley, Yavapai Grocery on Miller Valley Road and probably several more I have missed. 

This is a lot of groceries for a small town. A major factor in keeping them in business was the depression. Not everyone owned an automobile and those who did often could not afford the gas to run them. A store within walking distance would get their business. 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(pb146f24i1)
Reuse only by permission.
The Allen Store meat department in 1929. 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bui147p)
Reuse only by permission.
Interior of Dreyer's General Merchandise, c.1920s. 

Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bui178pa)
Reuse only by permission.
Interior of the Brinkmeyer Bakery located in the Brinkmeyer Hotel located on Montezuma Street, c.1890s.