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Overview

Founded in the late 1880s, the Young's Market Company had expanded to a group of 46 stores by the time this main headquarters has opened in 02/1925. As befitting the central hub of the chain, it was enormous and contained highly diverse products for consumers. The building contained this expansive market and the firm's offices for the Young Brothers who served as executives of the company.

Building History

A 1925 advertisement for the Toledo Scale Company, proclaimed this central Young's Market, "the world's finest grocery store."While this may seem like hyperbole, the vast building did set a new standard for lavishness and variety for markets of the mid-1920s. It cost in the range of $1.5 million, and contained over 100,000 square feet of floor space. By the time this building opened on 02/03/1925, Young's Markets did $8 million worth of business annually. (See "Young's Chose Toledos for Attractiveness and Protection," Chain Store Age, 06/1926, p. 4.)

Building Notes

The interior of this main store had the appearance of a contemporary department store, with a large open space criss-crossed with a grid of aisles, each having counters selling specific types of foodstuffs. The store's service model was still mediated by clerks who assisted customers at specific counters.