16 Things You Used to See in Every Grocery Store in the ’60s

Grocery shopping in the 1960s had a much more laid-back and personal atmosphere, nothing like the high-tech and high-scale shopping centers of today. Grocery stores relied on personal interaction, simple presentation, and face-to-face communication between the store personnel and the consumer. Fresh fruits and vegetables were stored in open bins, meat products were cut and served at full-service counters with in-house butchers, and coffee beans were freshly ground in the store, filling the aisles with the enticing aroma of freshly ground coffee. People returned soda bottles for the deposit, hid their trading stamps, and studied the circulars as they wandered the aisles.

1. Open Produce Bins with Loose Fruits and Vegetables

In the 1960s, grocery stores displayed their produce in big, open wooden bins instead of in plastic bags. The apples, oranges, potatoes, onions, and carrots would lounge around in big crates. The produce section would have a fresh, earthy smell. Customers would squeeze the tomatoes, inspect the lettuce, and look at all of the items before selecting them to take home. The produce would be arranged by the store owners in a way that made it look inviting and colorful. The display would be simple and lively, almost like a small market. The employees would keep everything crisp by spraying the vegetables with a light mist of water.

2. Glass Soda Bottle Return Machines

Glass soda bottles were a common sight in grocery stores in the 1960s. Large brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, and RC Cola used glass bottles, and customers would return them after drinking the contents. The empty bottles were placed in wooden crates near the grocery store entrance. Each bottle had a deposit, and it was customary to return them. Customers would keep them at home and bring them back on their next shopping trip. Some grocery stores had machines to return empty bottles. The machines would give a receipt for the bottles. Most grocery stores had a clerk who would manually do this. The customer would drop off their crates, and the clerk would give them some change after counting them.

3. In-Store Meat Counters with Butchers

In the 1960s, many grocery stores had a full-service meat counter where a professional butcher would perform all of the work. Instead of selecting pre-packaged meats from a “cold case,” a customer would talk to a butcher standing behind the counter. Large cuts of beef, pork, and lamb would be displayed in a chilled window, while the butcher would prepare a customer’s order on the spot. He or she would wear a white coat and a paper hat to complete the look. The customer would ask for a thicker steak, a special roast, or even a bag of bones to create a soup. Behind the counter, large cutting blocks and meat saws would perform all of the work in preparing a customer’s order.

4. Green Stamps Redemption Counters

Green stamp programs were common in most grocery stores in the 1960s. Many of these stores would give away small stamps or trading stamps, most notably S&H Green Stamps, with every purchase. At the checkout counter, a cashier would place a number of stamps in a shopper’s bag depending on the amount of money spent. At home, shoppers would lovingly collect these stamps and attach them to special books, observing as they filled up with neat rows of small squares of green paper. The stamps seemed to be a second form of money, promising rewards to be collected in the future. Many of these stores even had small counters or catalogues inside showing what you could buy when you had enough filled stamp books.

5. Long Wooden Checkout Counters

The checkout areas in grocery stores of the 1960s were equipped with long wooden counters that ran along the front of the shop. The system was simple and robust, designed to withstand the activity of the day. Behind the counter, cashiers operated mechanical cash registers that made a loud ringing sound for every sale made. The counter provided a place for a customer to rid themselves of their groceries in stages, as they were individually scanned by hand. The atmosphere was peaceful and leisurely. The customer would normally have a bagger working alongside the cashiers, placing items into brown paper bags. Heavy items like cans and tins would go at the bottom of the bag, with more delicate items like bread and eggs at the top.

6. Large Refrigerated Dairy Cases with Glass Doors

The dairy section of grocery stores in the 1960s was all about tall cold cases with glass doors that slid back and forth. Inside were milk in glass bottles, butter, eggs, and cream in cartons. You wouldn’t have seen milk in plastic jugs like we use today; instead, it was in heavy glass bottles with a cardboard cap that was peeled back and replaced to close it again. To select one of these milk bottles, you would open the glass door and select one. You would then place it in your cart with care. Every time the glass door was slid open, cold air would come out into the store. These cold cases were designed to promote milk from local dairy farms instead of national brands.

7. Bulk Candy Displays Near the Checkout

Grocery stores in the 1960s had vibrant bulk candy displays right up against the checkout counter. Glass bins and clear plastic containers filled with candy were common sights. These bins of candies were placed in easy reach of children patiently waiting in line to pay for their family’s groceries. It wasn’t an accident that bulk candies were placed in this area. Owners of these stores knew that children would immediately notice these candies while adults were paying for their groceries. Bulk candies came in wide varieties and were chosen by weight or individual pieces. Paper bags or cardboard trays were ready to go to fill with a favorite treat, such as Tootsie Rolls, Mary Janes, or chocolate malt balls.

8. Handwritten Price Signs and Chalkboards

In many 1960s grocery stores, the price signs were not printed, but rather written by hand. Workers would use black chalkboards, cardboard, or small paper cards to indicate the prices of the products. They would place these above the fruits, the meat section, and the canned goods. The handwriting would be bold, but slightly messy, giving each store its unique touch. Anyone could read the prices clearly, as the numbers would be large and clear. When the prices were lowered or there was a sale, the signs would be changed, often by erasing them and writing new numbers, usually done in the morning before opening. Occasionally, bright markers or chalk would be used to highlight the sales of the week.

9. Tall Stacks of Canned Goods in Pyramid Displays

In the 1960s, canned products were the focal point of the store, stacked high in tall pyramids. You would see workers aligning these cans carefully, creating neat triangular structures reaching up into the aisles. You would see names like Campbell’s Soup, Del Monte Vegetables, Libby’s Canned Fruit, and so forth, glinting off the metal, catching the eye, and creating a sense of order and tidiness. This encouraged people to pick up a few cans while strolling by. This display also highlighted the sale of the week, so if corn or tomato soup went on sale, workers would build tall structures near the front of the store or down the main aisle, drawing the eye and encouraging passersby to investigate.

10. Store Employees Marking Prices with Handheld Label Guns

Back in the day, back in the 1960s, grocery store employees spent many hours tagging each and every item in the store. Before scanners became the norm, each and every item had to have a price visibly displayed for the cashier to quickly and easily read. As such, employees went throughout the store with their labeling guns, which had little paper stickers inside. The employee would squeeze the trigger, and a number would be stamped onto the sticker and then stuck onto the item. Most had simple black numbers on white paper. The work was tedious and required great patience and concentration. The employee had to keep an eye on the supplies and change them whenever necessary.

11. Metal Shopping Carts with Large Wire Baskets

Shopping carts made of metal with wide wire baskets were also popular in the 1960s. These carts had four small wheels and were made of metal, which provided support for heavy shopping items. The basket had space for all items ranging from vegetables to canned items and even milk bottles. A folding child seat was also provided at the front of the shopping cart for parents to carry their children along on the shopping trip. The design was simple, yet it proved to be effective for shoppers. A number of these shopping carts were kept neatly arranged near the entrance of the store. A shopper would select one cart and start shopping, moving the cart through the aisles and filling the basket with items.

12. Weekly Grocery Circulars Stacked Near the Entrance

Grocery stores in the 1960s would often place stacks of these weekly circulars next to the front door. These were little newspapers that gave you all the latest and greatest deals and promos available in the store. You would use one of these as you began your shopping trip at the grocery store. These would include simple drawings or pictures of all the items being promoted in the store. These would have the price of the items next to them to really grab your eye. You would look through all of the pages of the circular as you were wandering through the store to ensure that you were getting the advertised price for the items.

13. Coffee Grinding Machines for Fresh Beans

In the 1960s, there were many grocery stores where you could grind your own coffee right there in the store. You’d see bags of Maxwell House or Hills Bros. just sitting there on the shelf, and you’d grab one and pour those beans into this grinder sitting on top of this machine. Just a little lever or button to press, and it’d start grinding those beans into fresh grounds. The smell of this fresh-ground coffee would spread throughout those aisles in no time. Sometimes they’d adjust this grinder so you could grind those beans to just the right consistency. If you wanted to make percolated coffee, it’d be a little coarser, and if you wanted to make drip coffee, it’d be finer. There’d be this little metal tray at the bottom to catch those grounds before they went back into the bag.

14. Paper Wrapped Butter and Cheese Displays

Butter and cheese in the 1960s had simple packaging in paper wrappers, neatly arranged in the refrigerated cases. Brands like Kraft and Land O’ Lakes used wax paper to package their butter sticks, which helped keep them fresh and easy to store. Cheddar, Swiss, and American cheese blocks were also neatly arranged in similar packaging. The packaging was simple, with minimal colors and labels. Nothing flashy, just enough to let you know what you were picking up. The packaging looked neat and tidy, with employees neatly stacking them to ensure labels were visible to customers without them having to dig through the case.

15. Handwritten Rain Check Slips at Customer Service

Rain checks were another strategy adopted by grocers in the 1960s to maintain customer trust in case the advertised items went out of stock. If a customer visited the grocery store with the intention of purchasing one of the advertised items, which had already gone out of stock, they were given a rain check. The store clerk wrote the name of the item, price, and expiration date on a slip of paper. This allowed the customer to purchase the item at a later date at the same advertised price. This strategy ensured goodwill between the grocery store and its customers. The grocers understood that they had limited stock, and this might disappoint customers who visited the stores with the intention of purchasing advertised items.

16. Store Intercom Systems Announcing Specials

Throughout the grocery stores of the 1960s, intercoms were an integral part of communication. Installing speakers throughout the grocery store’s ceiling allowed them to broadcast important announcements throughout the day using a compact microphone placed near the checkout lanes. Throughout the day, as the grocery store was filled with patrons shopping, this intercom system allowed them to announce important reminders and advertise new discounts and deals available throughout the store. The echo of this voice became an integral part of every trip through the dairy section and every stop at the produce stand. For employees, it was an important tool in coordinating activities within the grocery store.

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