Park-n-Shop Supermarket (Gone)
Charlotte, NC
Photo courtesy Paul Foster

Cruising along Wilkinson Boulevard, the Park-N-Shop Supermarket is the kind of building that makes you slow down for another look. Long before today's cookie-cutter grocery stores, this place showed that even a supermarket could have a little style. The dramatic roofline, huge walls of glass, and clean mid-century lines gave it the look of something straight out of the optimistic 1950s.

The flagship store opened in the late 1950s after the original Park-N-Shop location was destroyed by fire. It quickly became one of Charlotte's most recognizable roadside landmarks, thanks to its striking architecture and the giant rooftop letters that could be seen from a distance. It wasn't just a place to pick up groceries. Families could stop at the snack counter for a sandwich or a milkshake before heading back out on the road, making the weekly shopping trip a little more enjoyable.

Park N Shop
Charlotte, NC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

One of the building's most unexpected connections came during the 1960s, when conjoined twins Violet and Daisy Hilton worked here as grocery cashiers after their days in show business had ended. The sisters had once traveled the world as vaudeville performers and appeared in the 1932 cult classic Freaks. It's a surprising piece of history tied to what otherwise looked like an ordinary neighborhood supermarket.

Like many independent grocery chains, Park-N-Shop eventually faded away, and the landmark building sat vacant for years. Fortunately, someone recognized that the architecture was too special to lose. Rather than tearing it down, the old supermarket was carefully restored and given a new purpose while keeping the features that made it such a memorable roadside stop.

UPDATE: The Park-n-Shop became Compare Foods during Summer 2004. They still have the Park-n-Shop sign on the roof, but with a Compare Foods banner over it. Many thanks to Dave Hemby for this update. 10-04

Park N Shop
Charlotte, NC
Photo courtesy Richard Weiss

UPDATE: Here is a former Park-n-Shop market seemingly long abandoned but still pretty much mid-century modern and with an intact vintage sign. I saw one of these buildings on the east side of town still used as a market and wondered about it's origin, it must have looked like this when new. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 04-08

UPDATE: The grocery store is gone, but the beautifully restored building now serves as offices under the name Park-N-Workshop. Although the giant rooftop sign has disappeared, the classic mid-century design still makes this one of Charlotte's most distinctive roadside landmarks. 08-26