Jitney Jungle
Encyclopedia
Jitney Jungle was a chain of supermarkets
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
that began in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, in 1919.
Origins
Originally, brothers Judson McCarty Holman and William Henry Holman and their cousin William Bonner McCartyWilliam Bonner McCarty
William Bonner McCarty, Sr. of Jackson, Mississippi was a founder of the now defunct Jitney Jungle .- About Will :...
founded a charge-and-carry grocery store in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1912. Over the next few years, they opened additional stores, but in 1916, one of their stores found itself unable to collect the amounts owed by some of its customers, and the idea of changing over to a cash-and-carry business model began to take root. While W. H. Holman was away serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, his brother and cousin decided to change over to cash-and-carry, and after he returned from the war, they opened the first Jitney Jungle on East Capitol Street in Jackson on 19 April 1919.
The three patented the Jitney Jungle concept in 1920, but were soon hit with a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire....
. To disprove the infringement allegations, Will McCarty made a trip west and found cash-and-carry stores there, which contradicted Piggly Wiggly's assertion that it had originated the idea. The Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
found in Jitney Jungle's favor.
The chain gradually expanded across Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and into neighboring states, eventually ending up with stores as far away as Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. In 1973 the chain had 38 grocery stores, six gasoline stations, and five drugstores, and by 1992, Jitney Jungle had over 100 stores under several names.
In the 1960s, a convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
subsidiary, Jr. Food Mart
Jr. Food Mart
-History:In the 1960s, Jr. Food Mart was chartered as a subsidiary to the supermarket chain Jitney Jungle.Today, the company is an independent company with many leased locations.They operate convenience stores throughout Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana...
, was formed. All the Jr. Food Mart stores sold gasoline and groceries. The subsidiary is still in operation. Many of the stores have fast service restaurants featuring the popular Creole Fried Chicken. Jr. Food Mart operates convenience stores in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Mississippi and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and formerly operated locations in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
as well.
Jitney Fresh Markets, a grocery chain in Southern California is not related to the former Jitney Jungle Stores of America.
Decline and bankruptcy
In the mid-1990s, after merging with New York investment firm Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co.Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co.
Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. is a private equity firm focused on growth capital investments in middle-market companies in the consumer products, specialty retail and restaurant sectors....
, the chain became debt-ridden, and its ill-advised 1997 acquisition of Delchamps
Delchamps
Delchamps was a chain of American grocery stores, based in Mobile, Alabama.The chain was founded by Alfred Frederick Delchamps in November 1921 at the corner of Lawrence and Canal streets in Mobile, which he operated along with his brother, Oliver...
didn't help the situation. In 2000, Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. is an American supermarket chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. Winn-Dixie has ranked number 24 in the 2010 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2009 fiscal year estimated sales of $7.3 billion by Supermarket News. and was ranked the 43rd largest retailer in the...
acquired Jitney Jungle and Delchamps, and rebranded the stores to Winn-Dixie.
In 2005, Winn-Dixie closed a large number of stores, including most of its stores in Mississippi that had previously been Jitney Jungle stores. Some of these stores remain closed, with no particular prospects of being acquired and reopened. Others have taken on new lives.
The chain's store on East Fortification Street in Jackson, still known to many Jacksonians as "Jitney 14," remains open today as part of a relatively new local grocery chain called McDade's, which also owns former Jitney stores on Duling Avenue in the Fondren area of Jackson and most recently the former Jitney which closed after Winn-Dixie's departure on Ellis Avenue in Westland Plaza Shopping Center.
The oldest among the Jitney stores still in operation are the Fondren store and the old Jitney 14 on East Fortification. The Fondren Jitney store started in the mid-to-late 19th century as a David's Fondren Grocery. It later operated as an A&P Food Store, a Jitney Jungle, and most recently a Winn-Dixie. The original David's Fondren Grocery is no longer in business but the commercial center it started still operates today as a member of McDade's Market.
Another store that recently reopened this year is the old "Jitney Jungle # 4" at 311 West Northside Drive in Jackson. This store was closed by Jitney Jungle on February 18, 2000 and soon after became part of the New Deal Supermarket
New Deal Supermarket
New Deal Supermarket is a brand of grocery stores in the US, primarily operating in Jackson, Mississippi, the state of Mississippi and in California. All copyrights to the "New Deal" brand are property of San Bernardino, California based Johnson Grocery Company...
chain based in Jacksonand owned by former Jitney District Supervisor Kenneth Leakes. This store was closed in 2005 by New Deal as part of its plan to divest under-performing stores. This store was never sold; it was reopened in 2007 as a Grocery Warehouse type store under New Deal's plan to rebuild the company. This location was never remodeled and still sits today with the old Jitney Jungle decor design inside and out.
Jitney owned and operated under the brands Jitney Jungle, Jitney Premier, Sack & Save, MegaMarket, Delchamps and Pump & Save.
Name
There has been much local speculation about where the odd-sounding name "Jitney Jungle" came from. One legend has it that when the first store placed its first advertisement in a local newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, the store called itself the "Jitney Jingle" -- "jitney
Jitney
Jitney may refer to:* Jitney , written by August Wilson* Atlantic City Jitney Association, an association of operators of minibus service in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA* an archaic name for a nickel...
" was a slang word for a nickel
Nickel (United States coin)
The nickel is a five-cent coin, representing a unit of currency equaling five hundredths of one United States dollar. A later-produced Canadian nickel five-cent coin was also called by the same name....
, and the idea was that when you came out of the store, the nickels would still be jingling in your pocket because you'd saved so much money. But the newspaper, the story goes, fumbled the name of the store into "Jitney Jungle," and it stuck. However, this explanation was rejected by W. H. Holman, Jr., a member of the family who started Jitney Jungle. In his 1973 address to the Mississippi Committee of the Newcomen Society of the United States
Newcomen Society of the United States
The Newcomen Society of the United States was a non-profit educational foundation for "the study and recognition of achievement in American business and the society it serves." It was responsible for more than 1,600 individual histories of organizations, from corporations to colleges, which were...
in Jackson, Holman said:
How did they get the name, Jitney-Jungle? The naming process began during a Sunday dinner at the home of Judge V. J. Stricker, a close friend of the families. The “Jitney” in the title was a popular name for the cut-rate five-cent taxiShare taxiA share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between taxis and conventional buses. These informal vehicles for hire are found throughout the world. They are smaller than buses, and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled...
s of that day, many of which were operated by returning veteranVeteranA veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
s. It would be jitneys that would carry many of the cash customers to the store and back. Jitney was also a slang term for a nickel. That fitted in with the “nickel on a quarterQuarter (United States coin)A quarter dollar, commonly shortened to quarter, is a coin worth ¼ of a United States dollar, or 25 cents. The quarter has been produced since 1796. The choice of 25¢ as a denomination, as opposed to 20¢ which is more common in other parts of the world, originated with the practice of dividing...
” that the customer would save by patronizing the self-serviceSelf-serviceSelf service is the practice of serving oneself, usually when purchasing items. Common examples include many gas stations, where the customer pumps their own gas rather than have an attendant do it...
store. Also, a popular expression of that time had to do with “jingling your jitneys in your pocketA pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets may also be attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items...
s.” Thus, Judge Stricker ventured the name Jitney-Jingle. There is a legend that “Jingle” got to be “Jungle” by virtue of a printerPrinter (publisher)In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
’s error in the first advertisement. Rather it was a play on wordsWord playWord play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
by Mr. Will McCarty. Every Jitney would be a jungleJungleA Jungle is an area of land in the tropics overgrown with dense vegetation.The word jungle originates from the Sanskrit word jangala which referred to uncultivated land. Although the Sanskrit word refers to "dry land", it has been suggested that an Anglo-Indian interpretation led to its...
of bargainBargainBargain could mean some of the following:* The process whereby buyer and seller agree the price of goods or services. See bargaining.* An agreement to exchange goods at a price.* Such an agreement where one of the parties thinks the price is very favourable....
s that could save the customer a “jitney” on a quarter."
Popular culture
The Jitney Jungle is mentioned in To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
by Harper Lee
Harper Lee
Nelle Harper Lee is an American author known for her 1960 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that were observed by the author as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama...
:
'And where are you going, Miss Stephanie?' inquired Miss Maudie.
'To the Jitney Jungle.'
Miss Maudie said she'd never seen Miss Stephanie go to the Jitney Jungle in a hat in her life.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, chapter 16
Miss Stephanie (who by the time she had told it twice had been there and seen it all, passing by from the Jitney Jungle she was).
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Chapter 23
A Jitney supermarket is displayed by picture in the first scene of the 2006 American musical film, Idlewild
Idlewild (film)
Idlewild is an American musical film, released August 25, 2006, written and directed by Bryan Barber. The film stars André 3000 and Big Boi of the hip hop duo OutKast, and Idlewild features musical numbers written, produced, and chiefly performed by OutKast...
. In essence, the picture reference to the Jitney was a symbol of what living in the American South during the 1930s was like.
Jitney Jungle is also mentioned in the 1998 play The Glory of Living
The Glory of Living
The Glory of Living is a 1998 play by Rebecca Gilman. The play received its first production at the Circle Theater in Forest Park, Illinois. The play has won many awards and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Plot:...
by Rebecca Gilman
Rebecca Gilman
Rebecca Gilman is an American playwright. She attended Middlebury College, graduated from Birmingham-Southern College, and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop at the University of Iowa...
.
CLINT. '...I robbed a Jitney Jungle once. They got those in Alabama? They got 'em in Florida. They're just like Mini Mart, only better. ...'
The Glory of Living by Rebecca Gilman, act 1, scene 2
In The Help
The Help
The Help is an American situation comedy television series which premiered on The WB on March 5, 2004. The show was a raunchy comedy that focused on the hard-lucked life of a beauty school dropout, who now must work for the wealthy and spoiled Ridgeway family. The rest of the hired help are also...
by Kathryn Stockett
Kathryn Stockett
Kathryn Stockett is an American novelist. She is known for her 2009 debut novel, The Help, which is about African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s.-Career:...
, the local Jitney Jungle is where the whites shop. The blacks shop at a Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire....
Other sources
- History of Jitney Jungle from before the company's demise