THE RISE AND FALL OF JITNEY JUNGLE

There are some business chains that you never see anymore. A grocery store that I can vaguely remember from my early childhood was Jitney Jungle. Jitney Jungle was a relatively short lived grocery store chain, compared to some others. They were around from 1919 until 2000. They were ultimately acquired by Winn Dixie. Some grocery store chains have been around for much longer. A&P, for example, was a grocery store that was around from the time of the Civil War days until only about a decade ago. However, despite their longevity, they ultimately went bankrupt, the same fate as Jitney Jungle. Other chains have remained successful for over a century. Piggly Wiggly was founded in 1916 in Memphis Tennessee. Winn Dixie was begun in Florida in 1925. These remain successful grocery store chains to this day. Jitney Jungle, however, was a name that I remember from my childhood. It occurred to me at one point that one never hears about them anymore. So I decided to do some research and see if I could find out whatever happened to them. Jitney Jungle was begun in 1919 in Jackson, Mississippi by two brothers, Judson McCarty Holman and William Henry Holman, and their cousin William Bonner McCarty. Seeing the last name of the cousin, and Judson's middle name, it's easy to guess where his middle name came from. It would have been his mother's maiden name. These three began a grocery store in Jackson in 1912. They opened more stores within the next few years, but soon they were caught in some financial difficulties. William Henry would serve in World War I. Meanwhile his brother and cousin continued the business and changed over to a cash and carry business model. After William Henry returned from the war he rejoined the business. The three opened the first Jitney Jungle on East Capitol Street in Jackson on April 19, 1919. They soon faced another challenge, a lawsuit brought on by Piggly Wiggly of allegations of infringement. William McCarty then made a trip out west and found stores out there which used the cash and carry model, and this disproved the charge by Piggly Wiggly. From Jackson Mississippi the chain began to spread. In the decades that would follow it would expand into neighboring states, Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Eventually they made it to Florida. However, they would never expand beyond the south. Yet, for a time things appeared to be going well for the chain. They began to operate more than just grocery stores. They opened gas stations and drug stores. By 1973 they had a total of 38 grocery stores, 6 gas stations, and 5 drug stores. In 1965 Jitney Jungle joined with Topco Associates LLC, which is currently the largest retail food Group Purchasing Organization in the country, and is based in Illinois. As a result Jitney Jungle was able to be more competitive in the market. For a while things were going well for the company. This was until the 1990s when things began to turn south. The founding family sold the company to Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherill & Co, a New York investment firm for $400 million. In a five year time period the company suffered greatly from poor management, and rising debt. In 1997 the company bought out Delchamps, another gulf coast based grocery store for $213.6 million. This turned out to be a bad move for Jitney Jungle, made under ill advisement, and it led to their ultimate bankruptcy. In turn, Winn Dixie would buy them out in 2000. In time many Winn Dixie stores that had previously been Jitney Jungle would close as well. I can remember a few Jitney Jungle stores from when I was a small child. I remember one in McComb and one in Columbia. My maternal grandparents lived in Clinton, west of Jackson and I can remember hearing about one there as well. I can remember the location of the McComb Jitney Jungle, but I don't particularly remember going inside, although I am sure that I did at some point. I can remember the Jitney Jungle in Columbia. For anyone familiar with Columbia Mississippi, it was in the same location as Tractor Supply now. The main memory that I have of that Jitney Jungle is seeing my great grandmother in there while we were shopping one afternoon. Jitney Jungle was one of those many grocery stores that has come and gone. Unless recorded it will likely be lost to history. However, many people in the south remember it well, and can recall shopping there. It was a store that I vaguely remember as a little boy that went out of existence when I was a small child. Still, it is one that is interesting to learn about.