Jane Parker Fruitcakes at A&P

jane_parker_A&P_Fruitcate

MONTVALE, N.J. – We somehow missed this one over the holidays.

Jane Parker is BACK.

Apparently, the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (NYSE: GAP) re-introduced Jane Parker Fruitcake, and now is making the selling of this brand a yearly holiday tradition. Could Ann Page spices be next?

As far as we know, they aren’t reintroducing the other items that had the Jane Parker name, like bread, but the fruitcake was an American classic. Lollipop museum founder Huntington Hartford would be happy.

It’s a good sign for the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2009. The company has enormous amounts of brand goodwill, which it ought to use every way it can.

We are big fans of the history of A&P, and living far away from the closest store, we miss, we miss, we miss the A&P.

And if you missed it like us, they are still selling them on Amazon.

The big question: Do you like your fruitcake hot? Or not.

And the other question for BrandlandUSA readers. Other than Eight O’Clock and Bokar, and Ann Page, what were the older store brands of A&P?

(Update on story, 2015. They still appear to be sold on Amazon, even though the stores are going through reorganization.)

Author

  • Garland Pollard

    J. Garland Pollard IV is editor/publisher of BrandlandUSA. Since 2006, the website BrandlandUSA.com has chronicled the history and business of America’s great brands.

31 Comments

  1. I grew up in gaylord,michigan
    The verrrry Best that i remember was the spanish bar cake it was so delicious!!
    There is no comparision today.
    And the smell of the coffee at the front of the store, the very best memories!!
    Thanks A&P

  2. A & P carried a brand of juice in the can called BC
    juice can you tell me if they still produce that brand.

  3. I have an unopened, small, bottle of Sultana olive oil, distributed by the Great A&P Tea Company. The price is an ink stamp of .29 on the bottle cap. Does this have any collectible value?

  4. Ever heard of ‘Rainbo Supreme Fruit Cake, made by Merico Bakeries and sold by Colonial and Rainbo Bread Companies? THE BEST EVER !!!

    Came in a metal tin 3-5-10 lb.
    Blew away Clazton and won many awards in competitions……

  5. Can anyone remember a thin 2 layed cookie with some type of fruit filling inside sold at the A&P?
    That was the only store my mother shopped at since we walked.

  6. Does anyone remember the brand ALL-GOOD bacon that was sold at A&P stores in the 1960s?

    1. YES! I remember the ALL-GOOD bacon brand that the A&P carried! It was the cheapest priced bacon in the A&P, not the best bacon, shrunk into small pieces after frying was very salty but good enough if you didn’t have a lot of money to spend.

  7. THE BEST FRUIT CAKE I EVER HAD WAS JANE PARKER. CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND THIS CAKE NOW. I LOVE THE A&P FRUIT CAKE. THANKS A. COVEY

  8. I have a 3lb Ann Page Creamy Smooth Peanut Butter jar ($1.17 printed on the label) which was distributed by A & P. Cannot find any info on it. Can anyone point me in a direction please? and thanks!

  9. I am trying to find out what brand of ice cream that A & P stores carried back in the 1960’s & 1970’s that had big balloons on the gallon size carton. My grandfather used to buy it all the time & I would love to have a pic of it or know the brand name. I keep thinking it was Ann Page brand, but I might be wrong. Can you help? Thank you!

  10. When did horseheads close? When did they tear the plant down? And what plant replaced it for A&P? I know ironically a wal mart stands on the old 500 Ann Page rd. site at Horseheads N.Y.

  11. My father was produce manger at the A&P Warehouse in Raleigh,N.C. for 42 years his name was MR. Glen Poole. I drove trucks for 52 years. Thanks A lot A&P Richard Poole 919-269-4078 Zebulon, n. c.

  12. When A&P carried the Ann Page product line, they sold bags of chocolate chips. On the back of the package, there was the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. I lost the recipe. Does anyone know how I could get it again? Thank you!

  13. Remember Mel-O-Bit and Ched-O-Bit packaged cheeses? They were fantastic, wrapped in a sort of cross between waxed paper and plastic. One of the best pre-packaged cheese lines anywhere, ever.

  14. I grew up as well with A&P you shopped no where else.Just the other day I found my mothers A&P’s cookbook.Boy what a treasure and a keepsake from my childhood.Wish A&P stores would come back.

  15. Has anyone else had trouble in receiving ordered jane parker fruitcakes? I ordered several cakes more than 2 weeks ago and have not received them yet and have been getting the run around from a & p since when i call to check on status ?

  16. I am shocked to read that the packaging and graphic design of the original Eight O’Clock coffee will change. What are they thinking? That packaging bestows instant recognition and visibility. The new design is so mediocre and bland, it will ensure the disappearance of the product. Of course, for the people at TATA in India, they have no understanding of iconic American culture—it means nothing to them to kill it off. Even something as simple as this is further indication of the eroding of American society.

  17. A&P was my favorite supermarket. Who can forget those big, beautiful brick colonial A&P stores that were built all over the USA in the 1950s and 60s? I remember many of these type A&P stores lasting into the late 1980s (the few that remain have been sadly painted over and disfigured almost beyond recognition into video stores and such). A&P had a great inhouse selection of brands, many mentioned in previous comments here. Perhaps the dilution of A&P’s brands began in 1979 when they agreed to sell their Red Circle Coffee brand (via A&P’s own Compass Food Division) to competitor supermarkets. No longer exclusive to A&P, consumers may have likely been confused as to how they were finding A&P’s Red Circle Coffee at Non-A&P stores. The further downfall of A&P is well documented in articles from the late 1980s when the A&P store logo was changed by new ownership. In the early 2000’s the remaining A&P coffee brands, Eight O’Clock and Bokar Bean were sold off to an investment group in California who then sold it off to TATA of India in early 2006. TATA is about to change the classic red bag and black art deco label of Eight O’Clock coffee to a completely undistinguished new label, completely obliterating any connection to the originality of this iconic brand. Alas, I feel that we can only remember anything about A&P in our memories and through vintage advertising photographs from the decades when they were America’s favorite supermarket.

  18. I grew up in Evanston Ill, a block away from the
    A&P, one of my all time favorites was Sultana
    peanut butter, their “smooth” style still had some real texture to it, wish I could find it now I’ve missed it for 45 years, it’s #6 on my bucket list.
    I’d buy several cases if they will ship it to FL.

  19. Did some other distributer take over the A&P brand cream ale? Can it still be purchased today, if so where?

  20. Where could I purchase the old brand “A&P cream ale?”

  21. I miss A&P Cressant cookies…..

  22. I miss Jane Parker glazed raised donuts! Outstanding!

  23. Years ago there was a plain while cake called the “dexo wonder cake” on the dexo can of shortening. I have been searching for that recipe. Could you help me out


  24. I have an old A&P yellow coffee can: RED CIRCLE COFFEE, Freshly roasted ground To Order. Checking to see if this can have any value to it.

    Thank you,

    Robert Henderson
    rlhenderson1@comcast.net

  25. Dexo shortening, Dexola cooking oil

  26. More A&P Brands: Dexola shortening, Nutley margarine.

  27. A&P Brands included: Ahoy liquid dishwashing detergent, Yukon Club beverages, Iona canned vegetables, Worthmore candies, Crestview small/medium eggs, Wildmere large eggs, Sunnybrook (extra large eggs and butter), Sunnyfield (pancake mix, flour), Penguin ice cream, Marvel bread, Marvel saltine crackers, Marvel ice cream, Allgood bacon, Super Right meats.

  28. Red Circle Coffee, Sail cleaners and detergents, Sultana, Cap’n John’s seafood items, Sparkle gelatin, Cheeri-Aid (like Kool-Aid), Regalo produce, White House evaporated milk, Our Own and Nectar teas to name a few

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