King Kullen is widely recognized as opening the first modern supermarket in 1930.
The King Kullen Grocery Company opened its first store on August 4, 1930, in a former garage in Jamaica, Queens, New York. Entrepreneur Michael J. Cullen had previously worked for A&P and Kroger, where he developed a plan for a large, low-price, self-service food store. After Kroger ignored his proposal, Cullen launched the concept himself.
King Kullen combined several features that define a modern supermarket: separate departments, clearly marked prices, discount pricing, high-volume sales, self-service shopping and parking. Its “pile it high and sell it cheap” approach appealed strongly during the Great Depression.
The claim is sometimes confused with the history of self-service grocery stores. Piggly Wiggly pioneered self-service in 1916, but King Kullen is credited with assembling self-service, broad departments, discount pricing and large-scale retail under one roof. By 1936, the chain had grown to 17 stores.