Did You Grow Up with IGA? I Did

Many people don't know that ACE Hardware is a co-op rather than a chain. It's a marketing and purchasing co-op, with independent retails as members. 

I grew up in a tiny town that had an IGA grocery store. Recently I was wondering if IGA was a co-op similar to ACE, since I know that my local IGA was owned by people in town, though IGA was a regional or national brand. 

Well, it turns out it's not a co-op, but it's something close to that. It was started in 1926 by a guy who wanted to support franchise supermarkets in an earlier, less controlled model of franchising than we're accustomed to now. 

IGA's stores used the red and white logo signage, and as time went by they got access to the branded canned goods it produced. But they didn't have every little thing about their stores dictated to them the way a fast-food franchisee does these days. People in their towns thought of the stores as local. I know I did.

According to the linked article, at one time not all that long ago, IGA was in 46 states. It looks as though now it's still in four. 

I know it's not the name on the store in my hometown anymore.