Michael J. Cullen was born to Irish immigrant parents in 1884. Once
Cullen turned 18, he began working for the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
where he remained for 17 years. After leaving that firm, he joined the team at
Kroger Stores where he worked from 1919 to 1930. While working for the Kroger
Stores, Cullen developed his concept for a supermarket which he tried to pitch
to the president, but when his letter went unanswered, Cullen decided to quit
and start his journey with his family.
After quitting Kroger Stores, Cullen moved to Long Island with his
family where he leased a vacant garage in Queens. This vacant garage was opened
on August 4, 1930 and named King Kullen Grocery Company, which was the world’s
first supermarket. This supermarket was the first to focus on low prices,
larger square footage of buildings, cash sales, no delivery services, and low
rent locations with ample parking. King Kullen Grocery Company carried
approximately one thousand items which ranged anywhere from grocery items to
automotive accessories, and it was the first to do so. Newspapers were
describing the store as the “World’s Greatest Price Wrecker” due to its
immediate success.
King Kullen Grocery Company’s success was able to lead to eight stores
being operated within two years, and 15 additional locations within 6 years and
annual sales of approximately $6,000,000. By 1952, King Kullen Grocery Company
has 30 stores with the stores sizes ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 square feet
compared to the earlier stores ranging from 5,200 to 6,400 square feet.
Although the company was growing and extremely successful, Michael J.
Cullen did not live to see it. Cullen passed away in April of 1936 at the young
age of 52. After his death, his widow, Nan, took over the King Kullen Grocery
Company and became the Chairman of the Board. She was also joined by her sons
James A. and John B. Cullen, who followed in their father’s successful
footsteps.
The family’s continued success was also due to their innovations in the
field. In 1937, King Kullen stores began supplying shopping carts to ease
shopping experiences for their customers. In the 1950s, they introduced
conveyor belts, air conditioning, automatic doors, and in-store music. In 1982,
King Kullen introduced in-store bakeries.
King Kullen currently operates 32 locations within Nassau County and
Suffolk County. King Kullen Company
opened Wild by Nature, which is a
grocery store selling natural products. Wild by Nature currently has five
locations across Long Island.
Sources:
“King Kullen.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Sept.
2019,
“King Kullen Supermarkets, Pharmacies, Grocery and Catering.” King
Kullen,
“Michael J. Cullen.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20
June 2019,
