Do You Remember? The Rise and Fall of Farmer Jack Supermarkets in Michigan

'Cause it's always savings time at Farmer Jack! If that catchy jingle isn't already going through your head, you may not have lived in or around Michigan between 1966 and 2007.

(And we've included audio from the iconic jingle below, which is sure to earworm its way into your brain and have you humming the rest of the day.)

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But what led to the demise of the perennial grocery chain?

Early Beginning

The history of Farmer Jack dates all the way back to the early 1920s in Metro Detroit. It all began when Jewish-Russian immigrants Tom Borman and Sam Burlack opened a neighborhood grocery store called Tom's Quality Meats in 1924. A few years later, Borman's brother Al opened a second store and the two formed a partnership.

Throughout the next two decades, the strength of the brothers' partnership waned and dissolved before they once again came together to incorporate Borman Food Stores Inc., operating under the Food Fair moniker.

As the corporation grew, the pair gobbled up smaller grocery markets operating 46 stores in the Metro Detroit area by the late 1960s.

Farmer Jack Was Born

The Borman brothers opened their first Farmer Jack store in 1965, including home goods, garden supplies, and other non-grocery items. As the 1960s turned into the 1970s, the model had become so successful that the entire chain of Borman stores adopted the Farmer Jack moniker.

In 1989 the chain was sold to the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. which we all knew as 'A&P.' The Farmer Jack Brand was so successful in the Metro Detroit area that A&P stores were rebranded as Farmer Jack.

Expanding Beyond Michigan

By 1987, the chain was a formidable cash cow and purchased the languishing Safeway chain, expanding the Farmer Jack Footprint to Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming. But the expansion was short-lived as those stores were sold to Albertsons in 1988.

Expansion Leads to Financial Ruin

In the early 2000s, the chain was once again in expansion mode, opening stores outside the Metro Detroit area.

Farmer Jack stores began popping up in Flint, Lansing, Saginaw, and Toledo, but the move has long been considered a misstep. Opening new stores meant shifting capital away from remodeling and upgrading existing stores, paving the way for competitors to steal market share and customer loyalty.

The Demise of a Longstanding Brand

So what led to the collapse of the once-successful brand?

According to Crain's Detroit Business, the chain began to flounder in the early 2000s as the likes of Walmart and membership clubs like Costco began competing with the chain.

Price wars between Meijer, Kroger, and Super K-Marts ensued, and Farmer Jack's delayed response was probably too little, too late.

Many customers were disenfranchised when the partnership between Farmer Jack and Northwest Airlines was dissolved, meaning airline miles were no longer accrued for grocery purchases.

Dozens of stores were shuttered from 2004 to 2006 and in March 2007, the chain's parent company announced plans to sell or close Farmer Jack by July of that year. Its last distribution center closed in May and on July 7, 2007, the remaining Farmer Jack stores closed their doors forever.