Piggly Wiggly opens first self-service grocery (1916)
Clarence Saunders opened the first Piggly Wiggly in Memphis, introducing self-service shopping. Customers picked goods from shelves rather than asking clerks behind counters, which cut costs and changed grocery retail.
The model spread rapidly, leading to modern supermarkets.
Variety and lower prices became standard, and independent grocers surged.
Like Family Supermarket's potential opening, a new grocery format can reshape how a neighborhood shops.
