Grocery shopping has become a routine weekly task for most Americans, and for many of us that means heading to the nearest supermarket or large grocery for our food. Gone are the days of corner markets and necessary trips to the butcher, fish monger, or vegetable hawker to fill out a week's shopping list. It wasn't always this way. Marc Levinson takes us through the rise to greatness, and eventual demise, of one of the first supermarkets in his new book The Great A&P and the Struggle for Small Business in America.

The book begins by detailing the beginnings of the Great American and Pacific Tea Company, A&P's predecessor, which was founded in 1859. Initially dealing in domestically-purchased teas and coffees, the company made its profit by buying in bulk, advertising a superior product, and hiking up prices. Its founding partners were George Gilman and John Hartford, the latter of whom had a brilliant eye for advertising. The company's market share grew and competitors borrowed its selling practices. Soon the tea and coffee industry became crowded, and Great American and Pacific decided to expand its offerings.

Slowly, the purveyor began to add food products to its stores' shelves. First crackers, then flours and sweeteners, and slowly a wide range of items were available. At the time, small grocers still provided the bulk of a family's food, but poor sanitation practices and low quality goods made for little competition to the packaged, reliable products offered at Great American and Pacific. Soon the company began packaging its own brand of retail products at lower costs than local industry could provide. Some of these packaged items bore the shorthand label "A&P"—and the name stuck.

Levinson provides great stories and details about the lives of the several men who headed this powerful corporation. At one time, A&P was one of the wealthiest companies in the country, and its executives were the darlings of tabloids and newspapers nationwide. But poor leadership after the death of its founders led to bad investment choices, a lack of ability to adapt to a changing society and economy, and an eventual dramatic drop in the value of the company. By the 1960s, A&P didn't command nearly the market share or respect it had at the turn of the century.

A&P still operates today under many names. Some of its more popular chains include Food Emporium, Waldbaum's, and Pathmark; the company also pioneered the Eight O'Clock Coffee brand. In an era of many large supermarkets, A&P doesn't stand out as it once did. But its history is fascinating and well-documented in Levinson's account of a company built on hard work, by untrained entrepreneurs, which had unprecedented success.

About the Author: A student in Providence, Rhode Island, Leah Douglas loves learning about, talking about, reading about, and consuming food. Her work has also been featured in Rhode Island Monthly Magazine.