Images(2)

Card, Membership

Object number2019.40.11 a-c

Datec. 2000

MediumPlastic

Credit LineGiven in honor of the McGinnis Family

DescriptionSet of frequent shopper cards including credit-card-sized customer card and two keychain tab customer cards.Inscriptions(a)
Front has store logo in top right corner with white and red text "McGINNIS / SISTERS / special food stores".

On front near each photographic image is girl's name, from left image to right image: "Sharon" in white text, "Bonnie" in black text, and "Noreen" in black text.

On front along bottom is white text "My Sister's Favorite Customer Card".

Reverse has black printed barcode number "4 20001 72651 6" and black printed text below including "This card is property of McGinnis Sisters Special Food Stores / ... / www.mcginnis-sisters.com".

(b-c)
Front has store logo at top with white and red text "McGINNIS / SISTERS / special food stores".

On front at center is black text "My Sister's / Favorite / Customer Card".

Reverse has black printed barcode number "4 20001 72651 6" and black printed text below including "Property of McGinnis Sisters Special Food Stores. / ... / www.mcginnis-sisters.com".
Historical Notes“My Sister’s Favorite” Customer loyalty card set featuring childhood photos of the three McGinnis Sisters, this card was a marketing initiative of the third generation of McGinnis family members, c. 2000. The title was a play on the family tradition that Elwood McGinnis tended to tell whichever grandchild or child he was with that they were “his favorite. Part of the McGinnis Family Food Stores collection that encompasses materials related to the operation of a chain of family-run food markets that started in Pittsburgh’s South Hills Baldwin neighborhood in 1946. The first McGinnis market (variously referred to as “McGinnis Supermarket” or “McGinnis Food Market”) was started by family patriarch James Elwood McGinnis when he could not find a job after WWII. Beginning with a fruit cart, he eventually opened a grocery and deli at 2872 Custer Avenue in Baldwin that proved so successful it expanded to multiple stores, including one in Carrick/Castle Shannon and later Monroeville. The stores were operated by different family members. In 1985, three McGinnis sisters – Sharon McGinnis Young, Bonnie McGinnis Vello, and Noreen McGinnis Campbell – assumed operation of the main set of McGinnis Stores, rebranding them “McGinnis Sisters” markets. (Two brothers split off and started other stores not considered part of the chain.) With the three women serving as active spokespersons, the stores garnered more media attention during this period. For most of its operation, the chain was largely connected with stores that operated in the South Hills and Monroeville. Between 2008 and 2017, a McGinnis Sisters market also operated north of Pittsburgh in a shopping center in Adams Township/Mars, Pennsylvania. A series of events between 2017 and 2019 eventually brought about the closure of the chain. Objects in the collection were gathered from throughout the stores and consolidated at the final property, the McGinnis Sisters Special Food Store at 3825 Saw Mill Run Boulevard.

Related institution McGinnis Family Food Stores (1946 - 2019)

Related person James Elwood McGinnis

Related person Sharon McGinnis Young

Related person Bonnie McGinnis Vello

Related person Noreen McGinnis Campbell

Subjects