Images(2)

Tag, Gift

Object number2019.40.14 a,b

MediumPaper; Ink; String

Credit LineGiven in honor of the McGinnis Family

DescriptionTwo (2) gift cards. Each card is rectangular heavy brown kraft paper with crease through center for folding card in half; each card has not been folded and is in flattened state. Front of each card has gold printed store logo and gift text with small hole in top left corner with brown twisted string looped through hole; string is tied in knot at end. Back of each card has gold printed gift text and store information. Interior of each card is blank.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (a-b - card only): 4.5 × 3.5 × 0.031 in. (11.4 × 8.9 × 0.1 cm)
Length (a-b - string only): 6.75 in. (17.1 cm)
Inscriptions(a-b)
Front of each card has gold printed store logo with text "McGINNIS / SISTERS / special food stores" and along bottom left "Gifts of Good Taste".

Back has printed gold text "This _____ gift basket / was specially made for you / by _____ / 412-884-2323 / www.mcginnis-sisters.com".
Historical NotesMcGinnis Sisters Special Food Stores gift cards. As the McGinnis Sisters stores moved into the realm of gourmet and special foods, they also developed a widely known focus on creating specialty gift baskets in a variety of themes and configurations, such as a Pittsburgh-themed gift basket, or baskets filled with specialty meats and cheeses. 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