Marsh Supermarkets had a flair for architecture that truly set them apart from competition like boring old Kroger. Some of the company’s buildings from the 1960s and 80s weren’t just grocery stores- they were iconic landmarks! The distinctive designs even carried over to their Village Pantry convenience stores. I’ve drawn up a visual primer of each generation, but my favorites were the “Big Orange” outposts.
Marsh made waves around the midwest in 1966 when it entered the fast-growing convenience store segment. By the time the company was sold to a private equity firm forty years later, it operated 154 Village Pantries around Indiana and Ohio!
Around 1981, Marsh began building new Village Pantries that used a design language the company called “Big Orange” due to its prevailing color scheme1. Beyond their bright colors, the stores featured a squared-off layout, concrete block walls, and an outward-swooping awning that’s immediately identifiable. In fact, Marsh’s first-ever Village Pantry was replaced by a Big Orange store in 19852.
The design was polarizing, and company officials later admitted that the color scheme made the stores “a nightmare for some neighborhoods3.” Although many Big Orange stores were repainted, Marsh developed a new format that was more harmonious with surrounding areas and deployed it a few short years after the stores were first unveiled.
Although it’s been about forty years since the last one was built, many Big Orange Village Pantries continue to serve their original purpose. Around Muncie, I know of at least three offhand, while several others have been converted to other uses. During my 1990s kid-hood, most had been repainted forest green and white. Today, they’re neutral beige and brown. I’m sure their neighbors all appreciate the change!
Sources Cited
1 Wilcox, S.E. (1984, March 16). Marsh may build new Pantry store to fit historic neighborhood. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 19.
2 (See footnote 1).
3 Roysdon, K. (1993, January 20). New Village Pantry to feature drive-up window service. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 2.
