Tastemakers - Historical Grocery Book

06/18/2026

Penn Fruit Supermarket - January 29, 1979 - Image source: Temple University Archives.

06/15/2026

06/07/2026

Read the history, with photos, of The Doughnut Corporation of America in the TASTEMAKERS II book - Bonus Section (Amazon)!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.amazon.com/Tastemakers-II-Entrepreneurs-Mid-Atlantic-Industry/dp/B0DJQZ6M6S&ved=2ahUKEwil75TUhfWUAxWlFVkFHSvGO1MQFnoECCcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0JNFZ7KURuM2vi2Y7aBy3H

Did somebody say National Doughnut Day? 🍩

This photograph is a view of the Doughnut Corporation of America factory building located in Ellicott City, Maryland. The factory was a flour mill and cereal plant that produced the Downyflake blend used in the production of doughnuts, and was one of the area's primary employers. The Doughnut Corporation of America was founded after World War I by Adolph Levitt (1875–1955), the inventor of the doughnut machine. The factory changed hands over the years, and when it closed in 2020, it was the last active flour mill in Maryland.

Doughnut Corporation of America factory, unknown photographer, ca. 1920. MCHC Library, Glass Plate Negative Collection, PP11.143

06/02/2026

SN Super50: Aldi lands at No. 7. The grocer is the fastest growing in the U.S. http://ow.ly/p8yC106zcM5

06/01/2026

1983 Grand Union supermarket TV clip in VA

Credit: Remembering Retail

05/31/2026

Read the detailed history of Pariser's Bakery , with rare photos and an interview with the founder's grandson, in the TASTEMAKERS II book - Bonus Section!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.amazon.com/Tastemakers-II-Entrepreneurs-Mid-Atlantic-Industry/dp/B0DJQZ6M6S&ved=2ahUKEwiYt_-MouOUAxWzLFkFHTrbI78QFnoECB8QAQ&usg=AOvVaw0JNFZ7KURuM2vi2Y7aBy3H

When Motti Margalit first came to the United States from Israel in the late ’90s, he didn’t know much about what his new life would look like, or how long he would be here.

What he did know is that his wife and first child would be at the center of it, and that he wanted to continue to work in the same business as his parents — the bakery business.

So, he got a job at Pariser’s Baker, a Jewish Baltimore institution since 1889. Now, almost 30 years after that move, he is an integral part of that institution’s history as the current owner.