25. Anderson’s Market, April 1937

In April 1937, Anderson’s Market celebrated its twenty-fourth year in business. To mark the occasion the owners produced a booklet called The Story of Anderson’s which, while functioning as an extended advertisement for the store, also provides a vivid description of an enlightened Concord business on the cutting edge of food merchandising trends and customer service.

When a customer walked into Anderson’s Market, even during those late Depression years, they found a large variety of fresh, attractively-displayed products and, in addition to Lars, Leslie, and Esther Anderson, twenty-one employees who provided the best in customer service. The market was the sole supplier of Birdseye Frosted (frozen) Foods at a time when this new method of preserving food products was just coming into the kitchens of American consumers. Produce was kept dewy and fresh by water spraying from above, and there were five butchers in the meat department to fill customer needs. Behind the scenes was the assembly room, where there was an efficient system at work that used a gravity conveyor to transport boxed grocery orders into one of five available delivery trucks.

Meanwhile, several times a week Anderson employees made Lanson’s mayonnaise, their store brand, as well as assembling gift baskets made specifically to give to those who were traveling on cruise ships from Boston or New York City. The Andersons also maintained a separate warehouse for storing staples such as flour, sugar, soap, and paper. They even utilized the Mill Brook running beneath the building to cool the condensers that were used in the refrigeration equipment.

In all, Anderson’s Market was a friendly, progressive business offering excellent products, while constantly striving to meet the needs of their customers.