Grocery Chain That Started in Portland, Maine is Technically the Oldest in the U.S.

Piggly Wiggly for many years has been dubbed the OG of grocery chains, which isn't totally wrong—but also, not totally right. That honor technically belongs to none other than Shaw’s, which turns an impressive 165 years old this month. Yep. This grocery store has been around longer than your Nana’s Nana.

According to Shaw's, It all started back in 1860 when a guy named George C. Shaw opened a little tea and grocery store in Portland, Maine. He probably didn’t think it’d still be slinging bananas and boxed wine in 2025, but here we are.

Where was this little grocery store in Portland located? According to Shaw's website, it was at 285 Middle Street. When I punched that into Google Maps, this is the view that popped up. 

With odd number addresses being on the left, it would lead me to believe it was located in or near the Nickelodeon (Patriot Cinemas) building, even though the movie theater itself is technically on Temple St.

Over the decades, it evolved from a local general store to a regional grocery chain. In the 1910s, Shaw's website states that it merged with Brockton Public Market (out of Massachusetts), and that combo helped fuel the chain’s expansion across New England.

Fast forward to today, Shaw’s employs about 30,000 employees and operates around 150 locations across Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island, according to Shaw’s corporate history (via Albertsons).

And yeah—while Piggly Wiggly might get the credit for inventing self-service shopping back in 1916, Shaw’s had a 56-year head start on just existing. If you’re in New England, buying granola bars and frozen pizza at Shaw’s, know that you’re walking the aisles of grocery history.