LaGrange #2 - LaGrange, GA
LaGrange #2
Sing Food Store | Deli
LaGrange, GA 30241
Built in 1969, LaGrange #2 was Sing's sixth convenience store-gas station combo and their second in the LaGrange market. I still find it odd for Sing to choose this market as ripe for saturation, but the company would operate five locations over a 25-year span here. This store's sister, LaGrange #1, was only the third convenience store-gas station built by the Thomasville company and would have been revolutionary for the market. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find newspaper archives for LaGrange to give any deep insight into these stations. I do, however, have extensive historical photos of these two stores, including rare interior shots! With that behind us, let's begin our journey through LaGrange #2 and Summit #30. I toured this store in December, 2021, shortly after this store swapped its awning livery for the new Hop-In brand, which purchased the Summit stores in 2019. I have visited six of the seven Sing-turned-Summit stores, and all of them had varying degrees of grunge: good for the purposes of this blog but not good for the overall look of this 52-year-old convenience store.
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| LaGrange #2 - 1970-ish Shortly after station opening - View from Commerce Avenue toward Hogansville Road |
Over its life, this store has been added on to at least once. While I don't have concrete records, the store looks like it was expanded by Sing in the mid-to-late '80s to provide more seating areas for the deli. We will see how I came to that conclusion later . . . Anyway, we can see the Sing Store's original configuration in the B&W photo above, around the time it was built. In the photo below, the empty wall on the right of the building is from the addition. We can see a vertical seam in the masonry resulting from this, in addition to an Amoco-era "air" sign (like the ones I found in Columbus and Laurel).
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| Summit #30 - March, 2020 (Photo from Troup County property records) |
As with all of the Sing Stores I have come across, the bottom row of windows was replaced with wood paneling at this store: a signature trait of Sing in the 1980s. I still wish I knew whether Sing added this for aesthetics or if they had a problem of the bottom windows getting broken by rocks, feet, etc. This store got the alternating diagonal (herring bone) pattern while other stores got only vertical slats.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 I didn't know they sold tires here! |
Interior Photos
As I mentioned earlier, this is the third of the four stores I have photos of while Sing occupied the location (the others being Tallahassee #3, Bradfordville, and Gulfport). Even though I don't know what the store looked like when Sing left, I have a suspicion it hasn't changed much. Now, lets see what kind of breadcrumbs we find inside this store in 2021 . . . (Just a hint, all of the LaGrange stores were very insightful in this regard. More on that at a later date)
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 Sorry for the blurry shot, but I feel like it matches the character of this store |
Walking into the store, I spot our first Sing relic of the day: the grey cabinets with a red Formica counter. This looks consistent with other former Sing stores I have visited. Summit even added the fancy plexiglass barrier for the cashier (I guess they don't use the same anti-theft tactics that Sing had implemented by July, 1977).
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| LaGrange #2 Sing Store - early-1970's "Merry Christmas from the Browns" (I assume the store manager's last name was Brown) |
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 The sign outside may have said Hop-In but the inside of the store was still proudly a Summit |
Looking to the left, we notice an odd section of lower ceiling; does that look familiar?
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| LaGrange #2 Sing Store - early-1970's Does anybody else get Trader Joe's vibes from this décor? |
If you didn't click the link above, here is some solid evidence. I'm not sure if this picture was taken in 1969 or the early-'70s, but we can see how this lower ceiling was adorned with wood shingles for artistic effect. I also noticed that the store now has restrooms along the left wall which are not present in the vintage photo. It doesn't look like the store had an addition on the left side of the building, so I believe Sing shifted the drink coolers toward the center of the store during the '80s remodel. The location now has two sections of drink coolers separated by a column sticking out, which can be seen in addition to the air vent I mentioned above. I also think it is funny that we can see Sing's "expansive literature section" that was mentioned in my Carrollton post.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 At least this store has a broom and dustpan. |
Here is a look at the back of the store from the left corner. From here, we see the door to the back-office space, the side of the register counter, and the second set of coolers. I also notice plenty of ceiling tiles that need to be replaced which likely date back to the store's last renovation.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 Compared to other stores I have seen, the shelves seemed well-stocked with snacks |
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 Creative stocking: convenience store edition |
Here are two more views of the store interior. The only thing I wonder, is what is considered "Fine Wine" in this store? Would it pair well with the "pickle in-a pouch" or some Fruit Loops?
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| LaGrange #2 Sing Store - early-1970's The reindeer hanging from the ceiling seems so out of place. At least they wanted to be festive. |
Turning back the clock, we see that the store shelves have swapped directions over the years and we get a better glimpse of the old register islands. Just looking at the variety and quantity of products on the shelf, it seems like the Sing Store served a similar purpose to a CVS or Walgreens (sans pharmacy) today. It looks like the entirety of the aisle facing the camera is health and beauty products.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 Coke does have a lot of sub-brands, but couldn't they at least put one caramel-colored soft drink in the Coca-Cola branded refrigerators? Also, I can't imagine Burlington gift cards selling fast since the closest one is an hour away. |
From the other end of the store, we see what would have been the end of the original structure. The section of wall that sticks out next to the Coke cooler would have been the right, exterior wall before Sing added on to the building in the 1980's. This shot also shows us Sing's still-in-tact "Drink Center" island and the other end of the register counter that would have been home to the deli.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 Can somebody tell me why there is a hot food shelving unit on the floor? |
Here is another perspective, looking along the front-end of the store.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 What a collection! |
Turning around, we see more random drink coolers, a half-painted wall (the beige paint is probably from Sing), some more booths that are identical to Perry #1 and Laurel, and a shelf of . . .
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 Shoes (almost) on the floor, and a nice floor stain |
Shoes? I've seen a number of odd things in my convenience store steak-outs but a shelf of ladies' shoes definitely ranks pretty high on that list. Maybe a customer will just fall in love with those cheetah-print stilettos at their local Summit / Shell station!
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 Summit seems like they didn't really know to do with this space. They have plenty of room for more "gambling" machines, after all. |
I guess I couldn't "Hop-In" to a Summit store without finding the typical "gambling" machines. While I can't imagine it being much fun to sit in a seedy gas station all day, it must tickle somebody's fancy; every time I have visited a Summit, there has been at least one person at those machines.
Last, but not least, we will see something that made my whole trip to LaGrange worth it:
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 The 1980's had some loud design trends |
Original, unaltered, Sing Delicatessen tile! This backsplash reaffirmed my theory about the bathroom tiles in Laurel also being used behind the register. Sing would have installed this backsplash during their '80s deli addition in order to brighten up the space; moreover, LaGrange #2 could possibly be the only former Sing Store to have the orange tile in-tact and unpainted. Above the tile, the keen-eyed reader can also see a small blue circle on the wall that reveals Sing's last paint scheme for the store. I assume a camera was mounted there that has since been taken down. This shot also shows how the tile runs to the edge of the wall, confirming that Sing was the one who added on to this store and not a later tenant.
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| LaGrange #2 Sing Store - early-1970's If Mary Kay made refrigerators, they would be this color |
To wrap up this tour, we have one last vintage picture of the back wall of the store. Here we see the food coolers that stood where the register is today, looking toward the right of the store. The tile backsplash now adorns this wall.
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| LaGrange #2 Sing Store - early-1970's Santa's reindeer seem to have run off |
Ironically, this post turned out to be very fitting for December because even Santa wanted to see the action at Sing! This photo, in addition to the historical interior shots, were all captioned "Merry Christmas from the Browns" which I assume was the family of the store manager. It seems likely that the manager would have sent these to Sing corporate as an update on how business was in LaGrange and what condition the store was in for the holiday. Regardless of the intent, here they are making their internet debut nearly 50-years later to provide some rare insight into 1960's convenience store design.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 The sign is accurate, this is definitely the auto zone of the property |
The pump island has vastly changed over the last half-century, as have the cars. However, one thing that hasn't changed is that many LaGrangiens still fill their tanks on this corner of Commerce Avenue and Hogansville Road.
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| Hop-In / Summit #30 - December, 2021 I suppose the red Bronco was the man at the "gambling" machines because the car never moved while I was at the store. |
It may not be the newest or nicest store in the area, but what's to say that LaGrange won't get another fifty years out of the store. Long live the orange tile!
I met somebody the other day who grew up in LaGrange so I decided to ask if they remembered any of the Sing Stores. Of course, the first thing I heard was "Oh yeah, I remember going there to get ICEEs!" As I have noted in previous posts, ICEEs seem to be one of the common threads in the childhoods of people who grew up near a Sing Store. He also recounted how "every Friday night we would stop by the Sing to get an ICEE. It was on the main drag, along with Kroger and Kmart." It is always fun for me to talk to somebody and learn about their memories of the area. When I showed him this post, he mentioned all of the memories the old pictures brought back but how he wasn't quite old enough to remember gas being 33¢ a gallon! The old Kroger that he mentioned is now Big Lots but still retains its 1970's superstore architecture. The Kmart across the street also still stands, but Publix tore down the Walmart to build a store in the 1990's.
This post will conclude 2021's journey's through Sing Stores past, but make sure to check back next year for more adventures, tonge-and-cheek humor, and of course, Sing Stores. I have plenty of exciting content left in the queue and plan to have more "tours" of my own in the coming weeks. Until next year, Bon Voyage!
- The Sing Oil Blogger
Street Views
Aerial Views
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| Historic Aerials - 1955 Future site of LaGrange #2 Sing Store, before the construction of Commerce Avenue |
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| Historic Aerials - 1962 Future site of LaGrange #2 Sing Store, after the construction of Commerce Avenue |
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Historic Aerials - 1981 LaGrange #2 Sing Store before deli addition, on SW corner of Commerce Ave & Hogansville Rd |
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| Google Earth - January, 1993 Former LaGrange #2 as an Amoco, featuring Sing deli addition and gas pump island |
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| Google Earth - November, 2020 Former LaGrange #2 / Summit #30, featuring late-'90s gas pump canopy |
Additional Resources:
Parcel ID: 0502D012005
