Loaf N’ Jug Stores Calgary

Loaf N’ Jug were a small chain of convenience stores in Calgary Alberta in the 1970s and ’80s. The business never really flourished as envisioned, and at best are a faint memory in the collective consciousness of long-time residents of this city. To everyone else, they’re an unknown. Competition in that field is brutal and the stores overall didn’t seem to resonate with the buying public.

There’s not a great deal of information available on the firm (alternately Loaf and Jug, or Loaf & Jug, sometimes followed by “foods” in the title), but by piecing together bits and pieces from various sources, we hope to present a good timeline. It was a long and drawn out search, but we sort of thrive on those.

It’s interesting to note that all the former stores still exist today, in one form or another. Most look much as they did. There were nine in total and we’ve listed them in a numerical order used by the company. Loaf N’ Jug also had a central office and warehouse in an industrial park. Not included is a store that operated briefly near downtown as a test, in 1971, and it was never intended as permanent. The building where it resided is gone.

The firm purpose built all their stores and some were stand-alone, where as others were part of a larger combined retail complex. For a time many also operated at Mister Soft Drink outlets. Mister Soft Drink was a lower cost alternative to the major soda brands and sold their products outside traditional retail channels. This was in competition with PoP Shoppe, which was PoPular at the time.

Later on, at least some of the stores changed associations with the similar Pic-A-Pop brand.

Loaf N’ Jug applied some distinctive design elements on the exterior of their buildings and this helps them stand out. Even if painted different or changed somehow, they’re still recognizable for what they were. If you know where to look.

Some stores were made of smoother blocks, with broad curved elements on the corners and at the entryway. Others used rough-textured channeled blocks, and with squared, almost brutalist-looking elements. Of the two, the curved style was the most common.

One former store is unique, following neither pattern and is rectangular-ish with no real distinctive design features.

Other businesses occupy these locations today (liquor places, health offices, eateries, one is still a convenience store) and a few still retain the unique street-signage layout used by Loaf N’ Jug. The firm used a tall, square post with a disc-shaped top. They spelled out the Loaf N’ Jug name in large sideways lettering, with Foods in a smaller font at the top, and shown horizontally.

A round portion of the sign displayed the company logo, a little girl in a checkered dress, carrying a loaf of bread and jug of milk. The whole thing lit up at night. While some of the sign posts still exist (and are in use by current occupants), not all retain the top, circular part.

The company Alpha Milk (Alpha Dairies) was the force behind the Loaf N’ Jug stores.

The company started our promising but soon lost momentum. Presumably the chain faltered due to competition from more focused and aggressive convenience stores. Mac’s (Canadian) and 7-Eleven (US) were the big players of the era and were ruthless in their expansion. Independent Mom & Pop corner stores should be considered too, and were still pretty common back then.

Today, Mac’s is gone (most are now Circle-Ks), 7-Eleven almost appears to be in death spiral (many inner-city stores are like demilitarized zones) and neighbourhood corner stores are pretty much history.

Even though the firm was around for close to a couple decades and had a number of outlets, it seems few people remember the chain. We’ve brought up the subject with many older Calgarians and the response is usually “what?” Or they may vaguely recall seeing them, but never remember stopping in.

It’s almost like the firm never existed and so they remain some obscure footnote in the city’s history. Maybe you’ve maybe heard of them, in passing, but that’s probably it. That applies to us here too, and they’re recalled, but the memory is foggy and distant.

Now let’s hit the road and find them all…

Store #1, 1428-20th Ave NW (Capitol Hill Neighbourhood). Along with #2 and #3, it was the first of the Loaf N’ Jug Stores. It opened as a stand-alone in 1972 and closed about by 1986. There was a house on the property before. Today, a dental office operates out the building and the old vertical sign remains in place. This building is in the curved style.

Loaf N’ Jug #1.

Store #2, 3701-17th Ave SW (Killarney). It’s not far from BIGDoer World HQ. It opened in 1972 and closed only a few years later (by 1976). There was a house on the property before. This store is part of a larger complex, all built in the same pattern (the curved style) and the L&J operated out of the left-most section. A barber shop and Subway sandwich eatery shares this space now.

Loaf N’ Jug #2, highlighting the curved features.

Store #3, 601-67th Ave SW (Kingsland). This one is sort of hidden away on a sideroad, close to busy Chinook Centre Mall and the major thoroughfares of Macleod and Glenmore Trails. It opened as a stand-alone store in 1972, replacing a house on the property, and closed by 1988. By the numbers it was the longest one to operate and that’s sixteen years if you’re math-challenged. I guess that’s not horrible, but still, you know they wanted more. To be a success for all time, have stores everywhere, make a million bucks and be something.

Today, some health related businesses operate out of the building. They’re still using the old Loaf N’ Jug sign post, and this one features the round-disc top. This former store is in the curved style. An independent grocery store (creatively named “The Store”) operated out of this location for more than a decade after L&J vacated.

Loaf N’ Jug #3, during a downpour.

Store #4, 334-14th St NW (Hillhurst). It first shows up in 1973, as part of a larger complex (all in the curved style) and closed by 1988. The city has some aerial photos and one from late 1972 shows the structure under construction. Roughly concurrent with the opening of this one, a new office and warehouse also opened in the NE to serve the growing chain.

This section of property was once the parking lot for a service station. That building, at an angle to the road, is still there and houses a liquor store today. The Loaf N’ Jug section of the complex was a cafe recently, but they moved and the space is up for lease. The brick base for the Loaf N’ Jug sign remains.

About the time this particular store opened, an entry for a similarly named group of stores called Loaf & Cookie Jar appears in directories. Interesting. We can find no connection to the L&J stores, but there’s no real info out there either. It’s an intriguing rabbit hole we might just have to go down at some point, but not today. The Loaf & Cookie Jar company grew to have four stores and all were gone within a few short years.

Loaf N’ Jug #4.

Store #5, 2402-69th Ave SE (Ogden). Opened late 1973/early 1974, and built in the square style with textured blocks. It was part of a multi-unit retail complex. The Loaf N’ Jug operated out of the left section and closed by 1986-ish. There’s a store here today, Ogden Corner Mart Convenience Store and Vape Shop. Prior to this building, there was an empty lot here before.

This store was a block away from and out of view from busy Odgen Road. It seems to us the firm sort of hid their stores in less visible locations for some reason and did it often. The original square sign post is in place and is in use, but sans the rounded top. This address is also listed as 2388 Crestwood Rd SE today.

Loaf N’ Jug #5.

Store #6, 2601-14th St SW (Bankview). This one first shows up in 1973 and closed by 1988. It’s in the curved style and a liquor store operates out of the building today. This one may have been part of a two-unit complex when built or it may have been a stand-alone store, but larger than the others. It’s not clear. An older retail block stood on this property before.

There’s a Starbucks across the street and it’s home to the infamous 14th Street VW Beetle Monster. It was formerly prominently displayed in front of a nearby, and now gone auto repair shop.

Loaf N’ Jug #6

The Starbucks next door.

Store #7, 108-16th Avenue NE (Tuxedo Park). This one shows up in 1973 and the appearance is unlike any of the others. It’s a fairly non-descript rectangular-ish shaped block and is easily seen from bustling 16th Avenue (part of the Trans-Canada Highway at the time). However, it’s almost invisible from (also busy) Centre Street. It’s sort of secreted away behind other business blocks, and unseen from that angle.

There was another building of almost the same size here before and old directories show before Loaf N’ Jug a physician operated out of it. This store closed after only a couple years and was gone by about 1976.

After Loaf N’ Jug, it was a County Style Donuts for a time and in outward appearances retains some of the architectural features of that business. Country Style was a chain in competition with Tim Hortons, but it never thrived as well out this way. They had a few outlets in Calgary for most of their run out here, but briefly expanded to more. This location lasted into the 1990s, but in Calgary some others held on a bit longer. They’re mostly in Ontario now.

Today the building is home to an Asian Eatery called Tea Funny.

Loaf N’ Jug #7.

Store #8, 3235 17th Ave SE (Southview, near Forest Lawn). This one appears in late 1973/early 1974 and is part of a very large L-shaped complex. It’s in the square style with the textured/channeled exterior and the entire complex displays this treatment. There was a motel and trailer park on this land before.

This one closed as a Loaf N’ Jug about 1980 and is now a Chicken-on-the-Way. This fast food joint goes back to the beginning of time (or something close) and has a couple outlets, but purists claim their flagship location on 14th St NW (near Loaf N’ Jug #4) is the best. Eat too much of it and you’ll die an early death. Heart problems you know, but it’ll be a happy ending. I think the stores have defibrillators and a helicopter pad for STARS on the roof.

Chicken-on-the-Way is a Calgary institution, even if the L&J store chain that this building was once part of, never quite obtained that status. The old sign post is still in place and in use, including the round top. Their company colours are yellow (we approve) but some segments are sun-faded white.

Loaf N’ Jug #8.

Store #9, 3106 4th St NW (Mount Pleasant). This one dates to about 1974, in the curved style, and is part of a multi-unit complex. This was the last Loaf N’ Jug built and it closed by 1986. Prior to this building, it appears there was a garage or service station on the lot.

Today, the building is home to a liquor store. This the second L&J repurposed this way and you’d think by this account we’re all boozers in this city.

Loaf N’ Jug #9.

It’s interesting that some L&J Stores quickly closed, and that the rest struggled on for a time and then in one fell swoop, completely vanished. By overall appearances, it looks like the chain never really did a consistently booming business and almost seemed to fly under the radar. In a horse race, they were an also-ran. It’s hard field to break into at the best of times and that they came and went so quickly, proves this unequivocally.

Loaf N’ Jug Stores were franchises and the owners or the company, with perhaps both contributing, must have dropped a good bit of money on those new buildings.

That they only built their stores in older or more established neighbourhoods is curious. We’re not sure if this had any bearing on the long term viability of the business, but it could be a factor. Meanwhile Mac’s and 7-Elevens were popping up in the burbs with regularity. Since Calgary was going through a boom when the Loaf N’ Jug chain was first established, maybe they missed the boat with these new neighbourhoods.

Even so, their was a particular enthusiasm early on and this in reflected in newspaper advertorials of the time. From a piece in the Calgary Herald, dated the 19th of October 1973…

“A new Loaf N’ Jug store will be officially opened in Calgary. It will be the eighth store in the network for this city. The new store will be located at 3235 17th Ave SW (sic – they actually mean SE, the Chicken-on-the-Way place).”

A typical store appears in an artist’s rendering attached to that piece and if we were to guess based on visual elements within that image, they used the 17th Ave SW location for inspiration. The artwork shows a multi-unit complex using a side street entry, with the store on the left side, and only #2 had these features. The rounded elements are not so obvious, but the general layout matches up well.

“Convenience for everyone at the new Loaf N’ Jug Stores in Calgary!” The piece goes on to lists the store operating at the time (only #9 had yet to come) and their managers (and manageresses). The caption further reads “Get to know you friendly Loaf N’ Jug owner…they’re interested in making your shopping easier for you.”

Moreover, it mentions all stores operated from 8am to 12pm, seven days a week. The article also touts the ample parking. “Convenience – fresh merchandise – quality guaranteed – shop in a clean, bright atmosphere. The whole family will find shopping at Loaf N’ Jug convenient stores (sic – convenience?) a pleasant experience…owned and operated by Albertans.”

Below is more from this piece and it shows the company had plans for growth, but in the end, they only opened one more franchise…

“Loaf N’ Jug Stores offer Calgary business men the unusual opportunity to operate an independent business and still share in the growth of the ever growing convenience store industry. The stores are completely owned and operated by Albertans (ed: they stress this a lot). Officials of Loaf N’ Jug Stores in Calgary predict convenience store business will also become big in Canada the next few years.”

They were speaking of US growth and while their prediction for here was spot on, L&J would ultimately loose out.

More…

“Part of the reason convenience stores are becoming so popular is that they employ unique patterns of operation to serve the public.” The piece talks about ease of shopping, the cleanliness of the stores, and the unique and open design of their interiors. “These independent business men share in the profits or suffer any losses in each store’s operation, depending on the success of their own individual (ed: that’s oddly said).”

While Loaf N’ Jug is gone and barely remembered, it’s an interesting slice of obscure Calgary history. That all their buildings remain is something pretty remarkable and they help preserve the legacy of this ultimately unsuccessful business. Even if most folks looking at or working in the buildings don’t know it. The company didn’t last long and didn’t make much of a mark, but if you know where to look (and now you do), it lives on in these places.

There’s a regional chain of Loaf N’ Jug stores in the US, but we don’t think there’s any connection, even if we take into account some interesting coincidences. They were founded about the same time as the Calgary chain and use exactly the same spelling. So Loaf N’ Jug, and not with an & or and.

Many sources were used to make this piece and old phone books in particular were a real boon. We love browsing old directories and the like, but we’re weird that way, so it wasn’t hard work.

It’s our hope that you enjoyed this little Calgary flashback and be happy knowing we’re always out there looking for other lesser-known, mostly forgotten or underappreciated subjects to cover. Thank you for stopping by and for all your support over the last dozen or so years.

The city was a much different place back when these stores were founded (new tab): Calgary Alberta in the 1970s.

They’re saying…

“Relevant, authentic, real!” Dennis Paschke (straight and to the point).

Random awesomeness…
Along the Kootenay Central w’ Greg McDonnell.
Radio Shack Westbrook Mall (Calgary).
Calgary Transit Elbow Drive 40 Years Apart.

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Date of adventure: Various 2025.
Location: Calgary, Alberta (all quadrants).
Article references and thanks: University of Calgary Archives, City of Calgary, Medicine Hat & District Genealogical Society and Calgary Herald Newspaper Archives.

A closer look at the round part of the sign.

An artist’s rendering from an ad & we think they used #2 for inspiration.