It opened in 1976 to lots of fanfar.

It’s closing in 2025 to more fanfare, mostly in the form of great memories and sadness.

United Supermarket in Kingfisher is closing its doors next month, the company announced last Monday on social media.

The message read: This was not an easy decision and it comes with heavy hearts. For years, you have welcomed us into your lives and allowed us to serve this community we care about so deeply.

Your loyalty, kindness and support have meant more to us than words can ever express. We hope you’ll stop by so we can thank you in person for being such an important part of our story.

With gratitude. United Supermar-ket Kingfisher The supermarket will close on Aug. 16, marking the end of nearly 50 years of service to the Kingfisher community and beyond.

The store opened in February 1976.

It publicized a grand opening week (Feb. 8-14) in which it promised free carnations to the first 500 ladies each day, free balloons and suckers for the children and free cigars to the first 500 men each day.

James Hutchison was the manager when the store opened and since then the grocer has not only been a staple for Kingfisher shoppers, but workers as well.

“My first job was at United when I was in high school,” said Juliette (Ramer) Lentz, who now works at her alma mater at Lomega. “I worked there several years until I graduated in (high school) in 2000. I made several friends while working.

“Greg Clark was the manager. He would tell his employees that you never ask if someone needed help out with groceries. You would simply say, ‘I’ve got this for you!’ And he would say, ‘If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.’

“Great memories.” Lentz shared her thoughts on the KT&FP Facebook page in the comments section of a post about United’s impending closing.

Many shared much the same memories.

“It was not my first job, but I started the day it opened,” Kim Stewart wrote. I was hired by James Hutchison, who was store manager and a great boss.”

Kim Sigl, a longtime business owner in Kingfisher at DSIGNZ Custom Screen Printing, worked at United in 1984.

“No scanners. You had to each item price like you were running a 10-key. You also had to come early, learn and remember the produce prices because you couldn’t have a cheat sheet at the register!” she wrote.

Jaime Pool was there for nearly 15 years beginning in 1992.

“Stayed way longer than I ever anticipated,” she wrote.

She recalled starting there full-time and moving from checker to head checker to frozen food manager to bookkeeper.

Even after taking a fulltime position at Pioneer, Pool still worked part-time at United.

“I loved all the regular shoppers that I got to know over the years and worked with a wide variety of people as the turnover was constant.”

Added Eric Mowdy: “My brother and I worked there when we were in high school. It was a great first job. It forced us to be responsible enough to get up early because we had to be there at 6 a.m. on the weekend to break down the trucks.

“We worked with some great people, too. Greg Clark was a fantastic manager. He would never ask you to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself.”

The grocery chain was responsible for moving some people to Kingfisher.

“United brought me to Kingfisher in 1980 when my husband at the time transferred to the meat market from Altus,” wrote Pamela Winans.

The memories are vast and varied.

Some people remember the Green Stamps, some remember going shopping there with parents or grandparents, others remember the ash trays at the end of every aisle and still others met their spouses while working at the store.

There are producers who say they owe a lot to United as well.

Hansen’s Eggs is based out of Hitchcock and commented on the Facebook post as well.

“United Supermarket has been a customer of ours for decades. Beginning in the 1980s, Orville Hansen began acquiring grocery stores as customers. United was the first of many, which included Karl’s Apple Market in Watonga and The Okeene Market.

“Our company would not be where it is today without United Supermarket in Kingfisher. Thank you Kingfisher and thank you United Supermarket for your many years supporting local businesses like ours.”

United Supermarkets of Oklahoma was a privately- held company that was in operation for more than 90 years.

It sold its 26 Oklahoma stores to Homeland Acquisition Corporation (HAC, Inc.) in January 2008.

HAC, Inc., is the parent company of Homeland and other grocery stores under its umbrella.

The Kingfisher closing is one of five announced by the company, four of them in Oklahoma.

It’s also closing a Homeland in both Jay and Pauls Valley as well as a Discount Foods in Ponca City. Also closing is a Piggly Wiggly in Georgia.

HAC, Inc., informed owners of the building in Kingfisher at which its been located since it opened of its intent to close during the first week of July.

Among the owners of the building is Bart Boeckman, who said he’s actively seeking a tenant to fill the void left by United.

He said he prefers it be another grocery store.

“I feel like Kingfisher wants another grocery store,” Boeckman said. “Kingfisher needs another grocery store.”

[ Editor’s note: Coming up in future editions, we’ll look at the local impact of the store’s closing, including how it affects United’s employees. Also, for more “memories” of the longtime grocery store in Kingfisher, see the KT&FP Facebook page.]