A King Kullen timeline

1930 -  Michael J. Cullen opens King Kullen Grocery Co. on Jamaica Avenue in Queens.

1933 – Company buys Trump’s Market, a single grocery store in Woodhaven, Queens, from developer Fred Trump, father-to-be of future President Donald Trump.

1936 – Nan Cullen assumes control of the company after the sudden death of her husband, Michael J. Cullen.

1956 – First area supermarket chain to offer trading stamps; they were discontinued in 1969

1960s – Rejects buyout offers from Gristede Bros. Inc. and First National Stores Inc.

1961 – Company goes public; the Cullen family retains a controlling interest.

1966 – Buys the nine-store Blue Jay grocery chain, expanding in Suffolk County

1980 – Reaches a high point of 53 stores, of which 31 are in Suffolk

1983 - Goes private again.

1991 – Establishes five separate businesses to manage construction, trucking, advertising and other activities for King Kullen and others.

1995 – First Wild By Nature store opens in a former King Kullen location in East Setauket.

2004 – Launches "Grown on Long Island" program featuring produce from local farms

2019 -  King Kullen agrees to sell its 32 stores and 5 Wild by Nature organic supermarkets to Stop & Shop.

SOURCES: International Directory of Company Histories, King Kullen Grocery Co., Newsday, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle and Long Island Press

With Laura Mann