Heinen's Grocery Store history

Listed as 16621 Kinsman Road in the 1930 Cleveland City Directory, plat maps place Joseph Heinen’s butcher shop at the eastern corner of The Kinlee Building.

By 1931, stores extended along the east side of Lee Road between South Moreland (now Van Aken Boulevard) and Kinsman Roads.

In 1933, Heinen pioneered the city’s first supermarket across the street from his butcher shop, selling traditional grocery items alongside hand-butchered meats.

A block structure connecting the two buildings opened its doors in November, 1935.

The deed for the property was transferred to Joseph Heinen in 1936.

In 1939 Heinen's began a prudent expansion program by opening other supermarkets in middle- and upper-income neighborhoods.

The Kinsman store would once again move in 1953, relocating to 17021 Kinsman Road.

The company has been involved in civic affairs, such as its annual benefit program for the American Cancer Society, which began in 1978.

Following the founder's death in 1981, John J. Heinen served as chief executive officer.

In 1987, the City of Shaker Heights announced its plans to completely overhaul the Kinsman-Lee commercial district.

The northeast quadrant of the Chagrin Boulevard and Lee Road intersection sat empty in the winter of 1990.

During the winter of 1991, Heinen’s relocated to its new home at the intersection of Chagrin Boulevard and Lee Road.

In 1994 it had 11 stores, 1,300 employees, and $150 million in annual sales.

By the end of 2003, Heinen's operated 15 stores in the Cleveland area and the company maintained its corporate offices at 4540 Richmond Rd. in Warrensville Heights.

He said a Lake Forest resident contacted them, wondering if they would consider an outpost on the North Shore after the closure of Don's Finest Foods in 2008.

They opened three more stores this year, building one in Glenview and replacing former Dominick's grocery stores that closed in Bannockburn and Lake Bluff, where they opened in October of this year. As a result, Heinen's opened its first store in Barrington in 2012, Heinen said.