Out of the Past: Hoeber’s Foodland, Armor

       By Steve Cichon
       steve@buffalostories.com
       @stevebuffalo

At least two generations of Hoebers served Armor as grocers.

Donald Hoeber can’t believe how many groceries Mrs. Courier was able to get into her basket during a shopping spree she won as a part of the Hoeber’s Foodland grand opening in 1969.

Joseph Hoeber opened a food store next to the Armor Inn in 1944. His son Donald took over the business in 1962, moving Hoeber’s Foodland to a new larger space on Armor Duells Rd. in 1969.

A staff of 35 operated the 7,400 sq. ft. store which was described as “brilliantly lighted with wide aisles and easy to reach grocery and produce shelves” in The Sun when it opened.

WKBW-TV personality Tom Jolls, in his full Commander Tom regalia, was at Hoeber’s signing autographs as a part of grand opening festivities.

Later known as “The Armor Supermarket,” the building was destroyed in an arson blaze in 1987.

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Steve Cichon

Steve Cichon writes about Buffalo’s pop culture history. His stories of Buffalo's past have appeared more than 1600 times in The Buffalo News. He's a proud Buffalonian helping the world experience the city he loves. Since the earliest days of the internet, Cichon's been creating content celebrating the people, places, and ideas that make Buffalo unique and special. The 25-year veteran of Buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates The Buffalo Stories Archives-- hundreds of thousands of books, images, and audio/visual media which tell the stories of who we are in Western New York.