Tallahassee #4 | Walmart #1408 - Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee #4
Sing Stop N' Shop Food Center | Deli
2009 West Pensacola Street
Tallahassee, FL 32304
Scroll Down for today's MTC post on Walmart Supercenter #1408
Hey y'all, welcome back to The Sing Oil Blog! Despite my recent launch of the Grocery South Substack feed, I don't intend to abandon my pride-and-joy over here. I also decided that this week would be the perfect time to take a brief hiatus from this year's Marketplace Madness series to focus on another old Sing Store.
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| (Hiatus Edition) |
This blog has been an interesting journey for me considering how much has changed since it began. I started with the goal of showcasing some of the old gas station photos in my collection and have morphed this into a passion project (hopefully not an obsession) for historical documentation. Furthermore, this site has proven to be an invaluable outlet for my late-night thoughts and relentless rants. You may not realize this, but I've found a form of therapy in creative writing; I find this entirely ironic considering my disdain for the subject back in grade school. There is something about proofing the perfect paragraph, slipping in subtle alliterations, or referencing random reflections on bygone memories that I find enjoyable. Heck, where else could I write an entire introduction using an underlying theme of sewing in my diction. It is subtleties like these that I enjoy in others' writing, and that I hope y'all appreciate in mine.
So, where am I going with this?
Well, as I was preparing for this post, I had forgotten that I even photographed the Tallahassee Sing #4. The fact that I have visited so many former Sing Stores and that many of them were documented that long ago still baffles me. It is also crazy to consider how much of my time the ALDI/Winn-Dixie coverage has consumed on top of my busy work and social calendar. (Then again, it is cool to know that I have spurred numerous news articles and that I know more about this drama than seemingly any traditional reporter.)
I, regardless, have not lost track of my original goal of documenting every remaining former Sing Food Store, and aim to make 2026 the year I achieve this. Moreover, I also see this milestone as an opportunity to try something new: Grocery South.
For now, though, we will continue with the same-ole-same-ole that you have grown used to.
Sing Oil Company’s fourth foray into the Capital City began to take shape on the heels of the area's first Sing Store – Tallahassee #3. Sing filed for a permit to construct a $35,000 convenience store here in July 1968, which is the same year its older sibling opened on Thomasville Road. The Pensacola Street station would take several more months to complete and likely opened in early-1969.
This is a part of town that I am not as familiar with, but the station seems like it was intended to serve the neighborhoods surrounding Florida State University. Sing's longtime neighbor across the street was Publix #207 and the Westwood Shopping Center which is now home to a Planet Fitness and an ALDI.
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| From the archives |
Similar to Tallahassee #3, this station featured an upscale brick exterior with large paned windows and a shingled roof. It is as if Sing was going for a Georgian-style building to set it apart from the typical Spanish-style architecture found in Florida.
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| The Tallahassee Democrat (Newspapers.com) - April 24, 1968 - Is this a prank? |
If this ad from the original Sing Stop N' Shop is anything to go off of, Tallahassee #4 carried a "full line of fancy foods" when it opened, such as clam chowder, caviar, foreign teas, espresso, imported mustard, and escargot. This is quite the departure from the typical "high demand" groceries I expected from a convenience store at the time, but hey, something has to set you apart. I just can't imagine eating gas station snail and I'm also unsure of the difference between "French Snails" and "Escargots" . . .
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Tallahassee Sing #3 - 1968 No escargot found here . . . |
My post on Tallahassee #3 features several interior photos, including the one above, depicting how its sibling on West Pensacola likely looked during the late-1960's.
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| The Tallahassee Democrat (Newspapers.com) - August 31, 1971 |
Regardless, this store seemingly entered Tallahassee with a bang. Only two short years into its tenure, an article was published in The Democrat describing how a Tallahassee father purchased a "flame proof" party popper for his daughter from the Sing. Driving home, "eight-year-old Stacey Haslam pulled the string on her popper. As the streamers shot from the popper, they burst into flames, scorching the front of Stacey's shirt before her father could extinguish the flames." What a surprise! Nobody was thankfully injured, but the item was immediately removed from shelves.
Beyond those old stories, we are lucky enough to have circa 1984 video footage from the outside of this store thanks to blog contributor Henry H. The video is, oddly enough, a reenactment of a robbery that occurred at the station (shocker).
Jumping back to this decade, we can still find a number of traits dating back to the building’s construction.
The first thing that jumped out to me was the exposed brick and original window panes still visible at the bail bond shop next door. The three adjacent storefronts to the Sing originally housed the Colonial Barber Shop, a dry cleaners, and a laundromat . . . I can’t say that a bail bondsman is exactly an upgrade . . .
The perimeter columns also still feature Sing’s original brick detailing at the top, despite the old shingle roof now being obscured.
Looking down the front walk, we find a wall of cypress paneling (another Sing hallmark) in place of several of those large old windows. At least the wooden columns out front still give this space a homier feel.
Once inside, we find the typical Circle K fare and a layout that tremendously reminds me of the Tallahassee Sing #6 we toured a few months ago. I would have to guess that this layout implemented after Sing’s exit given the newer grey floor tiles shown above.
A limited selection of hot food items was located directly in front of the door, followed by the familiar Polar Pop drink fountain along the back wall. Sing first offered hot deli foods in this store sometime between 1985 and 1987.
Built-in drink coolers rounded out the remainder of the wall heading toward the left corner.
Snack foods and a small section of automotive items filled up the next aisle . . .
. . . while candy and Twinkies filled up the following one. Isn’t it astonishing to think about the percentage of floor space in a convenience store dedicated to sugary foods; what a long way they have come from selling caviar, heads of lettuce, and pantyhose! You know what else is astonishing?
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| The Miami Herald (Newspapers.com) - March 2, 1990 |
This store was specifically mentioned in a 1990 Miami Herald article for being one of the first places Tallahassee residents could find a Hostess Twinkie. The caloric confectionery didn't make its way to the Capital City, or any of the Florida Panhandle for that matter, until 1990 – sixty years after the snack cake was first brought to market. Rodney Hurst, manager of this Sing mentioned that, "We had a lot of people asking for them. The first week, we sold out." What an interesting twist!
The last aisle featured the familiar breakfast bars, cereal, and coffee.
Turning around, I noticed this oddly large, oddly empty, wine display against the leftmost wall. FSU must’ve had some ragers the night before because the shelves were barren!
If you partied too hard the night before, Circle K had a cooler full of Gatorade to help you get up the next morning (unless those old tricks don't work anymore).
Unless you wanted to go full-forced with a “hair of the dog” attitude – then you just grab a paper oil funnel and go to town with a bottle of Barefoot. Oh, and having a bail bondsman next door doesn’t hurt, either!
As for the old barber shop, I can't tell if Circle K or the bondsman enveloped that old space. It appears, regardless, that the Redbox machine was obscuring the storefront on my last visit.
That will conclude our adventures on West Pensacola Street but buckle up and keep on scrolling to learn about today's More Than Convenience feature just up the road.
Street Views
Google Street View - November 2007
Google Street View - June 2011
Google Street View - May 2019
Aerial Views
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Tallahassee - Leon County GIS - 1970 New Sing Stop N' Shop Food Center |
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Tallahassee - Leon County GIS - 1983 Sing Stop N' Shop with surrounding development resulting from new Publix shopping center |
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Tallahassee - Leon County GIS - 2009 Circle K store in former Sing |
Additional Resources:
Parcel ID: 2134510001200
Wally World
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Walmart Supercenter #1408
Tallahassee West Tennessee Street Supercenter
4400 West Tennessee Street
Tallahassee, FL 32304
It may be hard to believe, but the S.O.B. is taking you to a Walmart today!
Any of my longtime readers should be surprised by this given that Wally World is typically on my personal "naughty list" of retailers. On the other hand, the infamous "soulless void of retail" has been making improvements as of late and has managed to claw its way above Kroger and that dastardly German discounter on my pecking order of shame. I am now proud to admit that I frequent Walmart roughly two to three times a year, which is up from my previous average of 0.75. Yes, some of the people may remain; however, the craziest Walmartians can't even outshine the progress that has been made. Things are looking up for the Bentonville-based retailer!
In all seriousness, Walmart has made significant progress over the last few years toward improving its dirty and disorderly image. The company's outgoing remodel campaign, noted for its airport-inspired signage, brought a much-needed fresh look to stores, and its "store of the future" prototype looks bright and promising. I may not seek out a Walmart, but I feel that the shopping experience has become much more tolerable as of late.
One of my readers, aliased as "Welcome to Florida", offered to share several photos he took of Tallahassee's third Walmart for me to include in a post. I accepted this as a much appreciated gift considering how my interest in covering yet another Tallahassee Publix is dwindling.
I have personally visited this Walmart once but never considered taking any pictures (I photograph enough stores as it is). Likewise, all photos henceforth are courtesy of Welcome to Florida unless otherwise noted.
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| The Tallahassee Democrat (Newspapers.com) - January 24, 1990 |
Walmart #1408 opened as "division 1" store on January 31, 1990, and followed on the heels of 1987's store #1077 on Capital Circle Southeast and 1988's store #1223 on Thomasville Road. Likewise, #1408 remains Tallahassee's oldest Walmart given that its older siblings were replaced by newer, larger stores.
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| Google Earth - March 2003 - The "Division 1" store |
The Walmart gained an additional 65,000 sq ft grocery section during its 2004 Supercenter upgrade, bringing the total square-footage close to the 200,000 mark; a small strip of shops to the east was demolished to make way for the additions. This was ultimately the store's second expansion, with the first one being performed in the late-1990's to square off the back of the building.
It's also worth pointing out how the old Lowe's space next door remained unharmed throughout this process. It was replaced by a new store closer to I-10 sometime around 2000 and the old home improvement warehouse lives on today as a Ross Dress for Less.
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| Eagleview - February 2007 |
Walmart went on to remodel this space thrice following the enlargement: once in the late-00's to bring the "Project Impact" look, once in 2020 to showcase the "Cyanominimalist" look, and once again in mid-2025 to implement the "Airport" design.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
That "Airport" look is, of course, what we find in the store today. Entering through the right-hand set of doors, we find ourselves in the midst of the fresh grocery departments surrounded by many different blue, grey, and tan textures. I find the Florida State football schedule signage especially interesting given its semi-permanent installation and its wise placement within the space.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Turning around, we see the new "Grab & Go" section of snack foods as well as the entry / exit doors just beyond.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Walmart began piloting a partnership with Dunkin' last year to include coffee and doughnut shops in new and remodeled stores, and this Tallahassee store was an early adopter. The concept makes complete sense, given that Starbucks has been teaming up with other retailers for years to open mini kiosks and small cafés in stores. It's nice to see Dunkin' dip into the action now.
Also, notice how the front of the store still includes the crown molding dating back to the building's 2004 expansion. I like how the architectural feature adds some extra "class" to the space.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
One thing that I've appreciated about Substack compared to Blogger is the ability to create image galleries. More galleries mean fewer dead spaces for me to fill (like this). At least the Tajin can spice things up a bit.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Continuing on to the far right wall of the store, we find the meat cases arranged in a typical Walmart fashion.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
The left side of the grocery aisles signals the ceiling height transition between the old and new portions of the store.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
I've always thought it was odd how Walmart didn't continue the existing dropped ceiling throughout the building when tacking on a grocery wing.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Next up, we will progress down the rear speedway into the general merchandise sections.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
The electronics department is positioned roughly two-thirds of the way down, and like most Walmarts, has many items for sale inside locked cases. This is very frustrating when all you want is a $10 SD card and nobody is around to help get it out . . .
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
It is also worth noting how this store had already rolled out digital e-ink price tags as part of its remodel last year. I recently read an article stating that Walmart intends to do this nationwide to significantly reduce the time and effort spent on price changes.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Continuing down the rear speedway, toys, sporting goods, and home items come into view.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Do these low dropped ceilings remind anybody else of Kmart (R.I.P.)? I remember walking into a similarly-expanded Walmart several years ago and thinking I was in the wrong store. It even had the notorious round air vents, to boot!
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
This shot takes us down the leftmost speedway as we zoom toward the pharmacy-side doors.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
If you couldn't guess before, I believe these photos were taken in October of last year . . .
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
I also cannot believe somebody still has to make these Halloween candy buckets. Aren't there enough of these floating around by now?
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
We'll take a quick glance down the left side of the front speedway toward the health, beauty, and garden departments.
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| Courtesy of Welcome to Florida |
Finally, we will wrap up our tour with a perspective of the checkouts, clothing section, and the grocery department in the distance.
I hope y'all enjoyed today's departure from the norm, and I would again like to thank Welcome to Florida for letting me use his pictures. If you have not done so, make sure to subscribe to my new Substack page, Grocery South, where you can keep up with this year's Marketplace Madness series in addition to my quick notes and headlines.
Likewise, you can catch up on the first two posts in the series by clicking on their respective links below. Don't forget to drop a comment to tell me what you think!
Harveys #1656 | McRae, Georgia
Winn-Dixie #2626 | Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Marketplace Madness will resume in two weeks with a store that I had to rush back to in the nick of time. It's a fun one that you are sure to enjoy!
Until next time,
- Sing Oil Media