Gibson's was at this site on Rossville Boulevard near 23rd Street. Click to enlarge.
photo by Harmon Jolley
“Gibson’s, Where You Always Buy the Best For Less” was a slogan used by a popular Chattanooga retailer in the 1970’s. Its original location in this area was at 2398 Rossville Boulevard at 23rd Street. The site had previously been the Gateway Mall, preceded by Kirk Plaza and the Colonial Foods Store. The local store was a franchise of the Gibson Products Company of Dallas, and was owned by George Calfee.
Mr. Calfee was a native of Bradley County, and owned several other supermarkets and retail businesses in the Chattanooga area. When he was discharged from military service in 1946, he took $120 of his mustering-out pay and became a salesman who called on small retailers with products such as combs, razors, and sun glasses. He opened a small, traditional retail store in Sherman, Texas, a city which was also selected by Herbert R. Gibson for a new type of discount store. Seeing the line of customers going into the Gibson’s, he was convinced that his future was as a Gibson franchisee. Mr. Calfee opened his first Gibson’s in Durant, Oklahoma, and brought Gibson’s to the Chattanooga market on June 1, 1970.
At the Rossville Boulevard Gibson’s, the first floor included a supermarket, drug store, and all of the typical retail departments such as clothing, hardware, toys, and auto accessories. Opening day prices at Gibson’s included a gallon of paint for $3.97, a baseball for 97 cents, motor oil for 19 cents a quart, and 8-track tapes for $4.17. The hits available at Gibson’s record department in 1970 included “Ride, Captain, Ride” by Blues Image, “Born to Wander” by Rare Earth, and “Are You Ready?” by Pacific Gas & Electric. The second floor of Gibson’s featured a furniture department. My family went there to shop for a recliner, and we were greeted by a salesman who was definitely British. He said that customers were encouraged to offer their own price for furniture, a practice that he said was known in his country as “higgle-haggle.” That term wasn’t too foreign to my father, who always enjoyed negotiating a better price. The popular local children’s TV star, Bob Brandy, accompanied by Rome Benedict and Charlie Chambers, sang to the crowds at Gibson’s during one of our trips there.
Other Gibson’s stores soon opened in the area. On April 1, 1971, the second Gibson’s opened at 3636 Ringgold Road in East Ridge. The next year, Gibson’s opened a third store at 5615 Brainerd Road. That location was previously home of another discount retailer, Jubilee City, and the side street leading to the building is still called Jubilee Drive. More recently, Target operated a store there. Plans were announced for a fourth Gibson’s store in the Hixson area, but I don’t believe that it ever opened. On April 3, 1973, Scrivner-Boogaart of Oklahoma City announced that they were acquiring the local Gibson’s franchises. The Rossville Boulevard location last appears in the city directory in 1977, and the Best Yet Foods followed Gibson’s at that site.
If you have memories of Gibson’s, and would like to comment on this article, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@signaldata.net.