What's in a Name?
09/24/2007


Plaid Pantry, circa 1970.

Whether you grew up next to a Plaid Pantry store for the last 20 years or you just
moved here and saw your first Plaid Pantry, you’ve no doubt wondered, “What IS a
Plaid Pantry?”

John Piacentini opened his first store in 1960.  He was looking for an image that
would both catch people’s attention and be something they would remember, so he
decided on a red-and-white checkered design for the stores.  And Plaid Pantry was
born!  At one time John even had a Model T Ford (painted in red and white checkers)
that was driven in the Rose Festival Parade each year.  A few years later the stores
were designed with orange counters and brown wall signage (though we don’t miss those
too much!).

The pole signs used to have a different look to them as well.  The curved red section
with a rooster at the top stood  for sunrise and showed that the store opened at
7 a.m.  The curved blue section with a cat at the bottom was for sunset, and showed a
closing time of 12 midnight.

Over the years we have maintained the same basic concept with the pole sign.  We kept
the colors and the curved shapes, but now virtually every store is open 24 hours a day
to meet the needs of today’s customer… and there is no plaid on the Plaid sign!

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Welcome to the new Plaid Pantry Dot Com!
03/21/2007

After many years of a dated website, we have rededicated ourselves to the internet
experience! Our new site has interactive location maps, cleaner navigation with less pages
to click around and get lost in as well as many helpful links surrounding the overall content
that we feel will benefit customers, partners and employees.

Our weather strip, provided by the courtesy of weather dot com, not only provides the 
temperature and forecast, but provides useful activity links as well. At Plaid Pantry, our
business is directly related to the weather, if it is a beautiful sunny day, we have many
beverages available or if snow and ice covers the ground, we have a store within walking
distance for you!

You may also check Oregon and Washington Lottery by our buttons provided, or you can
check Oregon and Washington roads to aid commute planning, which we hope adds another
convenience for you.
 
You are also able to register your Plaid Bucks card if you have purchased one in our stores,
there is no need to read the tiny print on the back of the card or click through several
pages to find this service, just click and go!

Please feel free to drop us a line if you have comments or suggestions for our new home
on the web! 

Thanks for stopping by!


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