Filed Under Billings

Tenth Avenue Grocery

North Elevation Historic District

One of two existing storefronts in the North Elevation Historic District, this one-story Western Commercial style grocery store features a stylized stepped parapet and large display windows. Sam Chichas, the Greek proprietor of a grocery on North Twenty-fifth Street, opened his second market here in 1921. When announcing his new venture, he promised to keep “a complete line of staple and fancy groceries … on hand.” Chichas soon changed his mind about branching out, however, and in 1924 Canadian immigrant William MacFarquhar purchased the building. MacFarquhar, who renamed the business the Tenth Avenue Grocery, personally managed the store until his retirement in 1939. In the early 1930s, he and his wife Margaret lived on the premises with their teenaged son. Other longtime owners included Carl and Madaline Clavadetscher, who purchased the market in the 1950s. Close to McKinley Elementary School, the grocery, which carried a large stock of penny candy, was beloved by local children. Through its many owners, the store remained a neighborhood gathering site and service-oriented business that, into the 1990s, offered home delivery and credit to long-time customers.

Images

Tenth Avenue Grocery
Tenth Avenue Grocery Tenth Avenue Grocery. Front/side view of the building, facing north on Tenth Avenue. Photograph taken in early fall when the building was under the ownership of the "10th Avenue Market & Deli" business. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Unknown photographer Date: Sept. 2009
Tenth Avenue Grocery
Tenth Avenue Grocery Tenth Avenue Grocery. Front view of the building, facing northwest on Tenth Avenue near the bike racks and front sidewalk. Winter photograph featuring a change in business with "Harper & Madison Bakery and Espresso." Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Unknown photographer Date: Jan. 2015
Tenth Avenue Grocery
Tenth Avenue Grocery Tenth Avenue Grocery. Side/front view of the building, facing west on Tenth Avenue from the east alley. Winter photograph. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Unknown photographer Date: Jan. 2015

Location

3115 10th Avenue North, Billings, Montana | Private

Metadata

Montana National Register Sign Program, “Tenth Avenue Grocery,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/2750.