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Back in Time: Finast 1975

Finast is not a name that means anything to many contemporary northern New Jersey residents, but in 1975, having acquired the area Safeway locations the previous decade, they had a significant presence around this part of the state. This ad was valid for locations in Essex, Union, Middlesex, and Monmouth counties -- let's say the northern part of central Jersey and the southern part of north Jersey, or I guess you could say from roughly Newark to the beginning of the shore.
Okay, maybe I'm just a food snob, but I don't know... something about the "Boil n' Bag Gravy & Meats" isn't particularly appealing. (That said, it's very common in commercial food establishments to get frozen bags of soups and sauces and boil them to heat -- many of those actually come out great.) This ad was a great find to preserve a little bit of Finast's history in New Jersey! Tomorrow we're going to see a name with a little more staying power than Finast. Stay tuned!

Comments

  1. A more recent encounter with Finast for NJ was as Edwards' store brand in the early 2000's

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  2. If I didn't see that this was for Finast, the font would make me swear it was a Pathmark ad!

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    1. I thought that, too! That font was pretty popular in the 70s.

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    2. It sure looks like it! But yes, that was a very popular look at the time.

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  3. Seems the more common version of the "boil in bag meats & gravy" was the Salisbury Steak.

    Much like many frozen dinners, but just the meat/gravy, no sides like most dinners have.

    Of course, this was also before microwave options were around generally, so heating in the bag was probably quicker/easier than using an oven like most dinners would have required.

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    1. Ahh - you make a really good point about microwaves, and that makes a lot of sense.

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  4. I worked at Finast (before it became Edwards). BillyGr has it correct. Banquet used to sell a similar product. Looking at the ad - I wish these were today's prices.

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