Many people are indifferent about chain stores, and then there are those who think they are wonderful, and the other camp that truly despises them. In the 1920s, with Susanville’s tremendous population growth, chain stores emerged on the scene. While the old established merchants were not thrilled, the Susanville consumer enjoyed a broader selection. The first chain store to enter the Susanville market, was a Wyoming outfit known as Stevens Store Company and in 1929 it became. J.C. Penney.

Enter R.L. Stone, who had a different approach for shopping in Susanville. Cash and Carry.  It should be noted it was rather customary of merchants, to allow their customers to charge their purchase. It was a risky endeavor at times for the merchant to recover those charged accounts. Stone’s concept a reduced price, but be paid in cash, no credit. It worked beyond expectations. It was in November 1923 when Stone opened his first store in the T.H. Long building. With his brothers they opened additional stores. By 1927, when they incorporated as Stone’s Cash Stores they had nineteen stores in California, Oregon and Washington. In 1929, Stones merged with another chain store MacMarr.   In 1934, Safeway acquired MacMarr.

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