The story
Arlan's was founded in 1945 by William, Herbert, and Lester Palestine in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
In 1963, executives tried to start talks with King's of Newton, Massachusetts, regarding a merger. These plans were briefly revived in 1966.
Arlan's opened its 50th store in Cudahy, Wisconsin, in 1965. At this point, the chain had $174 million in revenue, and stores in 18 states from Maine to Colorado. It also owned 18 locations of a toy store called Play World.
From Wikipedia’s article on Arlan's, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3