Simon David
Until its closing in 2010, Simon David was the oldest gourmet and specialty foods store in Dallas, Texas. Simon David was a long-time specialty retail brand and division of Tom Thumb Supermarkets. Tom Thumb became a division of Randalls in 1992, which itself became a 112-store division of Safeway Inc. in 1999. History Named for its founder, Simon David opened in 1889 as the first food retailer and deliverer in Dallas to specialize in out-of-season items and imported merchandise. Originally a small brick structure adjacent to Mr. David's home in Uptown Dallas' historic State Thomas neighborhood, the business expanded to 4311 Oak Lawn Avenue in the 1920s and thrived under the supervision of second-generation owner Delmer David, who opened an additional wholesale outlet along with separate packing and shipping facilities that distributed Simon David products nationwide. The third location opened October 19, 1961, on Inwood Road, where the founder's grandson, Stanley M. David became the first grocer in Dallas to offer a liquor department before selling the franchise to Tom Thumb in 1963. A larger building replaced the original Inwood Road location in 1985 at the same address. While Tom Thumb would later market a statewide chain of Simon David