National chain buys Quarry

I ; I 1 t, Q J s_..»_` ~-.» . -»,.
BY RAY SLEEP l~ 1 8 lggll Ritz Camera is the largest _
L___ ,photo supply chain in the
The 85-year-old Quarry name is COUl”lt|'y. Wllll the
gsezlggsgxggeggeffgla ~;’ll;‘;‘p€;° 'acquisition ofthe Fotomat. _
chase of the two Fotomat-owned Stores ll Wlll have 154 _ '
Quarry camera _stores here by a outlets &lOl1g the east coast,
Besggegégersed egzmbal supply Florida, Cal ifornia, Texas
store, which had been located at " and nql/V Mlchlgall' ,i f
212 wagner_aeaa,_n;eyeq_ie_P1yni- _ Ohio, Indiana, and lll|noi§,
outh lastA ril. 0 l
The twop Quarry photo supply as their standard size, although 3x5
stores here - one at 318 South and other sizes are also available.
State St. across from the Universi- The 4X6 Size iS available at F0t0-
ty of Michigan campus and the oth- mat as all 0pti0h-
er in Plymouth Mall - and three ' Chess said the stores here and
other Quarry stores in Flint, Sagi- elsewhere may use Fotomat ser-
naw, and Lansing were among 44 vice temporarily until they get
owned by Fotomat, including such their labs set up to handle the new
other well-known firms as Detroit stores.
Camera Shop. The Ritz stores were incorporat-
All 44 have been sold to Ritz ed in 1945 and were founded 10 or 15
Camera Centers, Inc., of Belts- years before that in Baltimore. The
ville, Md. Fotomat’s approximate- firm is owned by Edward Ritz and
ly 7,500 small photo-service kiosks is run by his son David, the presi-
are unaffected by the sale. dent. 1
Marshall Chess, the national Meanwhile, the Quarry, medical
leasing representive for Ritz, said supply store moved to _Plymouth-to
. Ritz Camera is the largest_Ph6l$0_ be closer to some of its'Detroit cus-
supply chain in the and*-, gamers,s-aids.Clark_Weymouth, who
_-rn ~ ... f - ‘ e e ,
along the east coast including Flor- While the serves
ida, Califhrnia, Texas, and now tals here as University and St. Jo-
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illi- seph’S, it d0eS Irlueh of ilshllsihess
n0i5_ - ' in Detroit. Another reason for.-the
» While mere than 85 percent of m0Ve:_i;he Ann Arbor store WaS
these are photo supply stores, a small. -_ I -_
few are computer stores and a few ‘ The Sl01‘e had been ' bought by
others are fast-photo outlets under Vlglige &(;lV§ilSe lg’IediCa;;S_;\PPl§ C04
other names. ;r o ran api s in 7 an re-
Chess said Ritz is “happy ito mains the sole branch of that firm.
come into Michigan and especially The Quarry Cempahy began as a
happy te do business in Ann Ar- small drug store at the site of the
bor.” The changeover takes effect §JJI`eSeI1lli-S- Kgeggetstore ag Nogth
Aug 1, _ niversi y an a e. ts oun er
Chess said Ritz wouldretain the Was James Quarry- By 1972 there
present staff of Quarry stores but were three Qllaffy Phafmaey
would change the name to Ritz. StOI`eS - at 320 S0\1lh Slate, at 2355 -
However, the Quarry warehouse E. Stadium, and at 2215 W. .Stadi-» _
at 6075 Jackson Rd., which served Um- _
the 13 Fotomatstpres in Michigan, ‘They_were sold in 1972 to Ypsi. _
Ohio, and Illinois is closing, and the |anti pharmacist Joseph* Decker, _
11 ehllfleyees lhefe eXDeel to be owner of two Richardson Pharma# _
Zl0h°hUhliHg, said distfiet Fefehlal cies in Ypsilanti. The stores were
manager Pat O*Malley. The renamed RichardS0n_ ‘ e
iggnghs bemg leased month tll Meanwhile, the Quarry firm had _
Chess- said the Ritz stores’ are ilpglllld alloslflltal Supply Store lll
strongly competitive in price and 1352 Zlllllgls get camera store lll
stress service. He said, for exam- ° y 77 ere were foul' Qual?
ple, that the Ritz stores offer cus- Wgamffa S“PPlY Stores _ the two
tomers all the help they need in llzh ml gboll and one lll Flllll’ all'
learning to use the cameras they on if lll aglhaw- F°f°met b°llglll
buy and schedule free classes ev- _ a our that yeal: and lalell (lpemldi
ery week or two on how to use cam_ a store in Lansing which it also
eras and how to take better pic- named Quarry' _ Z.
tures. District manager O’Malley saidj 1
Each camera buyer gets a free a final picnic reunion for Quarry; i
ticket to the classes, and others can employees here and for otherswhoi Q
take them for a $10 fee. This pro- have gone on to other posts withf 5
a gram is expected to be available at Fotomat will be held starting at lf, »
the Ann Arbor stares inthe near fu- ‘p”.m._ this Sunday at the home of `
_ ture 7- as the transition permits. _ Shelly Scotten, 3660 Meadow
The Rh’ ehfes ”ff¢'rs4§e