means an american supermarket chain, founded 1916, credited as the first self-service grocery store where customers grabbed their own items instead of handing a list to a clerk.

from opened by clarence saunders in memphis, tennessee in 1916. before it, you told a clerk what you wanted and they fetched it from behind a counter. saunders flipped the model: aisles, shelves, price tags, a turnstile entrance, and shopping baskets, so customers browsed and served themselves. the name has no deep meaning; saunders reportedly just liked how it sounded and wanted something memorable.