S.M.I. convention
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
After owning meat markets in Western Pennsylvania for many years, the brothers Samuel, Harvey, Joseph and Max Deaktor founded Star Markets Inc. in 1932. Early on, they had help from Benjamin Chait, who had been one of the owners of the Eagle Grocery Company before he and his partners sold their chain of stores to Kroger in 1928. After the partnership ended, the Deaktor brothers opened Star Markets on the North Side, the Strip District, Polish Hill, the Hill District, Garfield and Beechview, as well as in nearby towns, including Ambridge, Braddock, Carnegie and Coraopolis.
The second generation, Harry, Lawrence and Charles Deaktor, joined the business in the 1940s and 1950s. They moved the chain toward a supermarket model, advertising low prices and plenty of free parking at larger and more modern stores at 2345 Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill and 302 North Highland Avenue in Highland Park. The Canadian grocery chain Loblaws acquired Star Markets Inc. in 1959 and turned its 10 “ultra-modern super markets” into Loblaws store, as part of an existing tri-state network.
Charles Deaktor (1931-1995) formed Deaktor Provisions in 1966 and expanded it as Deaktor Prime Source in the early 1980s. Sysco Corporation acquired the company in 1986.
The members of the Deaktor family were active in B’nai Israel Congregation and the Young Men and Women’s Hebrew Association, as well as in other communal organizations.
