James Butler grocery store, ca. 1927.

The green fronted James Butler grocery stores dotted the streets of New York City. Butler, an Irish immigrant, began his chain of store in the 1880s and by his death in 1934 owned over 1000 groceries and was worth $30 million.

The single-story storefront has long been a staple of the commercial strip of Steinway Street. Instead of groceries and hat shops, today the storefronts are cheap jewelry and clothing shops, corporate pharmacies, and 99 cent stores.