Pueblo International, Inc. - 1969 Specimen Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by Security-Columbian Banknote Company.

Pueblo is a Puerto Rican supermarkets chain. It has been one of Puerto Rico's major supermarket chains since 1955. The brainchild of brothers Harold Toppel and George Toppel, sons of Russian immigrant parents, Pueblo began as a single store operation on Roosevelt Avenue in the Puerto Nuevo section of San Juan, Puerto Rico.[citation needed] The success of the first store led the Toppels to open 43 other Pueblo Supermarkets around the Island and, by 1960, to convert the enterprise into a public company that began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1963, Pueblo expanded beyond Puerto Rico's shores to the US Virgin Islands. Pueblo opened stores in St. Thomas and St. Croix. The company also introduced the trademark Pueblo which included items from paper towels to rice. In 1983, Pueblo launched the Xtra Super Food Centers concept, a discount warehouse supermarket which allowed the customer to shop for groceries in a larger store format featuring lower prices with stores located in Puerto Rico and the state of Florida. The lower prices were made possible by the elimination of some services, such as baggers. In 1989, Pueblo acquired the franchise rights to develop Blockbuster Video Stores in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Puerto Rico in June 27, 1990 at Campo Rico Avenue in Carolina, next to the Administration Office and Distribution Center. In 2003, Pueblo faced financial troubles and there were rumors of a potential buyer from Venezuela. In 2007, Pueblo faced serious financial difficulties again, as many locations were sold to other competitors. Some were acquired and taken over by rival supermarkets Econo, Grande, COOP and Supermax. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_Supermarkets