Enjoy the Good Life Jewel-Osco

Blue text on a yellow background with an illustration of a bee.

This is one of a series of buttons distributed by the Illinois-based grocery store chain Jewel-Osco. The buttons all feature the same illustrated cartoon bee, and were most likely part of a Spring-related promotion. 

Jewel-Osco began in 1889 as a collective of door-to-door tea and coffee salesmen. The group named their business the Jewel Tea Company, and eventually expanded into a successful mail order service. In the early 20th century, the company began purchasing Chicago-area grocery stores and re-opened them under the name Jewel Food Stores. In 1934, the Jewel Tea Company and Jewel Food Stores officially merged. In the 1960s, Jewel acquired the drugstore chain Osco, and began branding their stores as Jewel-Osco. Today, Jewel-Osco is a subsidiary of Albertson’s LLC, and operates 184 stores throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.