George Huntington Hartford joined Gilman & Company as a clerk perhaps in the late 1850s ; Hartford later was promoted to bookkeeper , then cashier , in 1866 . By 1871 Hartford was in a position of authority and was responsible for expanding A&P to Chicago after its great fire . A&P 's first store outside New York City was opened just days after the disaster . The firm rapidly expanded ; in 1875 A&P had stores in 16 cities . In 1878 , Gilman left the active management of the firm to Hartford . By then , the firm operated 70 lavishly-equipped stores and a mail order business with combined annual sales of $ 1 million
its great fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company