Can you name a classic store from your childhood or recently. that closed its doors? mine-Radio Shack. JoAnn Fabrics is

[debm55]

Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2024, 05:09 PM - Edit history (2)

going into bankruptcy. I loved their fabric.

[woodsprite]

1. Woolworths. My fav place to grab lunch at college or to shop for chotskis. nt

[debm55]

3. TY I remember the booths where we would stop and eat.

[Phoenix61]

59. There was one in the mall where I worked at Sears.

I’d treat myself to lunch there sometimes. There was another one downtown where my Dad often had lunch. One day my grandparents took me there and the waitress wanted to know what they were doing with Mr Charlie’s daughter. I looked like he had cloned me so there was no mistaking who I belonged too. Still cracks me up.

[debm55]

73. Ty Phoenix61, Funny post

[FalloutShelter]

2. Mine is Sears...

From catalogs to stand alones to Mall stores.

[debm55]

5. TY FalloutShelter. I liked paging through the Sear's catalogs.

[FalloutShelter]

7. Me too...

One of my first sources for collage images. Wish I had one of those old catalogs today. 😆

[MontanaMama]

52. The Sears Christmas Wishbook!

My sibs and I would get so excited when that behemoth showed up in the mail.

[debm55]

74. Oh yes my favorite. TY MontanaMama

[hlthe2b]

4. Tons of department stores from throughout the US: the Jones Store, Rich's, Davison's, Foley's, Hartzfeld's,

Montgomery Wards, May D&F, Miller & Rhoades, Mervyn's, Woolworth's (I moved around a lot growing up--experiencing a lot of now defunct stores)... But those off the top of my head.

Sadly, more recently, Tuesday Morning (I loved browsing in there every once in awhile). Oh, and I SOOOO miss Bed, Bath & Beyond. Its online presence (bought out by Overstock.com) is just not the same.

[debm55]

9. Ty hlthe2b, I bought my first microwave at Montgomery Wards. Cost 399 dollars. This is when they first came out.

Now you can buy them for next to nothing.

[Demovictory9]

16. I bought a boombox for $400!!! Had 2 recording reels and cd player

It was oh so modern..for about a month.

[debm55]

21. I can remember that because my husband and I got into an argument in Wards over the need for it. For the longest time it

was a hot water heater. We called it the 399 coffee maker.

[Demovictory9]

25. Montgomery wards "Electric Avenue"

[lpbk2713]

64. Bought my first home PC there.

Around 1980 or so.

[Demovictory9]

191. You were a pioneer. My first home PC was purchased in the 90s

Id heard of the "world wide web" and bought a pc to go on it..used it for little else other than writing letters and playing solataire

[lpbk2713]

192. About all you could connect to was Bulletin Boards.

And of course that was with a very slow dial up modem.

That first PC was a Wang 386 with a 40 MB (not GB) hard drive.

Before that I had a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. But that wasn't really a PC.

Correction: I just did a Wiki search on the TI-99/4A. It came out in 1981.
So my first PC was probably around 1985.

[Demovictory9]

193. Bulletin boards..ugh. I learned to use gender free online name

The moment i logged into BB, got swamped by chat requests. Chats that went sideways.

[debm55]

86. Is that where they had all the TV, stereos, and electronic?

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

128. it it's latter years, Wards renamed the appliance section "electric Avenue". so 'yes'

it was in the regular store with clothing and stuff but the nearest entryway to appliances would have "electric avenue" over the entrance

[debm55]

133. Ty . I remmber that.

[Demovictory9]

14. Tuesdays are gone?

[hlthe2b]

22. Still seems to have some kind of online presence but stores closed as of last May...

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/02/business/tuesday-morning-closure/index.html

[Demovictory9]

30. Oh wow

[sdfernando]

55. How successful can a store be

when its only open on Tuesday morning?

[hlthe2b]

58. Not sure if you are serious, but the stores were open normal hours througout the week.

At least since they went nationwide in the late 70s-80s. I think WIKIPEDIA mentions its origins as a "pop-up" for warehouse sales, but that was long ago.

It seems to me that like Bed, Bath & Beyond (which closed permanently just before Tuesday Morning) both were victims of COVID closures and business collapse.

[sdfernando]

63. Just being snarky /nt

[debm55]

118. It's a store.

[marked50]

231. Katz Drug Store and Adlers-n/t

[debm55]

236. TY marked50

[Alpeduez21]

6. Toys 'r' us

Just gone

[debm55]

10. TY Alpeduez21 I remember them and before that Children''s Palace.

[ProfessorGAC]

71. They Had A Huge Distribution Center Around Here

They emptied it completely & sold to another company. The great majority of the employees, thankfully, retained their jobs with the new company.
I'm not sure what took over the store that was a few blocks away.

[debm55]

120. Probably, Amazon.

[ProfessorGAC]

141. No, But There's One Of Those!

Actually, two.
On the way from where we live to where that "Toys" warehouse was, we pass a HUGE Amazon warehouse. Amazon as a second one farther east, too!
A few major interstates here so this area is warehouse central for the Midwest. It seems like everyone has a distribution center around here, plus every big 3rd party logistics company I've ever heard of.
The old toys r us joint could be anybody. Avoiding greenfield projects is what those big logistics outfits are known to do. Might be one of them buying space at nickels on the dollar.

[debm55]

160. Ty ProfessorGAC, We have an Amazon center built last summer.

[leftieNanner]

77. We used to go there with some cash

After Thanksgiving and pay off people's lay away accounts. Most fun at Christmas. Wish we could find another place to do that.

[debm55]

121. What a beautiful idea, TY leftieNanner.

[woodsprite]

82. I thought Toys-R-Us has come back as a subsidiary of Macy's.

[debm55]

85. I don't know woodsprite. When they built the Big Walmart in the same area, both those toy stores went down.

[Emile]

8. Kresge's five and dime

[debm55]

11. Thank you Emile, Didn't Kresge change into K-Mart?

[Emile]

12. Yes they did.

[Demovictory9]

13. Mervyns, Lerners, Thriftys,

[debm55]

15. Thank you. I remember shopping at Lerners

[Demovictory9]

17. As a young working woman, Lerners was my goto for skirts

[debm55]

26. When I was just starting teaching Lerners was also my place to get tops and skirts

Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2024, 11:15 AM - Edit history (1)

[Demovictory9]

27. Worn with hosiery and heels!

[debm55]

123. Kitten heels for me. Was so glad when panty hose came on the scene.

[patphil]

18. W. T. Grants, and also A&P Super Markets.

Used to be a W.T. Grants and an A&P in my little home town of Hudson Falls, NY.

[debm55]

162. TY pat[hil. I remember both. We also had a Murphys's 5 and 10

[rsdsharp]

19. When I was a kid growing up in a small town in Iowa,

Woolworth’s and Ben Franklin were across the street from each other. Apparently, a few Ben Franklin stores survived the bankruptcy, but I haven’t seen one in decades.

[snpsmom]

43. Still a few here

in the Thumb of Michigan. Usually hanging out in the back of other stores.

[debm55]

122. Ben Franklin was a Craft Store, I think. We didn't have any around here. We did have Woolworth's ty, rsdsharp

[debm55]

163. TY , rsdsharp

[debm55]

246. Agree, TY resdharp

[JoseBalow]

20. Korvette's

[debm55]

125. Ty JoseBalow.

[mercuryblues]

23. Grants

Caldor, Casual Corner, Filene's Basement, Ames, Linens and Things, Kings, Bombay, Pier 1

[Beartracks]

33. Filene's Basement is gone?

I only ever heard of it on a trip to NYC about 15 years ago, from a local's recommendation. Had to shop there after flying in, since the airline lost our luggage and we needed something to wear for a dinner reservation that night. OMG, the place was huge! Multiple floors of everything.

==================

[mercuryblues]

42. My favorite place to go.

It was near my work at the time. I would stop in a lot when I found something I liked. If they had plenty of them, I'd wait until they hit the "bottom" price or they only had a few left. Got some awesome deals.

[debm55]

167. TY , It's been gone for awhile. When we went up to Boston , I would clothing for my son in larger sizes so he had

clothing for the future. He was a infant then and grew so quickly. My inlaws that lived in Boston sent us clothing too. I had boxes marked with 2T, 3T, etc.

[Ohio Joe]

124. As a former Ames home office employee...

They deserve to be dead.

I started on the day they first went into chapter 11. They committed corporate suicide by buying Zayres and killed both companies with reckless abandon. I’ve looked at the wiki entries for both and… Fantasyland… The stories I could tell… Sheesh.

[debm55]

126. Ty Ohio Joe if you want you can tell us one.

[Ohio Joe]

131. So... The first summer I was there...

We had a massive bash… Because we had only lost 600 million dollars, less than expected… Over 5 million was spent on it.

I worked in IT, fixed assets and general ledger… We had this guy John, I’ll omit his last name… And he would come down at the end of each month and have us run the numbers… Making us change the calculations till they came out ok… Then we would run production… Every month I’d be like “uhhh, is this legal?” I was always told “You want your job?”

Every month, on the first business day, was layoff day. We would come in and have no access to the mainframe. They laid people off based on salary. It was not long before we were operating with a crew where nobody had more than two years experience… It was a total shit show.

That not even scratches the surface.

[debm55]

135. Oh my thank you Ohio Joe.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

127. Casual corner... forgot it existed.

[debm55]

130. I liked Casual Corner TY for bringing it up.

Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2024, 05:11 PM - Edit history (1)

[debm55]

164. TY, I liked Casual Corner and Brooks for women,

[debm55]

165. Agree and thank you , mercuryblues. I remember them. Gone but not forgotten.

[debm55]

228. TY mercuryblues. I remember alot of them.

[sinkingfeeling]

24. Montgomery Ward.

[debm55]

168. Yep, I bought my living room furniture there. TY sinkingfeeling.

[Afrocat]

28. Ive got a few

Caldor's, Waldbaum's, Genovese, McCroy/HL Greens, Gimbels, Software ETC.

[debm55]

169. TY Afrocat. I remember Greens and Gimbel's

[tazkcmo]

29. TG&Y.

A five and dime (Also gone!) store in the midwest.

[debm55]

170. Ty, tazkcmo

[SWBTATTReg]

31. Famous-Barr, Ben Franklin's (a 5 and 10 cent store). The F-B was a really neat old style department store,

that we loved, in downtown STLMO. A classic, which since I worked downtown, it was a joy to go explore the nine floors of the dept. store.

[debm55]

171. Ty, SWBTATT, that sounds really neat. It's a shame they are gone.

[dobleremolque]

32. Western Auto Stores

Got my first brand new, not from the police department recovered-but-unclaimed, bicycle there. PeeWee Herman would have been jealous!

[debm55]

172. HAHAHAHAH Ty dobleremolque. Sounds like you enjoyed your bike.

[claudette]

34. Mine is also Woolworth's

It was a huge store on the main wide street of the city and had great lunch and snack menu. Prices were amazing for quality products. I miss it.

Yep K-mart is also another store that was wonderful. Not sure if all their stores closed but the one near me in NY did. I miss it.

[debm55]

173. Ty claudette. I enjoyed Woolworthl's too. I am pretty sure all KMart closed. I one near me has been closed for awhile.

[RKP5637]

35. Lafayette Radio, Sears (pretty much gone) and Radio Shack.

[debm55]

174. TY RKP5637, yep all gone.

[ColinC]

36. Pace membership warehouse

Alphabeta

[debm55]

175. Ty ColinC

[Elessar Zappa]

37. Sam Goody's.

I used to go there all the time to buy my CDs.

[hlthe2b]

38. Tower Records--used to be a big store in Denver open 365 days/year. So when bored on T'giving or later on

Last edited Tue Apr 2, 2024, 04:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Christmas, some of the most fascinating diverse people would be in there listening to music on headphones in armchairs in the various genre sections of the store. Cool people worked there too. I definitely do miss it.

[Elessar Zappa]

179. Sounds cool!

I grew up in a small town and we had a little record store but they wouldn’t sell the type of heavy metal I liked at the time (it was too “satanic”) so my mom would take me two hours to the nearest Sam Goody. She didn’t like the music I was listening to but I was 15 and she was pretty libertine so she let me listen to it.

[electric_blue68]

238. At first I thought it was ?too corporate, but over time I grew to like it

Was bummed out when it closed.

[debm55]

176. Ty Elessar Zappa

[debm55]

224. Thank you Elessar Zappa.

[RandySF]

39. A&P Supermarket

[debm55]

178. TY RandySF. Didn't they have the red plaid stamps?

[RandySF]

180. I don't remember that part.

[snpsmom]

40. Thrifty Drug & Discount Stores

I miss the 5 cent ice cream cones. My faves were pistachio or rainbow sherbet.

[debm55]

177. TY snpsmom.

[RandySF]

44. Sears is on its deathbed.

[hlthe2b]

47. Incredibly sad: Only 12 Sears stores left in US as of Jan, 2024

https://247wallst.com/retail/2024/03/04/these-are-the-only-12-sears-stores-left-in-america/

Leading to some financial publications to ask: "Will someone please put them out of their misery?" Sadly, I must agree.

Lots of reasons for their demise, but the merger with low-rent K-Mart heralded the arrival of the private equity scavengers ..

[TlalocW]

50. A lot of it was their CEO

Ed Lampert. He's an Ayn Rand nutjob who thought the best way to run the store was for different departments to compete against each other for funding instead of... oh, I don't know - looking at the financials to see what people are buying and what they're not and making decisions based on that.

[RandySF]

45. Fretter Appliances

[JoseBalow]

48. "I'll give you five pounds of coffee if I can't beat your best deal"

Reminds me of this unforgettable slogan...

Love the Gremlin

[debm55]

182. Ty JoseBalow.

[MichMan]

66. Staple of Detroit area TV commercials

Can't think of Ollie Fretter without also thinking of Detroit TV commercial icon Belvedere Construction.

Owner Bud Lezell (aka Mr. Belvedere) with his deadpan catchphrase "We Do Good Work!"

[debm55]

181. Thank you , RandySF

[FuzzyRabbit]

46. White Front

[debm55]

198. TY FuzzyRabbit.

[TlalocW]

49. TG&Y

I remember many times as a teen driving into Wichita from my small farming community to go to TG&Y because it was the closest store that had 5 1/4 inch floppies.

And I know that dates me, but that's okay. Nobody else will.

[Jrose]

51. Alexander's dept. store that once was in the Bronx, NY...

My friends and I would spend many Saturdays there, mostly browsing... then on to Schrafft's ice cream parlor for our favorite -- Coke floats.
Ahh. the early 1960's!

[debm55]

199. Jrose, ty. It sounds like a real fun way to spend a Saturday.

[electric_blue68]

235. It's now a PC Richards...

We shopped there when I was kid bc we were in Washington Hghts and sometimes easier to go drive there, than down to the one on ?59th & Lex or so

[bahboo]

53. Wieboldt's... a Chicago area department store...

this was back when folks could make a living as a salesperson there. It was in our shopping center, and I would always cut through when it was too cold. And never got hassled....imagine that!

[debm55]

201. Ty, bahboo.

[applegrove]

54. Red Barn restaurant chain.

[MichMan]

68. Yes, Barnbuster and Big Barney hamburgers

[debm55]

202. Thank you applegrove.

[lynintenn]

56. Lord and Taylor, Service merchandise.

[MichMan]

69. Bought my wife's wedding ring at Service Merchandise

She didn't marry me for my money, that's for sure

[bottomofthehill]

111. Me too

They were one of the largest jewelry sellers in the US

[debm55]

114. Is Jared's still around. or did they go out of business. Same with Kaye's where we bought our rings.

[MichMan]

117. Both still around I believe

[debm55]

119. TY MichMan. Never see commercials for them anymore.

[debm55]

204. Ty lyintenn. I worked at Service merdandise during the summers. Lord and Taylor as a quick hit and miss in Pittsburgh.

[captain queeg]

57. Western Auto. At least I haven't seen one in years.

Last edited Tue Apr 2, 2024, 06:54 PM - Edit history (1)

They were just packed with tools, car stuff, hardware, outdoor gear, guns, fishing gear. . The small town go to place for all kinds of stuff.

[bottomofthehill]

112. Trac Auto and Peoples Drug stores.

[debm55]

129. I have neither in my area TY

[bottomofthehill]

132. I think there were close to 400 Track Auto stores nation wide

[debm55]

226. Thank you captain queeg.

[AllaN01Bear]

60. hear, hear. radio shack.

[debm55]

227. TY AllaN01Bear.

[surrealAmerican]

61. American Handicrafts

I loved that place as a kid.

[debm55]

113. TY surrealAmerican. I wished we had one when I was a kid.

[DBoon]

62. Licorice Pizza

[debm55]

84. DBoon , you made me smile TY, Is that for real?

[DBoon]

92. Of course!

It existed in Southern California, had the most awesome selection of music (as opposed to the more mainstream Warehouse chain), " as welland also sold lots of "smoking accessories:

[debm55]

102. Ty I thought it was a pizza shop

[DBoon]

104. black vinyl record is a "licorice pizza"

Doesn't taste like much but sounds great on a phonograph

[debm55]

106. TY DBoon,

[SARose]

65. Joskes

Foleys. I was a Wendy Ward model as a preteen. 😆

I can’t remember the store name but I remember buying stockings in pink boxes and a brand new garter belt as a young teen. So grown up. Way before panty hose.😊

[debm55]

81. HAHAHAHAHAHah i remember the garter belts. and stockings. At the time , I was very small--no hips. , My garter belt

would always ride up to my waist.

[lpbk2713]

67. JM Fields, McCrory's, Zayre's

Give me a couple of minutes.

West - Gibson (like an early K-Mart)

Rexall Drugs, Eckerd Drugs, Phar-Mor

Kash n Karry and Food Lion - grocery stores.

[debm55]

78. TY, Eckerd Drugs was sold to Rite Aid which is going out of business. Zayres was Ames. Western PA

[drmeow]

223. Food Lion still exists in Virginia nt

[MichMan]

70. Burger Chef

My first job when I was in HS in the mid 70's.

They had a throwback promotion one summer when I was working there to celebrate some anniversary of the company. Regular hamburgers were only 15 cents. It was the 1st fast food restaurant in my small suburban town, so immensely popular.

Instead of someone ordering just one large burger like a Big Chef ( Big Mac clone) or Super Chef (Whopper clone) , people would order like 10 regular hamburgers instead. I worked cooking the food, so that meant you had to make 10 sandwiches instead of just one.

When it got really busy, and people were ordering 10, 20 or 30 at a time, it got crazy. They were so cheap, people would buy them for their dog, or even to have wars throwing them at each other in the parking lot. We had an employee discount, but you could pretty much just make whatever you wanted, without ever having to pay

[debm55]

76. TY MichMan I just read that they are closing all the BurgerKings down.Ty for your post.

[MichMan]

90. Burger Chef was closed quite few years ago after being bought by Hardees

Not to be confused with Burger King which has over 6 thousand locations.

[Glamrock]

72. Every music store chain and most mom and pop music stores.

[debm55]

75. Glamrock, that is so true. TY

[Onthefly]

79. Joe, the Motorists' Friend

Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia.

Toys, car needs, tires, and a friendly Santa. Free candy for kids!

[debm55]

83. TY Onthefly. I remember Joe's.

[thucythucy]

80. Bohacks Supermakets.

I think the firm closed in the 80s.

[debm55]

100. TY thucythucy.

[EddieOnTheMesa]

87. Kind of A Store

S&H Green Stamps.I remember going a couple times with my mother.

[debm55]

99. Ty EddieOnTheMesa. I remember going to the store with our filled Green Stamp books and using them to buy items.

[Hassler]

88. J L Hudson's in Detroit

[debm55]

98. Ty Hassler, Didn't they have a big Thanksgiving Parade. I vaguely the networks switching from Macy's to Hudson's.

[Hassler]

190. Yes.

[bif]

158. I loved Hudson's. Especially the downtown store

I recently bought a very cool t-shirt with the old Hudson's logo on it. Naturally it was Hudson's Green!

[debm55]

229. Thank you bif.

[wcmagumba]

89. Montgomery Wards as several posters mentioned...🐒

also known as Monkey Wards (slang), supposedly because some stores carried small monkeys for sale at one time....
Edit: I remember mom buying my blue striped and green striped bell bottom pants there when I was in middle school, (late 60s/early 70s)...ha ha....🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒

[debm55]

97. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I remember those bell bottoms in bright colors that people could see a mile away.

[AmBlue]

91. Rexall Drug Store

I spent all of my $1 weekly allowance there on 5 and 10 cent candy, and came home with a bag FULL, every week!!

Thom McCann Shoes, back when the smell of leather inside would leave me so happy! That smell meant I was getting new shoes!!

Also:
J. Byron's
Royal Castle
Golden Triangle
Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant

[debm55]

96. TY AmBlue. I remember the Tom McCann shoe store. Where they had sales people measure your feet.

[AmBlue]

134. Exactly!

At our store, they would always be young men in dress shirt & pants and a tie. They were serious shoe professionals!

[Hotler]

93. K-Mart. Home of the original blue light special.

[debm55]

94. Ty. Do you remember everyone running to get to the blue light special. It could be found by looking for a cart with a

blue light bulb on the top.

[NewHendoLib]

95. So, so many! In Rhode Island - Almacs grocery (at which I worked through high school and college)

Waldenbooks, The Outlet, Peerless (department stores), and the saddest for me - Tower Records!

[debm55]

110. Ty I remember Waldenbooks.

[prodigitalson]

101. maybe the most racist restaurant chain name

we used to have one and Orange Julius

edited to say: and Piggly Wiggly

[DBoon]

103. I miss Orange Julius

"Devilishly Good"!

[debm55]

107. TY . I miss them too. They also used to sell those large cookies too.

[prodigitalson]

219. yeah, I really liked them in my Jr High parents drop me off at the mall days c. 1981

[debm55]

221. Thank you prodigitalson.

[debm55]

105. Ty, I remember them. Aren't they Denny's now. Shitty ass original name for a restaurant

[prodigitalson]

142. dunno, but it was a very Denny's type place

[GP6971]

108. Coast to Coast Hardware.

[debm55]

109. TY GP6971 Did you shop there?

[GP6971]

115. I did. They were

around for about 3 or 4 years after I relocated out here. That was late 80s early 90s fefore they went under.

[debm55]

116. Ty, GP6971

[lpbk2713]

136. Builder's Square

Comparable to Lowe's and Home Despot.

[debm55]

155. TY, Think it must be regional Our closed one was Busy Beaver.

[debm55]

157. TY. We had that one too. Odd that Lowes moved into the building that Builder's Square was in.

[LudwigPastorius]

137. Buster Brown Shoe Stores

Peaches Records and Tapes...then Sound Warehouse...

Then there were the department stores.

Goldsmith's
Stripling & Cox
Foley's
Leonard's
Joske's
Sanger-Harris

[debm55]

154. TY Ludwig Pastorius. We always got our school shoes at Buster Brown. Latter when I taught I got my shoes at Hush Puppies

[moniss]

138. Atlantic Mills,

American TV & Appliance, Team Electronics, Gimbel's, Marshall Field's and a few of the clothing chains that popped up when the British Invasion happened.

[debm55]

153. Thank you, moniss. We only had Gimbels here.

[electric_blue68]

139. First Gimbels, then Alexander's, later Radio Shack & Tandy's (crafts), even later Bradlees......

, later still Korvettes.

Really annoyed at Korvettes...I got decent to a some quite nice clothes from there for decades.

I recognize some others mentioned.

Interesting - I worked for Izod (little green alligator on polo shirts most iconic) for a while part '81- part '83.
I had to keep track of sales for what was called cooperative advertising across the USA.
What was fun was finding all the regional stores I'd never heard of before! Some made it to NYC several years later.

Like a much bigger experience than seeing a "Piggly Wiggly's" truck in Close Encounters of the First Kind.

[debm55]

152. Thank you electric_blue, I remember Gimbels. Tandy's , Hornes, and Kaufmanns. Kaufmanns had the the best clothing.

[Sanity Claws]

232. Gimbels

I worked there in college. It wasn't the greatest store but it was a classic.
The movie Miracle on 34th Street brought up the rivalry between Macys and Gimbels.

[debm55]

237. Thank you, Sanity Claws. I didn;t know it was Macys vs Gimbels

[Doc_Technical]

140. Pacific Stereo

Warehouse Records
Mervyns Department Stores

[debm55]

151. TY Doc_Technical. I don't remember them around here. it might have been regional.

[Doc_Technical]

161. These stores were in California

[DBoon]

247. and Circuit City

[Harker]

143. S. S. Kresge Co.

Forerunner of K-Mart.

[debm55]

150. TY Harker. We didn;t have any Kresge around here but we did have K-Marts.

[Emile]

144. Gander Mountain

[debm55]

149. TY Emile. They didn't last that long around here. but I would buy their wool hunting socks for going outside with the

son.

[Aristus]

145. B. Dalton's Booksellers and Waldenbooks.

Borders Books & Music didn’t come along until I was an adult.

But I loved those two now long-gone stores. When I was a kid and our parents would take us to the mall, I would immediately run off to whichever store the mall had, and some places had both.

My parents were never worried about where to find me. They always found me, safe and sound, happily browsing the shelves in the bookstore. (As far as kid-safety in a public place goes, I don’t subscribe to the ‘well it was a different time’ view; kids got snatched back then, too.)

I miss bookstores. I love second-hand places, too. But retail bookstores were an emblem of a nation that reads. And doesn’t seem to anymore.

[debm55]

148. Thank you Aristus. Our mall had both. I always went there when I was at the mall too.

[Mad_Dem_X]

146. Fashion Bug

They sold clothes for young women. We had one in my childhood neighborhood for a long time.

[debm55]

147. I remember Fashion Bug when I was in college. TY

[malthaussen]

156. Well, not "recently."

They all closed their doors long ago.

-- Mal

[debm55]

189. TY , Mal.

[Runningdawg]

159. I sew and upholster. JoAnns has been having issues for years.

I was a manager for Hancocks before they went bankrupt, let me shed some light on this.
Something many don't know. Both stores allowed fabric returns and here is what happens -
A lady buys 10 yards, cuts it into 2 yard pieces for drapes and decides she hates it. No problem!! It can be returned for a full refund.
Now I have to sell that $40/yd fabric, in pieces. Company policy says cut it in 1 yd pieces and price it at $5 for the clearance bin.
In ONE transaction, the store just lost $350.

From my perspective now, as an occasional customer -
Disclaimer on every page: We will attempt to fulfill your order in one cut, however, when this is not possible, we will send the order in the largest cuts possible.
Great if you quilt, impossible if you need 6-10 yds per cut. And do they discount those cuts? No. Full price. And hey, if you don't like it - send it back for a full refund.

[debm55]

188. TY Runningdawd. I always wondered why there were so many Drapery and upholstery cut in the clearance shelves.The last

Last edited Wed Apr 3, 2024, 04:54 PM - Edit history (1)

I ordered from them it took 4 weeks to get here in Western Pa. My order was sent from Ohio to Buffalo, to Baltimore, to Cumberland, to Pittsburgh. I called the home office and was told it was the delivers fault. They never gave me discount or coupon, I never ordered from then again.

[hlthe2b]

194. JoAnne's appears to be closing/bankrupt as of a few days ago. While I don't sew much at all, I have

family, friends, and hobbyist acquaintances who DO. Any idea what will be available (or emerge) to backfill the need for fabrics and sewing notions? I just find this sad...

[debm55]

196. Me too. I was a nice store with friendly people.(not counting online ordering) I went to the store to pick up what I

needed. They even had a teachers discount card I used when I bought items for school. It is sad.

[debm55]

197. I don't shop there but Hobby Lobby does sell material. But I am sure their assortment isn't like JoAnne's.

Last edited Thu Apr 4, 2024, 08:49 AM - Edit history (1)

[Runningdawg]

222. I've had to find alternate fabric sources online. Not easy.

Also, I've started shopping garage sales and thrift stores for fabrics. Example 19.99 king size comforter at thrift became 8 outdoor chair cushions which sold for 19.99 EACH.
I bead also and I can find beads and findings cheaper at thrift and garage sales than the bead store. The last trip I bought 4 bought necklaces with rhinestone, magnetic clasps for $1 each. One clasp at Michaels 7.99
Foam, cording, batting, vinyl, button kits and other upholstery hardware and notions come from a Tulsa business that specializes in car and boat upholstery.
I did break down and go to walmart to replace a presser foot ASAP.

ETA look for some of JoAnns stock to end up at online clearance houses, here and outside the USA.

[drmeow]

225. Michael's started carrying fabric not to long ago

Not the kind of selection Joann's has.

There are online fabric stores.

I'm not doing a lot of sewing right now but this is going to suck long term. Of course, Cloth World closed before Joann came into being so maybe something will replace it - or maybe it will manage to stay open.

[debm55]

230. TY drmeom. I went to JoAnn's web site last night. They are having a 60% sale of assorted items. They listed my home

store as being in Washington County. Mine should be in Allegheny., At 60% it was a deal but it had to be online. that I won't do.

[drmeow]

243. Yeah, buying fabric online is iffy

I might go look for other craft stuff, though

[debm55]

244. There is a much larger store near the airport. I have been there and it's huge. I think they are closing the smaller one

first. I liked their polar fleece too. It is 60% off. TY, drmeow.

[usaf-vet]

166. It appears that brick-and-mortar stores are not surviving because the online stores are co-opting all of their products.

That is the way I see it in my world.

Quick story: When I first moved to where we have lived for the last 40 years, one of the hardest things to get used to was, "We don't stock that, but we can get it for you with our next order." At the time, I was often looking for repair parts for our home appliances and fixtures in the home we bought and still live in.

Now, we still live in a somewhat remote area. The nearest large town is 140 miles round trip. Our saving grace, especially through the Covid pandemic, was Amazon.

Being in our mid-seventies, we avoided large crowds because masking was and is a good way to lower the spread of an airborne disease.
Many of our fellow citizens wouldn't wear a mask. We stayed away.

Recently, one of our 25-year-old appliances needed a sensor. Guess who had one? Two days later, the appliance is headed for many more years of use. Yup, Amazon! The good, the bad, and the ugly.

We still have an independently owned Radio Shack and a nationwide hardware dealer. I try them first. If they don't have what I need, the next stop is Amazon. Yes still the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[debm55]

184. Ty usaf-vet. I do the same with amazon. What I don;t like and would never order from amazon or any online service is

shoes. I must try them on. Thank you for you great post.

[pandr32]

183. Eatons in Canada.

It was the best.

[debm55]

185. Ty. I have heard of them.

[RandySF]

186. Farmer Jack

[debm55]

187. Ty RandySF

[Xavier Breath]

195. Hills and Gold Circle.

Two of my all-time favorite department stores. It was a tradition on Saturdays in the late '70s/early '80s when my Mom and Aunt would take me and my cousins to the mall, we'd always make sure to hit Hills and GC right afterward as they were just a few hundred yards apart. I can still see their floor layout in my mind. Hills would go all out at Christmas and have a HUGE toy display. Well into my twenties I still visited them, and I miss going to them to this day.

[debm55]

200. Ty Xavier Breath, we had a Hills and a Gold Circle here. Do You remember the beautiful ad Hills had for Christmas?

[Xavier Breath]

203. I went looking and found this which has three of them all starring the same elf character.

The second I heard the jingle 35+ years just melted away.

[debm55]

205. Thank you , the one I was thinking of was of the Christmas. It was a religious one.

[WestMichRad]

206. Prange's in northern MI and WI

Bought out by Younkers in early 90s.

[debm55]

207. ty westMichRad

[Ilsa]

208. I hate that news about JoAnn Fabrics.

It's the only non-grocery store I visit regularly. They have tons of crafting merch, classes on sewing, quilting, etc. It's where I purchase all that stuff except yarn for crochet.

They have tons of cosplay stuff, costuming materials, collegiate fabrics and fleece. I guess there aren't as many people who sew any more.

[debm55]

210. JoAnn Fabrics was my go to store for fabric and crafting. It's sad.

[jmowreader]

209. A regional department store chain called The Crescent

It was scheduled to open August 5, 1889, in Spokane Falls, WA. On August 4, almost the entire of Spokane Falls' downtown burned to the ground. When they opened the day after the fire, they had not jacked up all the prices even though they were the only dry goods store left in town.

Anyway, it seems like the founders of The Crescent had gone to Macy's big store in New York, came back and tried to make their store as nice as Macy's. They did the big window display like Macy's still does. They also had a tradition that no Christmas signage, decorations or anything would appear in their stores before Black Friday, so they brought all the employees in on Thanksgiving while the store was closed, reset the store then threw the grandest Thanksgiving feast for workers and their families imaginable. Which sounds terrible but people actually quoted this as the reason they wanted to work for The Crescent. The downtown store is now a mall, and they've kept some of the things that made The Crescent memorable, like this big clock hanging over the first floor atrium that people would meet under. The clock was made by the company that is now IBM.

[debm55]

211. Thank you jmowreader

[PennRalphie]

212. Hills

It has to be Hills. My wife went to a craft show and Pittsburgh artist Linda Barnicott was there. Came home with an ornament-ultimate yinzer Pittsburgh Dad walking out of Hills.

[debm55]

213. Penn Ralphie. I loved Hills. We yinzers are flooded here. The Yough crested this morning at 28.4 major closings.

Last edited Thu Apr 4, 2024, 12:17 PM - Edit history (1)

[PennRalphie]

214. Flooding

Is so devastating in Western PA. We don’t have any problems here, I’m not near a creek or river, but just the photos and news reports are horrible. Stay ssfe and dry.

[debm55]

216. You too.

[OldBaldy1701E]

215. I would say Roses.

They were a department store chain in North Carolina back in the day. (Not just N.C., but we had plenty of them.) Hell, I still have a few things from the one that we used to drive half an hour to get to. (My home town was tiny... we had a Pope's, which was like a Dollar General/Family Dollar and an IGA, which was a grocery chain.)

Yes, for someone like me, Radio Shack was heaven. I used to drool over the kits they had as well as the musical stuff. The first one I ever was around was in the same town as the Roses. It was 25 miles away from my house.

(Funny addition: That town was also the closest 24hr store during the first part of the week. If you wanted a pack of smokes or a soda or something to eat after 10 p.m., you drove 25 minutes to get it. Convenience! But, people did it all the time. My mother used to say that a person could have gone out, hunted a wild animal, killed it, prepped it, and made some dinner by the time they drove to the convenience store and back for a Little Debbie and a soda. LOL!)

[debm55]

217. Thank you OldBaldy1701E

[VGNonly]

218. Highland Appliance

[debm55]

220. Thank you VGNonly, it;s so Politically Incorrect,

Last edited Thu Apr 4, 2024, 09:22 PM - Edit history (1)

[MLAA]

233. Woolworths

[debm55]

239. Thank you MLAA

[ificandream]

234. Not from my childhood, but both 99 Cents Only and Boston Market announced they were closing this week.

[debm55]

240. TY, ificandrean, I thought Boston Market closed long ago. The local one has not been heen here in about 5 years.

[ificandream]

242. Ours has still been open.

It really has fallen down, though.

[marked50]

241. HomeBase and Nickerson Farms--n/t

[debm55]

245. Ty marked50. Sad isn't it.