10 Restaruants & Retailers We Miss

[CharlieB]

Does anyone miss the popcorn stand at sears? I think they had food too, but all I really remember is the popcorn because my parents would buy it to keep me quiet

We had a chain of discount department stores a while back called "Hills", they had a popcorn and snack stand right inside the front door. It was hard to get out without buying some. OH the smell of fresh popped corn and real butter!

Like the other stores mentioned and the dodo bird, Hills too is long gone....

 

[CharlieB]

Several of you mentioned Wollworth's. Carlise had a Wollworth's and a Woolco!

As a kid, I loved plastic model kits. Woolco had the best selection of any department store. Now, you are lucky to find a section in most modern department stores. So, in addition to certain stores, I miss some of the product lines we used to have.

 

[Steveb1]

The old A&P's (the one's where they had the conveyor belt coming up from the basement)

and anyone from the Northeast remember EJ Korvettes and Two Guy's from Harrison?

When I was a kid my mother would take us to Robert Hall for our good clothes.

 

[CharlieB]

The old A&P's (the one's where they had the conveyor belt coming up from the basement)

and anyone from the Northeast remember EJ Korvettes and Two Guy's from Harrison?

When I was a kid my mother would take us to Robert Hall for our good clothes.

We had a Krovettes, with escalator. Scared me to death when I was little. Thought it was going to eat me!

 

[scottyrocks]

The old A&P's (the one's where they had the conveyor belt coming up from the basement)

and anyone from the Northeast remember EJ Korvettes and Two Guy's from Harrison?

When I was a kid my mother would take us to Robert Hall for our good clothes.

We had an A&P on Ralph Ave in Brooklyn. And there was a Korvettes on Rockaway Blvd in Queens.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Does anyone miss the popcorn stand at sears? I think they had food too, but all I really remember is the popcorn because my parents would buy it to keep me quiet

Yep, I remember this! It was near the portrait studio. lol I also remember little lunch counters in local stores such as Bradlees, Dry Goods, and Two Guys. They were very SEVENTIES when I got old enough to realise them.

Chi-Chi's was gross. Don't miss it.

I do miss Tower Records. I wouldn't shop there now, but I have fond memories of me and my first boyfriend going there often and buying all kinds of punk CDs you couldn't find elsewhere. Gosh darnit, we were rebels.

There was a JJ Newberry's in the town I grew up in. Only it was....er.....dirty? I wouldn't go there. We also had a Woolworth that probably hadn't been changed since the 30s -- had a very OLD lunch counter that scared, yet fascinated me as a child. I'd kill to patronise it now!!

 

[rue]

Yep, I remember this! It was near the portrait studio. lol I also remember little lunch counters in local stores such as Bradlees, Dry Goods, and Two Guys. They were very SEVENTIES when I got old enough to realise them.

Chi-Chi's was gross. Don't miss it.

I do miss Tower Records. I wouldn't shop there now, but I have fond memories of me and my first boyfriend going there often and buying all kinds of punk CDs you couldn't find elsewhere. Gosh darnit, we were rebels.

There was a JJ Newberry's in the town I grew up in. Only it was....er.....dirty? I wouldn't go there. We also had a Woolworth that probably hadn't been changed since the 30s -- had a very OLD lunch counter that scared, yet fascinated me as a child. I'd kill to patronise it now!!

Ack! Chi Chi's WAS gross! I didn't know that it or Tower records were gone. How weird! I used to buy records/tapes there too.

 

[LizzieMaine]

A lot of the old dime stores tended to be in the dodgy part of town, and weren't well maintained -- our Newberry's was falling in on itself by the time it closed. It was a sad thing to see happen, but even in the best of times the stores tended to be kind of dark and frowsy by modern standards. Ours always reeked of the linseed oil they used to oil the floorboards.

My saddest dime store moment was the day in 1974 when I stood on the sidewalk and watched our McLellans burn to the ground. McLellan's was always my favorite store for back-to-school junk, and it had a lovable cheesiness that I still miss.

 

[Steveb1]

Yes I remember Chi Chi's. That was a nasty place. They only closed down within the last ten years.

 

[St.Ignatz]

Toddle House..........across from the Police Station. Home of the slickest skillet (pre teflon) I've ever seen.
Harrisons Department Store located next to Horn & Hardart.
Strawbridge and Clothier.
John Wanamaker.
Woolworths.
Spritzlers Mens Shop. "Hats rebuilt while you wait". They sold REAL Phillies tickets. Eightyone games worth sitting right there in a slotted chest.
all in Ardmore, Penna.

 

[59Lark]

memories;, irvings department the son gave me a chocolate bar once, i was so shocked didnt open it till i got home to the farm, crispy crunch opened it up and it was so old it was white. Not milk chocolate, no chains when i was little, just family owned stores, first time i rode a esclator almost fell off in a old department store in galt. White rose gas stations, or supertest, our local burger joint was a summer ice cream stand called the wwg , wendy wanda and gail. its still there now called cherrys or something new owners six times over but still there in the summer now owned by the local butcher . MY favourite diner as a kid was a place called clarkes in aylmer ont, the juke boxes on the tables and the booths its still there and the booths no juke boxes and it really tired . Now one restraunt that been there since forties is the deluxe diner since 1948 something and now its called the new sarum diner, new dining room outback and banquet hall out back that but the front its original booths, float counter and juke box and pay phone, it almost makes me cry , and the food is really good like home made . this piece was supposed to be on whats gone and missed but i can help but mention what has survived and still there. 59Lark still driving a studebaker at least in the summer.

 

[CharlieB]

Toddle House..........across from the Police Station. Home of the slickest skillet (pre teflon) I've ever seen.
Harrisons Department Store located next to Horn & Hardart.
Strawbridge and Clothier.
John Wanamaker.
Woolworths.
Spritzlers Mens Shop. "Hats rebuilt while you wait". They sold REAL Phillies tickets. Eightyone games worth sitting right there in a slotted chest.
all in Ardmore, Penna.

When we first got married, and were living in Lancaster County (my wife's home terf), our first credit card was for Wanamakers. Until you mentioned them, I had forgotten about it.
As the song says "thanks for the memories"!

 

[Kahuna]

Here's a few of the businesses (and business types) I really miss:

5 and dime stores - Since I grew up in a few different places here are some of the names I remember: Woolworth's, Kresge, McClellan's, Newberry's, Sprouse-Reitz. They were different from today's dollar stores in that they carried a wider variety of merchandise and many of them had lunch counters. I remember buying my first pocket knife there as well as things like a figurine for my mom, pocket-size transistor radio, oilcloth tablecloths cut from a roll, and roll down window shades cut to size.

Full line department stores - Department stores have cut many of the lines they once carried until most of them are nothing more than clothing, cosmetics, bedding & house wares.
In the mid-70's I worked at a JCPenney, relatively small as Penney stores go, that included hardware, sporting goods, cameras, records, candy, fabric, major appliances, electronics, plant & garden, a snack bar & a cafeteria. None of those departments remain today and it's a lot less interesting to shop there.

mom & pop hardware stores - Though most of these were a tenth of the size of today's big box hardware stores they still were able to meet your needs 95% of the time and the people who worked there were generally knowledgeable about what they sold and could give good advice. And the money they took in was usually spent in the community instead of being sent to corporate headquarters.

Drug stores with soda fountains - A few of these remain dotted throughout the country and usually do pretty good business because of their novelty. My wife and I usually make a point of it to share a chocolate malt at one whenever we go on vacation.

Akron stores - I think these were mainly a southern California phenomenon. They were kind of a precursor to today's Pier 1 and Cost Plus import stores selling then-exotic merchandise from all over the world at decent prices. I bought a Cumbus there, a middle-eastern musical instrument that resembled a banjo made with an aluminum pot. It's been lost or sold somewhere along the way. Wish I still had it.

 

[Mr. Hallack]

I remember Sears as a kid when they had the candy dept, photo dept. The place always smelled like a combo of cigarettes and popcorn (back in the 70's when you could smoke indoors) I remember Akron in So. California, Zody's, and Farrell's Ice Cream.

Up here in Maine, well it hasn't been gone for long, but Dave's Restaraunt in Thomaston. One of the first places I ate at when I moved here!!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Several of you mentioned Wollworth's. Carlise had a Wollworth's and a Woolco!

As a kid, I loved plastic model kits. Woolco had the best selection of any department store. Now, you are lucky to find a section in most modern department stores. So, in addition to certain stores, I miss some of the product lines we used to have.

I remember Woolco's toy department well, and you're right, they did have the best selection of model kits outside of a hobby shop. Now even the hobby shops are few and far in between. There used to be at least half a dozen in my area -- now there's only two left.

Those were the days when you could find Revell-Italieri model kits at Pic N Save (now Big Lots) for 69 cents. There was also a place at Westminster Mall called Mini City that had them for 69 cents as well.

 

[charminglane]

Lit brothers, Grant's, Two Guys, Wanamakers, Gimbels, H & S green Stamp stores, the Sears Toyland downstairs at Christmas!

I had the pleasure of my first job at J.W. Robinson's Pasadena store-now a Target. I worked between the sheets ~ in Linens!

We now have a new Bob's Big Boy that has opened in Pasadena about 6 months ago. Have not checked it out yet.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Gone but not forgotten (at least not by me)...

Discount Chains:
Cal, Fedco, Fed Mart, Gemco, White Front, Woolco, Zodys

Toys and Hobbies:
Karl's Toys & Hobbies (practically every mall had a Karl's or a similar store which was a toy store on one side and stationery store on the other), Toy City, Toys International

Supermarkets:
Alpha Beta (I remember their commercials; "Tell a friend/ you should shop/ Alpha Beta"), Boys Market, Food Giant, Food King, Lucky, Market Basket, Safeway (at least they've all but disappeared from this area)

Restaurants:
Church's Fried Chicken, Farrell's, Lone Ranger, Pioneer Chicken, Sir George's, Tacos de Carlos (TdC was Carl's Jr/Hardee's brief foray into Mexican food in the 1970s)

Drug Stores:
Clark Drugs (now CVS), Thrifty

 

[LizzieMaine]

Thrifty's is gone? During my California sojourn in the early 80s, i couldn't get enough of their 15-cent ice cream cones. I could have done without running the gauntlet of bums out front, though, panhandling to buy a mini-six-pack of Night Train, which must've been the second-biggest-selling item in the store behind the ice-cream cones.

 

[scottyrocks]

Gone but not forgotten (at least not by me)...

Discount Chains:
Cal, Fedco, Fed Mart, Gemco, White Front, Woolco, Zodys

Toys and Hobbies:
Karl's Toys & Hobbies (practically every mall had a Karl's or a similar store which was a toy store on one side and stationery store on the other), Toy City, Toys International

Supermarkets:
Alpha Beta (I remember their commercials; "Tell a friend/ you should shop/ Alpha Beta"), Boys Market, Food Giant, Food King, Lucky, Market Basket, Safeway (at least they've all but disappeared from this area)

Restaurants:
Church's Fried Chicken, Farrell's, Lone Ranger, Pioneer Chicken, Sir George's, Tacos de Carlos (TdC was Carl's Jr/Hardee's brief foray into Mexican food in the 1970s)

Drug Stores:
Clark Drugs (now CVS), Thrifty

I think theres still a couple of Church's Fried Chickens in Brooklyn, as well as some Safeways (which could just be a good, universal name not necessarily owned by the same 'people.' And I know theres a Thrifty Drugs around here somewhere, as well.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

We have several Church's Fried Chicken places in Houston.
They are all over Texas: http://www.churchs.com/index.html