What are some stores you remember as a kid that no longer exist or might as well?

[quote name='hiccupleftovers']I guess I must be the only one who remembers Phar-mor. Were they even a nationwide chain?[/QUOTE]

Several people mentioned it already. We had one in Ft. Lauderdale, FL until the early-mid 90's. I remember renting NES games for .50 and my mom limiting my renting when they raised the price to $1.00. I also remember buying one of those Pringles Mario Brothers Adventure books there.
 
I remember the Child's World in East Haven, CT.
I don't remember so much the inside of the building or the store itself, but I remember it after it closed. The store was located in the wackiest area. The strip , Rt 1 I believe had stores on either side of the road, but had I-95 right down the middle of it. That meant that you had to drive about 3/4 a mile down the road to get to a bridge to reach anything on the other side.

Child's World looked like an medieval castle with tall spires and flags. Our Child's World was in direct competition with TRU, on the opposite side of the road, and Child's World was the first to close down. After they closed, they didn't tear the building down for a few good years. Every time you drove through East Haven on I95, you saw TRU on one side, and a creepy run down castle on the other. That place always irked me!
 
[quote name='gofishn']Several people mentioned it already. We had one in Ft. Lauderdale, FL until the early-mid 90's. I remember renting NES games for .50 and my mom limiting my renting when they raised the price to $1.00. I also remember buying one of those Pringles Mario Brothers Adventure books there.[/quote]

Sorry, haven't read through the entire thread yet. Too bogged down in the CC comotion and the site crawling for me.

That was one of the main reason I went to Phar-mor. I loved renting from them. it was such a treat. i'd rent 5 or 6 things at a time. I have memories of going there for Halloween and grabbing 5 or 6 various horror movies or just of one series like when I took out most of the Nightmare on elm street. also, when they closed a lot of my vacationing went on hiatus as I used to stock up there.
 
Yeah there's still plenty o boston markets in my area, I enjoy it and usually try to go to it when I'm around but it's always pretty desolate inside.
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Do we really want the old tru layout, or do we just miss it because we grew up with it? I really miss the ticket system, but I think it's more nostalgia than anything.[/QUOTE]

My local store still has the tickets!

[quote name='tyecko']I miss Funcoland for all the same reasons people have listed already and then some more stores.

Little Ceasars- They may still be around some places but there gone in minnesota and all the surrounding states I believe.

TCBY- awesome frozen yogurt shop that closed about 8 years ago and I haven't seen one since.
[/QUOTE]

You can still find both of these but not nearly as easily. There's a Little Caesars in St. Cloud and a few inside KMarts in MN still. There's a TCBY is Rosedale mall and in Columbia Heights as well.
 
Stores I miss:

Funcoland
KB Toys
Babbages (In my mind they assimilated with EB into one games store that was in every mall, but then I remembered there was 2).

Stores I don't miss:

Service Merchandise (Well, I miss it a little because my mom would go there a lot and my sister and I would always jump on the little exercise tramplines)

Pic'N'Save (Surprised no one else mentioned them yet. Semi ghetto, kind of like a Wal-Mart or K-Mart. Maybe it was just a Florida thing?)
 
Pic 'n' Save turned into the crappily named MacFruggal's which thus in turn turned into the even worse name of Big Lots.
 
Gemco - I think that they were a kind of grocery/department store. I might not be recalling this correctly, but I think that it had a really weird layout. The groceries were in the back, the electronics and other household stuff was in the front, and the registers were....inbetween the two in the middle of the store. I remember looking at and begging my mother for some Atari 2600 games while we were checking out. Closed in 1986-1987. Most locations then became Target stores.

Lucky's - another grocery store. They were bought out by Albertson's. After reading up a little bit, it seems that Lucky's used to own Gemco, and sold them after a failed hostile take over. Bought by Albertson's (which was itself bought in April 2006) in 1998.
 
[quote name='Fire']Pic 'n' Save turned into the crappily named MacFruggal's which thus in turn turned into the even worse name of Big Lots.[/quote]

Wow, really? Where I lived they all just closed.
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']I guess I must be the only one who remembers Phar-mor. Were they even a nationwide chain?[/quote]

o i remember phar-mor very well. when i was like 5 or 6 i rented the sesame street nes games as well as the superman game about a million times each from that place.

also i fondly remember Turtles... it was a store like blockbuster that was eventually taken over by blockbuster
 
Anyone have one of the promotional videos from Children's Palace? I watched that damn thing religiously as a kid. It was set up where kids would just sorta do real quick skits that lead up to a product commercial. I've never forget the Double Dragon 2 commerical with Nes Max(?) Wireless controllers. Lasers shot out of the controllers, great stuff.
 
Venture -- I think it turned into Target

Woolworth's -- squashed by all the other chains
 
[quote name='Apossum']Venture -- I think it turned into Target

Woolworth's -- squashed by all the other chains[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure Target and Venture are separate companies entirely. Growing up (70s and 80s) I visited St. Louis all the time and both stores have existed there since I can remember. However, now Target is here in Ohio (and everywhere else it seems) but Venture is still apparently only in certain cities.
 
[quote name='thagoat']G.C. MURPHY AND BURGER CHEF!! if any of you remember these stores, i'll suck your d^%k![/QUOTE]

Holy crap! I totall forgot about Burger Chef!

Like I mentioned above, I visited St. Louis very often as a kid and they had them there. Haven't eaten there since late 70s or early 80s. I think the little cartoon mascot guys were Chef and Jeff or something like that.

but, uh, I'll take a rain check, Goat
 
[quote name='HumanSnatcher']Does anyone remember a record store called Peaches? My partner has mentinoed them several times and said they were really good for getting music at back in the day[/quote]

We had a record store called Strawberries. It was great because they didn't have a computerized check out system. it was basically a cash register. They had the easiet labels to peel off. I got 80% of my Cassette Tapes :shock: for $7.99 or less.

Speaking of restaraunts, anyone remember Steak n' Egg? How about the AM/PM Minnie Markets? I remember always going there before haeding home from the Jersey Shore.
 
[quote name='Number83']We had a record store called Strawberries. It was great because they didn't have a computerized check out system. it was basically a cash register. They had the easiet labels to peel off. I got 80% of my Cassette Tapes :shock: for $7.99 or less.[/quote]

If oly GS were that easy to peel off eh? lol *damn rip off artists*
 
[quote name='jetsetradio21']I remember the Child's World in East Haven, CT.
I don't remember so much the inside of the building or the store itself, but I remember it after it closed. The store was located in the wackiest area. The strip , Rt 1 I believe had stores on either side of the road, but had I-95 right down the middle of it. That meant that you had to drive about 3/4 a mile down the road to get to a bridge to reach anything on the other side.

Child's World looked like an medieval castle with tall spires and flags. Our Child's World was in direct competition with TRU, on the opposite side of the road, and Child's World was the first to close down. After they closed, they didn't tear the building down for a few good years. Every time you drove through East Haven on I95, you saw TRU on one side, and a creepy run down castle on the other. That place always irked me![/quote] Damn, was that what that store was called? We must have had one of those 20 years ago around here. It was a huge castle with 4 toy soldiers out front with literally a draw bridge as their main entrance.

I loved that place as a kid, it beat the hell out of TRU back then.

Also remember Zayre's and Venture like others mentioned. Used to goto Venture all the time with my mom to buy household stuff. In fact, Venture took over Zayre's location around here, and now it's a Home Depot. Ah... those black and white bars...

All the Little Caesars disappeared around here too.
 
I remember Lucky's. Best Supermarket chain. Loved them so much more than Albertsons. They were the best with Smiths in second.
 
It's funny to hear some of you calling Woolworth's a "kmart clone". woolworth's dates back to the 1920s and is the oriignal thrift chain.

I don't miss stores because they're just stores. Maybe the Five-and-Dime which no longer exists. Lots of good stuff; cheap.
 
[quote name='CheapyMom']The Horn & Hardart Automat-
When I was a kid going there to eat was like going to an arcade. It was so much fun putting the money in slots and watching the little doors open - it all seemed like magic. When I was little I thought they had the best mac & cheese and baked beans in the world . I remember once putting money (nickels?) in a slot for milk and watching it all run out because I forgot to put a glass under the big brass spigot. The lady with the uniform and hairnet was very nice and didn't yell and just reset the machine to let me have the milk.

When the company started selling take out food they used the slogan 'Less work for Mother".[/QUOTE]
I saw a show about this place on PBS. It seemed like a really cool idea for the time and I'm sure it made tons of money when it was first opened.
 
[quote name='Radioactive_Man']Alpha Beta = super market
Montgomery Wards = Department store[/QUOTE]

I remember those!

Here's some more.

Odd-Lots
Biz-Mart
Price Club
Crazy Eddie's
Software Etc.
Babbages
DeJaiz (a.k.a. DJs)
Aladdin's Castle (arcade chain)
Action Park (water park in NJ)
Bulwinkles (think Chuck E. Cheese's)
 
[quote name='tyecko']
Little Ceasars- They may still be around some places but there gone in minnesota and all the surrounding states I believe.[/QUOTE]

There are a few Little Caesars in the Twin Cities area. There is one close to where I live.

The stores that I remember:
Funcoland: That was the first video game store I ever went to. They had some really good trade-in-values. Now all the Funcolands are Gamestops.

Aladdin's Castle: That was the first arcade I ever went to. They closed down about 4 years ago.
EB/Electronics Boutique: Some of their stores didn't have very good employees in my experiences, but they did have a good selection. I remeber going there to find older games, after Funcoland was bought out by Gamestop.

K.B. Toys: The K.B. that I used to go to closed about 5 years ago.
 
The Toy Works- I think KB owned them, idk for sure. Think KB Toys but bigger and with a lot more stuff. Mine had like a big ass wall of board games, then all types of other assorted crap (not as big as Toys r Us but certantly bigger than KB). I remember getting stuff there as a kid, good times.

EB games- There was a time I walked into EB games and was greeted by helpful people and there selection was good. I remember preordering N64 games there and before going to a 45 min one to get genesis accessories.

Classic Toys R Us- With the tickets.

Ben Franklin Crafts- It was like the toys r us of crafts. Basically I am not one of those people into crafts but if I ever needed something for a project in school, they had it.

Hills/Ames- Although they sucked, I do remember the food court.
 
I miss... I miss the S&M Cafe. Unremarkable place as far as I know (I never ventured into the cafe itself), but you just have to marvel at the kind of person who would give a place such a name.
 
Mervyn's, Peoples (JC Penny type store) Bon Marche, Burger Chef, Montgomery Ward, SoftWare Etc. (GameStop now), Royal Fork (buffet style restaurant), Boston Market
 
I read this whole thread.. nobody else remembers Jamesway? It was pretty much like Ames, I think. I think they may have carried more toys and games than Ames did, but that's a very fuzzy memory

Also remember:

Little Ceasars
West Coast Video (some of my best memories of childhood consist of buying their clearanced NES games when it finally kicked the bucket)
Ames
Funcoland
Old-school Toys R Us
Bradlees
 
[quote name='Sir_Fragalot']Classic Toys R Us- With the tickets.

Ben Franklin Crafts- It was like the toys r us of crafts. Basically I am not one of those people into crafts but if I ever needed something for a project in school, they had it.

[/QUOTE]


Still have a TRU with that layout up here in Fargo, and there are a couple Ben Franklin Crafts stores around as well, though there aren't many.
 
Venture. My parents used to buy me Batman toys there whenever we shopped.


I always loved how at TRU you had to bring a little ticket to buy video games, and how all the systems were behind a glass case. I still remember buying my SNES there. Good times.
 
Zayre - - awesome place to snag toys back in the day

TG&Y - - even more ghetto than Kmart at the time

Playland - - always drove by it in SC, but never got to go in

Phar-Mor - - had cool toys and food

Service Merchandise - - the local one didn't close down until 99, and still had good deals till then

Woolworth - - decent toy selection

Children's Palace - - best toy store ever, the one here closed in the early 90s, and up till that time it still had a full selection of Gen 1 Transformers and other cool stuff
 
grocery stores:
Alpha Beta
Ralphs
Daiei

Restaurants:
A&W Drive in
Chick-fil-a (not in my area anymore)
Perry's Boys Smorgie (buffet)
Pioneer Chicken
Senor Taco
Speedy Burger
 
Hills( they got killed off by their overly friendly return policies)

eckerds

revco

childrens palace ( this place was awesome cartoon characters roamed aroudn this huge toy store in hindsight they were probably pedos)

showbiz pizza ( turned into chuckie cheese)
 
Reading and scanning these posts are like memory overloads; mostly good and some sad.

Some already mentioned:
1) Service Merchandise: bought first air rifle with scope and first air pistol where I learned how to shoot.
2) Gemco: land of toys.
3) TG&Y: land of GI Joe and Star Wars toys.
4) Aladdin's Castle: best arcade of my youth; my golden/silver era of gaming.

Others:
5) Kiddie World: land of over-priced toys.
6) Galactican Arcade: shady arcade of my youth; Street Fighter II, and full Hard Drivin' simulator where I learned how to drive long before legal permit age.
7) Meridian Quad Theatres: Predator and Superman IV.
 
Already said:
Funcoland - I wish I still had a copy of that old flyer! I remember they still sold NES games when N64 was out. I pimped out my collection thanks to them.

Old TRU - I loved the ticket system (except when something was OOS)

Other:
Fretter - Kind of like a Best Buy. I remember my Mom took me there one time to buy NES games for my good report card. I got Zelda (gold cart), Bubble Bobble, and Contra. Best haul ever, to this day.

Bonkers - Arcade/chuck e cheese style place. Freaking awesome fun.

Tower Records - Before the music industry shat itself, me and my friends would go buy new CDs every Tuesday after school. I still remember climbing the winding staircase, all happy with my CD player ready.
 
Media Play - prices were a bit high but for movies they had the best selection in store especially if you were looking for something a bit older.

Funway Freeway - stand alone arcade full of games and not in a mall.

Showbiz Pizza - not a kiddie pizza place but full of games (not for tickets but had a few, mostly vid games)

Children's Palace - was one store away from a TRU so made for great toy & game shopping.

Gold Circle - ones I went to were like a Kmart.

Hills

Ames - oddly the last year they were in business my wife worked at one that had just been built and ended up being closed, building has since benn demo'd and rebuilt a Home Depot on the site...

BEST
 
Nobody Beats the Wiz - Yeah It might still be in NY (?) but in CT it was pretty cool to have a store that still sold the Atari Jaguar and 3D0 when no one else carried it. Other then that pretty overpriced but my dad loved going there.

Leech mares (spelling) - I remember this as another electronics store that my dad loved shopping at. The 3D0 was also seen here once. Maybe that's why these stores died? 3D0? eh? hehe

Toy Works - Loved their selection - hated their prices. Had a HUGE NES selection way after the NES was overtaken by the SNES. Almost got a job there, luckily I didn't and was hired by Wal-Mart before they merged with KBToys.

Ames - Shitty smellyass places but had awesome selections of old games. They didn't mark the Game Gear down enough so I didn't score one before they closed down.

FuncoLand - Who doesn't miss these guys? Catalogs of games, printed lists of trade-in credits. Awesome selections of classic games. Funcoland was the best used video game store period. Gamestop is shit compared to them.

EBGames.com - Can I call this a store? Damn do I miss those used game deals. It was the reason I visited CAG every morning.
 
[quote name='thesilentshadow30']Media Play - prices were a bit high but for movies they had the best selection in store especially if you were looking for something a bit older.
[/quote]
That place was the best. They had everything, games, movies, cds, books, etc. I dropped so much money in that place as a teen. It turned to shit when Suncoast took it over. Everything increased in price a solid 30% and it became a joke to shop there. And when Best Buy and Circuit City came to the area there was just no reason to go there anymore.

Along those same lines, I'm amazed that Radioshack and FYE (aka The Wall) still manage to stay in business. Their prices are astronomical compared to the rest of the world.
 
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