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

[quote name='bobo2k4']What ever happen to Sportsmart? I think they were still around last year but now its all Sports Authority.[/QUOTE]

About 2 years ago Sports Authority merged with Sportmart.

I miss:

Woolworths
Zayres/ Ames
Goldblatts
Mont. Wards (got my N64, a pager, Goldeneye for 75 bucks when it was closing)
K-B Toys
A downtown Toys R US
 
Woolworth has been said it was a clone of two different stores so far. I have great memories of Woolworth, so I feel I have to set the story straight.

Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his first “Woolworth’s” store in Utica, New York in 1878.
 
Phar-Mor was awesome - 50 cent game and movie rentals - took care of all my NES and later SNES needs.

Incredible Universe - I only went once - the day it opened and it was pretty crazy because of how many games you could play. I remeber playing Saturday Night Slammasters there for the SNES. The place was gone before the end of the year.

Hot n' Now - The burgers were pretty good for costing next to nothing.
 
Bradles, hechengers (a pre lowes, before I knew what lowes & home depot ere). Montgomery wards only went out of business like 6-7 years ago, but have sucked for decades. 6-12 a 7-11 spin off (they sucked though and only lasted a few years)
 
Crazy Eddie's still pops up every now and then in the home thearter world. They had a web site up a few years a go (2003) I think, but I think they finally got him for selling stolen merchandise.
 
Woolworth's - Got a few decent NES games for $3 and some SNES games for $10

Kiddie City - Would go there to play Nintendo while my parents shopped at the Path Mark. Also got my original Action Set there.

edit: thought of one more

Odd Lot - Don't know if this was the only one, but I remember my mom buying me lots of Intellevision games for around $3 way back in the day.
 
Well, I know theres still an old TRU floor layout in Clifton Park NY, ticket system and all. Theres an Aladdins something, its an arcade in a mall in Natick, MA. For old stores, I remember Bradlees, and this random old old dept store called Joys, they went out of business something like 16 years ago, I only remember going to the store closing and getting this sweet now old school baseball electronic game. My brother and I played the crap out of that thing.
 
Hills, Ames, Pamida.

Hills was the best, I remember playing the TMNT arcade game in the lobby with the snack shop, and playing their virtual boy display. Plus the giant pretzels always owned.
 
radjago, I vaguely recall Egghead Software...think I was too young to care about what stores were called back then

Software Etc.
Incredible Universe - Overpriced as hell but I'd spend hours here whenever my mom went to the mall; the place was just COOL
The Bon Marche (damn you Macy's for buying them!!!) back when they had those one day sales; the stuff they carried was very similar to Macy's and they'd have racks with Ralph Lauren and other brand names at 75% off + an additional 30% off
Best - I barely remember this store but I remember my family going there one day to find it gone...I don't even remember what they used to sell, lol
Natural Wonders - gosh I loved this store...way better than the Discovery Channel Store or whatever equivalent exists now

I know there are more but I'm drawing a blank...
 
Kids R Us. They might still be around but I haven't seen one since the one that used to be near me closed.

And Ames. That was a cool store I guess.
 
Toy Castle- I was soo stoked when they discounted the Master System. Games went for $1-2 and the system was $20. My parents bought me about 50 games or so that they had that I didn't. Sure in retrospect, the games were horrible but it was like Christmas came early that year. And if I remember, they carried table top RPGs which lead me to pick up Battle Bowl ( I think thats want it was called. You against another serching chests looking for a spiked football).
 
[quote name='Mookyjooky']Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his first “Woolworth’s” store in Utica, New York in 1878.[/QUOTE]

Mookyjooky FTW. It's pretty laughable (and sad) to see so many people calling Woolworth a KMart clone, or a WalMart clone, when neither of those stores would exist without the groundwork laid for them by Mr. Winfield.

At any rate, my missed stores are:

Child World - Shaped like a castle, where I bought my first NES w/Duck Hunt and R.O.B. with my first weekly paycheque

Hill's - My mom's favourite department store, and where we would stop first on our cross-border shopping sprees because they had a Can/US $ exchange booth right at the entrance to the store with very favourable rates.

Ames - Don't remember ever really shopping at them, but they were always a stop for my mom & sisters.

and the Canadian stores I miss:

Kresge's - The original KMarts, we had one down the street from where I first grew up. Don't remember much, but the name was pretty cool.

KMart - They're all gone up here. I remember the one near us -- a Canadian Tire store now -- had the roof blown off by a hurricane in the 80's. I bought a Voltron II robot there on clearance, but couldn't convince my father to buy me an Entex Adventure Vision system when they were *RIGHT THERE* at the electronics cashier.

Towers - Got bought up by Zellers (a low-rent Canadian WalMart). Were another department store of the era.

Woolco - See Towers, only these stores were bought up by WalMart.

and I know my wife would like to see me include:

SAAN - Another discounted department store. Seems to still be around outside of Toronto.

Boots - A retail pharmacy, couldn't compete with the Shopper's Drug Mart juggernaut. Now mainly in the UK. My wife was delighted when we happened upon one in Dublin.
 
[quote name='Machine']

Showbiz Pizza - kind of like Chuckie Cheese but they served beer: we went there all the time in college to play videogames and drink
[/quote]

Holy crap. I've been trying to remember the name of this place for YEARS. I could always remember the logo, but not a damn thing about the name.

As someone mentioned earlier, you guys should check out deadmalls.com. They have quite a few nostalgic moments on there. Plus it kinda is a reminder of Dawn of the Dead.
 
[quote name='vietgurl']Software Etc.
[/QUOTE]

There is still a Software Etc. in the West Acres Mall in Fargo, ND. Of course, its owned and operated by EB/GS....but its still named Software Etc.
 
"Two Guys" is the only one I can think of off hand. It was a department store like Walmart - there were a ton of them and then one day I remember coming home from vacation with my family (probably in the early to mid-eighties) and there was no food in my house so my dad and I got in the car and drove to Two Guys but it was completely boarded up. I was like WTF?
 
[quote name='WinnieThePujols']Great topic. I get really nostalgic with ones like this.

BEST
BEST was a poor man's department store. It was along the lines of Target/K-Mart/Wal-mart but wasn't quite as big. I loved this place. They had all of their toy inventory in this HUGE wharehouse. It was such an exciting experience going in that place. I have some very vague memories of drooling over the video gmaes they had on display. I remember seeing a lot of unique things at this store that I hadn't seen anywhere else.[/QUOTE]

Wow, I had completely forgotten about BEST - it's been a while. There was another one somewhat like it called Macdonald's, notice the letter "a" that differentiated it from the hamburger giant.


Others I remember...

Children's Palace

Gold Circle (KMart/Target type)

Hart's (Kmart type)

Rinks (discount store)

Service Merchandise (fairly recent though)


I also remember back when KB Toys was called Kay Bee Toys, but I'm old.
 
Child World (fucking LOVED this place as a little kid, then they closed!)
Lechmere (an electronics store that wasn't too bad but got owned by Best Buy)
Service Merchandise (another electronics place, but they sucked)
Caldor (Pretty much a K-Mart clone, just couldn't keep up with the other companies)
Bradlee's (kind of lame dept store like K-Mart, but they had the only Pizza Hut for miles in their store)
 
Montgomery Ward was overpriced with their games.

I miss the old Toys R Us with the Isles of Action Figures. I remember the big areas of Star Wars, GI JOE and Transformers. Now, you're lucky if there's 2 columns of whatever and a few boxed toys below.

God, toys and cartoons suck now.

Anyway, I remember the Sears in NY selling toys. I got my Darth Vader figure there.

I grew up with Woolworth in NY too. None out here in AZ.

But out here we have Lionel's Playworld. That place kicked ass. I remember getting my first few NES games there like Kid Icarus for $30 or so and Metroid.

Is there still Genovese in NY? Kinda like Walgreens.
 
Any one remember Burger Chef? I got my first Star Wars poster from them.

We used to have a Boston Market. I like the food, an alternative to the other fast food places.

Our town lost J C Penny's and Nordstroms.
 
[quote name='Grave_Addiction']Babbages
Babbages was bought out by EB a few years ago, and I remember it being pretty good. Not as good as Funcoland, but better than what we have in EB and Gamestop today.[/quote]

Bought out by EB? My Babbages turned into a Gamestop. =\

I miss the TRU. I still go shopping their for my younger relatives. Their board games consist of 30 versions of Monopoly, Sorry, and Clue. Their LEgo section doesn't have the neat little 5 dollar ones anymore. It's either the 100 dollar Harry Potter complete castle thing or Bionicle robot things. And my TRU at least has horrible game selection.

I loved it when they had the ticket system, because when I went to the desk and gave them my ticket, it was so cool looking into the window that room had and seeing a shutload of games, and just thinking "whoa....".

I remember I planned on buying Super Smash Brothers there. Every day for a week I'd call to see if they got it. When they finally said they did... longest drive/wait in line ever.

Besides that... I'm too young to have seen anything else. =]
 
Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one that remembers Hot N Now. I remember when I was a kid in 4th grade my mother would take me to one. They were cheap but good. Not to mention I also remember that they had damn good coupons deals too

afedock, you were lucky, my local Phar-Mor only rented out 3 games at a time. It was 3 bucks and only 3 day rentals. I was always antsy Saturday mornings because after the cartoons, they'd take me up there and I'd rent some
 
Babbage's was the same company as GameStop, they just finally got around to changing the names after they bought Funcoland. Software Etc was also the same company. Pretty sure what happened was that the same company owned Babbage's and Software Etc, and they just wanted to consolidate all their gaming stores under one name: GameStop.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']Babbage's was the same company as GameStop, they just finally got around to changing the names after they bought Funcoland. Software Etc was also the same company. Pretty sure what happened was that the same company owned Babbage's and Software Etc, and they just wanted to consolidate all their gaming stores under one name: GameStop.[/quote]

That makes sense. I thought as much when, once the GameStop opened, they had a little holiday catalog with GameStop, Babbages, and Funcoland logos on it. Nothing about Software etc., though.

Anyway, the weird part was Babbages closed and the building space was available for a month or two until GameStop took over. But, still. Maybe it's my imagination, or maybe it's because my parents dealt with the people, and not me back then, but Babbages seemed better than GameStop. =\
 
[quote name='Machine']A few more:

Service Merchandise - like Best Products, Service Merchandise was a catalog store: I think they still have a web site but their stores are all closed

Showbiz Pizza - kind of like Chuckie Cheese but they served beer: we went there all the time in college to play videogames and drink

Also, there are a few restaurant chains I remember that are gone now: Bill Knapp's, Rax, Sambo's (I think their name killed them!), Farrell's Ice Cream, and Chi Chi's[/QUOTE]

My Chucky Cheese serves beer. Me and some buds get trashed and get into the ball pen.
 
How about Lionel Playworld? I remember playing NES games at a kiosk that had the 10 NES game selector thing hooked up to it. I distinctly remember trying Kid Icarus and Zelda on it.
 
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
 
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.

Old blockbuster rentals- I remember I had a friend who live about a block from a blockbuster and every week I'd go over to his house and we would go rent a genesis game and play it like crazy and they had some of my favorite ones that are really obscure (the punisher, two crude dudes) and to this day I still haven't found another punisher copy. They used to have a great selection of games in my opinion right up till about the end of the N64 and it's been downhill since.
Grand Slam- This was this great place with laser tag, batting cages, arcade games, pizza, the works, and it closed when I was about 6-7 and I never got to fully enjoy it, another key part was it was only about a block from my house and nothing cool has ever been that close since.

I forgot the name of it but we used to have a great local comics and cards shop and I would always go there and buy spawn and xmen toys and plenty of xmen cards. Ever since they left all we have is shinders.

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

Dennys- Yeah I know there still around but there was one really close to my house and my dad and I used to go to it every sunday morning and just catch up and have a grand slam for 4.99, now there isn't a dennys within 100 miles.
 
[quote name='Radioactive_Man']Montgomery Wards = Department store[/quote]

Seconded. Also, Steele's Market.
 
[quote name='tyecko']TCBY- awesome frozen yogurt shop that closed about 8 years ago and I haven't seen one since.[/quote]

They're still in my area. Of course, they're inside Blimpies sub shops. Might want to check that out if there are any of those near you.

Speaking of subs, I used to love Jersey Mike's. I know they're still around, but the closest one to me is about 2 hours away. I remember getting the Mikes "Original", which had 5 diferent types of meat on it (ham, proscuittini, cappacuolo, salami & pepperoni). Thing cost like 9 bucks and some change for a foot long, but christ, if you could stomach all of it, you were literally full for at least the next 6 hours.

Damn it, now I wish I had the money to go get a sub.
 
The biggest thing I remember about Babbage's was their layout. Their red shelves were all angled, zig-zagging in and out along the wall all the way to the back of the store. Left side was computer stuff and right side was console stuff. I spent a long time watching the monitors in the front window in awe of each new release.

The real question is how did a crappy chain like Kmart survive, while all these other department stores folded?
 
Not a chain, but there was a little store near me called Comics, Cards and Stuff.

It was run by a father and his son, and along with stocking the more popular card games (which I wasn't itneresting in at the time) of the time, and the new issues of all the comics, they were selling their personal comic collection. Great prices, as they were always 1-2 dollars under the price of current comics (And I didn't care when they were from). And they also ran promotions on their stock of old stuff a lot- like buy 2 get 1 and whatnot. I got the coolest Mask comics ever from there.

Then I went in one day (They knew me and my dad pretty well at this point) and told us they had to shut down- the building cost too much to keep. Most probably because there were 2 other comic/card stores that were a lot more... commercial, I guess? I dunno. Had a lot more useless shit that people liked.
 
[quote name='radjago']The biggest thing I remember about Babbage's was their layout. Their red shelves were all angled, zig-zagging in and out along the wall all the way to the back of the store. Left side was computer stuff and right side was console stuff. I spent a long time watching the monitors in the front window in awe of each new release.

The real question is how did a crappy chain like Kmart survive, while all these other department stores folded?[/quote]

I think the more important question is how the hell has certain Rose's stores been able to survive
 
[quote name='Dante Devil']
We used to have a Boston Market. I like the food, an alternative to the other fast food places. [/quote]

Ah yes, Boston Market was another 90's fast food chain that pretty much disappeared as fast as it opened. I remember their macaroni & cheese being really good. Coincedentially, the closest one to me was on the same intersection as the closest Hot N' Now (82nd and Powell). The Boston Market building later became a Blockbuster (which just closed recently), and the employees would block off the drive thru by parking their cars there.

I just remembered a couple more:

Payless Drugs - When I was 6, I remember begging my mom to get me a Hot Wheels car when we were at the Mall 205 store one day, and then I lost it a week later. I was really bummed about that. Rite-Aid bought the chain and converted every store to a Rite-Aid.

Rockwood Fred Meyer - Fred Meyer is still alive and well in the Northwest, but they closed the Rockwood store a long time ago. This place holds a lot of childhood memories as I used to live near 174th and Stark and it was the closest Fred Meyer. They had a haunted house in the back room of the shoe department one Halloween, and another time, I won a $25 gift certificate in a coloring contest. Chester Cheetah made an appearance at the store one time and I still have a photo of me with him somewhere. The property has been vacant since Fred Meyer's left, although the home improvement store across the street has been home to a year-long Flea Market for some time.
 
Just remembered some more chains from my youth: Cunningham's Drug Stores, Perry Drugs and Arbor Drugs. I think they all ended up joining the collective/Rite-Aid.
 
[quote name='HumanSnatcher']Those two remind me of two other places: Childrens Palace and the Toy Castle. I remember I bought the original TMNT board game at Childrens Palace back in like 89. Now that exact spot is a CompUSA and has been since about 91 or so[/QUOTE]

Yes on Childrens Palace. That's where I first saw a Sega Genesis in action. My draw dropped.

Hills is another one that seems to have gone the way of the Dodo.
 
Some that are already mentioned:

Lechmere
Ames
Woolworth

And some that aren't:

Ann & Hope - much like Target or KMart, sold just about everything
Purity - a supermarket chain that got replaced by Stop&Shop

I'm sure those were exclusive to the New England area, so they're not too well known.

Edit: Forgot about Filene's. That's pretty much gone now. They started converting into Macy's earlier on this year.
 
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 name='dcfox']
Ann & Hope - much like Target or KMart, sold just about everything
Purity - a supermarket chain that got replaced by Stop&Shop

I'm sure those were exclusive to the New England area, so they're not too well known.

Edit: Forgot about Filene's. That's pretty much gone now. They started converting into Macy's earlier on this year.[/QUOTE]

Ann & Hope Outlet is still alive and well in its originating town- my hometown, Cumberland, RI. I think that's the only store still open though...
 
Yes, I remember Crazy Eddie's!

The Incredible Universe in Tempe, AZ was turned into Fry's Electronics. What's funny is that their delivery trucks still say Incredible Universe on them and it's been years since they switched.
 
Just remembered two places that were Circuit City like. Laskins and F/X. My parents got my my very first NES at Laskins. I still remember getting Hogans Alley there. As for F/X, I don't remember buying anything there. Though I do remember that they had this soft of knight in armor in their commercials
 
[quote name='thagoat']G.C. MURPHY AND BURGER CHEF!! if any of you remember these stores, i'll suck your d^%k![/quote]

Ah yes, the old G.C. Murphy's. I used to go there all of the time as a kid. I would play the old TMNT arcade game every time I went. I remember one time that I went in. I was really thirsty, and I saw an open can of some random soda on a shelf. I grabbed it and drank it through the store. When my mom realized, she flipped on me.

When you posted this, I was sort of surprised. I had always thought that Murphy's was just a local store. Learn something new everyday, I suppose.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top