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Long Gone Retail stores that you miss.

ScruffyTheMac said:
Newbury Comics. I think I would cry if they ever closed up.
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I'd cry too and I haven't been to one in over 10 years. :eek:

What I miss more than any one particular brand is the whole concept of a small, independent "record store". You know the kind that used to sell vinyl...

Interesting to see all the odes to Ames/Bradlee's/Service Merchandise/Caldor and no love for Best. :p

Personally, I don't miss any of those places, even though there are plenty of memories in each of them. (e.g. my wedding bands are from Service Merchandise, bought on sale. About half of my 45s have price tags from one of those stores...:p).

B
 
I feel so young....The only store I've even heard of that was mentioned in this thread was Service Merchandise, and even then, I don't think I've ever been in one.
 
question fear said:
I used to work at the Borders on Rt 9....they built a parking lot on the roof of that Lowes??? I moved before they finished building it. But goodgoddamn...they couldn't share parking with the Target?
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I live in that neck of the woods too... ok, woods are quickly becoming a thing of the past in that shopping district. Almost every store known to women exists in Natick/Framingham.

CompUSA will be a loss. I didn't shop there often (apparently neither did a lot of other people), but it was the closet Apple dealer.

I remember EggHead Software used to be in Sherwood Plaza back in the day. I don't really miss it, but it was a good store.
 
FrankBlack said:
-Woolworth's. I don't think there are many left, if any are left at all. The lunch counters, the ten cent sno-cones, the smell of moth balls. They were the only place I knew of that sold kits to repair your own shoes. How could you not love the place?
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Actually, the Subway near me is a former Woolworth's - there's a Woolworth's mosaic on the floor at the front door.

xsedrinam said:
It really is a shame it became a crime site. We used sit around the ice rink and read or snack and watch the skaters. Even two years after its closing, they found two corpses at the site. It became known as the Mall of Murder.
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Unfortunately, my mom still lives in that area. 'Stuff' goes on in that neighborhood all the time.

balamw said:
I'd cry too and I haven't been to one in over 10 years. :eek:

What I miss more than any one particular brand is the whole concept of a small, independent "record store". You know the kind that used to sell vinyl...
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I did a little happy dance when Newbury Comics moved into Solomon Pond mall - my CD buying had trailed off for the past few years. Now I make regular visits/purchases. Over the past two decades I've spent a considerable amount of money in various Newbury's around the area. My favorite memory is stumbling into a live Robyn Hitchcock performance in the Harvard Square store. :D
 
Wacky Wheatley's

It isn't closed actually, but I moved away and am nostalgic for the low budget commercials. Look in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Super Wacky! Come on down, Wacky and give us a deal!

Eaton's

One of the great Canadian retail giants of days gone by. I worked there, and got great deals on clothes--Roots jackets for $50. Tommy Hilfiger at cost. Beautiful.
 
erickkoch said:
Zodys (dept store)
Acron or Akron (dept store, can't remember exact name)
Newberrys dept store
Thriftys (drug and discount)
Market Basket (grocery store)
Montgomery Wards (dept store)
Leonards (dept store)

Most of these stores were not great, but they are the stores of my childhood, some of them had diners where you could eat, pet supplies that sold fish and turtles, toys, clothes, everything.

Some of these stores may exist elswhere in the country but not in So. CA, all extinct.
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You forgot Gemco (first membership store that I can remember) and Ole's hardware. :p

And Akron is the correct spelling. How 'bout those drive up Kodak booth's?
 
erickkoch said:
Thriftys (drug and discount)
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You can still get Thriftys' Ice Cream at Rite Aid, which I think was the best part about Thriftys.

I'm still bummed about Tower Records going under. I used to go there when I had nothing else better to do late at night.

Others places I use to go:
Wherehouse Music
The Good Guys
 
Ben Franklin's

Yeah, I know they are still around, but they use to sell Matchbox cars and models and games and candy, not the craft crap they sell now.

In Your Ear record store.
"As of April 2004, In Your Ear in Providence has closed its retail location but carries on as "in-your-ear!" on eBay and "inyourear" on Amazon.com."

I guess its not retail, but I really miss Dixie Kitchen on Mass Ave. in Boston.
They had the best cajun garlic bread, tender fried alligator tail, and a darn good Seafood Gumbo.... <drool>

Man I miss that place. :(
 
Old school Sam Goodie, Suncoast back in the day when they used to sell stuff. The store I really miss is Media Play.
 
thedude110 said:
caldor02.jpg
!

I used to work at Caldor, way back in the day. "Dave" always used to throw microwaves around in the back, and customers always returned them.

I remember the terrible odor in the stock room (except where the detergent was) and that we only restocked condoms on Saturdays.

Ah, youth.



When Ames went out of business, I bought so much Garlic Pepper from them. I also bought a "Classic" brand DVD player for like, $20. Now I have to use a screwdriver to pry open the DVD tray whenever I want to watch a movie.

And the Garlic Pepper wasn't so great, either.
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OSJL is quite possibly the greatest store ever. Its like the biggest impulse shopping store ever. You go in there not really knowing what you're looking for.

Have you ever been to the Canton, CT store? Its MASSIVE. It used to be an indoor sports center and before that it was an indoor lumberyard.

One thing you cannot deny is that the people working their are very very very strange.

My uncle somehow became friends with the regional manager and now gets a 15% discount. hahah.

I also like how they sell promotional pens that have some plumbing company 2000 miles away names on them for sale for $.15. Additionally, they have bags from other stores like WinnDixy and other stores that don't even exist around here.
 
Sdashiki said:
SPAG'S! <---- linked to Wikipedia article
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I only made out to Spag's a few times in my life, but good times they were.
That guy had everything in that place, and I liked the "Funkiness" of it. The creaky wooden floors, the merchandies stacked to the ceiling, a hardware department that I think might have gone on to infinity.. Alas, times, and economic realities, change. While's Spag's didn't pay any more than any other retailer, they had a reputation for treating their employees very well.

I used to like Sears, but that store has changed dramatically since the '70's. It's not the same at all.

Brigham's!! Okay, I'm old, I admit it. I remember when there was a Brigham's ice cream shop in every neighborhood around Boston. Damn good Soda, for fifty cents. I Don't think there are many left today.
 
FrankBlack said:
I used to like Sears, but that store has changed dramatically since the '70's. It's not the same at all.
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Sears is as good as gone, In the past 5 years it has taken a turn for the worst. It is just a matter of time before it gets sold off.
 
furcalchick said:
incredible universe. i miss that place, but once i discovered fry's, i wasn't sad anymore.
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Yes! I loved Incredible Universe. Soooo much better than Best Buy. I've never been to Fry's so I can't compare them.

Sears is as good as gone, In the past 5 years it has taken a turn for the worst. It is just a matter of time before it gets sold off.
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As long as Craftsman stays around.
 
Just remembered this one:
Eckerd's.

That place was awesome before CVS bought them out. They had a GREAT sale aisle. :)

But I come from Houston, land of the drug stores and pawn shops. :eek:
 
FrankBlack said:
I used to like Sears, but that store has changed dramatically since the '70's. It's not the same at all.
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I agree with that. Sears is a shell of its former self. It should just die already.

BTW, K-Mart should be the next to go. Most of the stores have closed in my area. It's just circling the drain IMO.
 
furcalchick said:
incredible universe. i miss that place, but once i discovered fry's, i wasn't sad anymore.

wish florida had a fry's. right now, we're reduced to big box retailers and online for the most part.
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haha, when Incredible Universe closed down here, Frys opened up in it's building. I always just thought they changed their name
 
erickkoch said:
I agree with that. Sears is a shell of its former self. It should just die already.

BTW, K-Mart should be the next to go. Most of the stores have closed in my area. It's just circling the drain IMO.
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Sears stock has been at all time highs and Sears continues to grow. It ain't going anywhere...
 
I am still depressed about the loss of Tower Records. Now, I have to buy all of my import CDs online, and about two thirds of the CDs I purchase are imports. :(
 
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