Childhood Department Stores That No Longer Exist

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Few of us grew up without experiencing the joy of wandering through the aisles of the local department store. While department stores have a long history, the 70s, 80s, and 90s in particular were great times to be growing up and learning the ins and outs of the department store shopping experience.
In this video we step back in time to revisit some long lost and possibly forgotten department stores of yesteryear that are now defunct.
If you enjoy the video, please consider liking it, commenting on it, and even subscribing to the channel. We'd love to have you join in on the fun!
RetroDaze Website: www.retro-daze.org
RetroDaze is a nostalgia related channel that celebrates EVERYTHING from our childhoods, mostly from the '70s, '80s, and '90s. This includes movies, TV shows, video games, toys and action figures, comics and magazines, music, and much more!
Celebrating Yesteryear - In this series of videos, we explore a variety of nostalgic subjects with an emphasis on being both informative and entertaining. We take inspiration from some of our favorite nostalgic channels here on RU-vid, including Recollection Road and Rhetty for History.
RetroDaze Channel -
/ @retrodaze
Visit the GenXGrownUp channel to enjoy more content from your host, Jon! -
/ @genxgrownup
Written By: Anthony J. Rapino
Hosted and Narrated By: Jon Reddick
Produced and Edited By: Anthony D. Grate
#nostalgia #defunct department stores #department stores that no longer exist #old department stores #80s #rhetty for history #recollection road #hills department store #zayre department store #ames department store #lost deoartment stores #retail apocolypse #retro retail #retail archaeology #forgotten department stores

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9 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 112

@rainmancw9022 7 месяцев назад

I was boy in the 80s and Hills molded my life. The entry was an arcade and snack shop that smelled of popcorn with the cool sounds of Ms Pacman in the background. Prince and the Jackson Five displays in the music section stand out in my mind. Mamma always had a smile as she left us alone in the toys. OMG the toys. HeMan, Gi Joe, etc. Words can't sum it up. What a cool time to have been a kid. Y'all younger crew missed it

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Hills truly was “where the toys are”. The sights and smells… they’re as palpable as being there 40 years ago.

@schristy3637 8 месяцев назад

I live in Cincinnati...Been in retail for ..sorry to say over 30 plus years( I work for Kroger's right now).. When I was young( that was a long,long,time ago.. In a retail word far .. far ..away:)) We had Gold Circle store's,Rink's Department Store, ODD LOTS( I know it is ) Big Lots now. We had ton's Department Store's here in the city. It was fun to go out to stores .. In Nov and Dec as kid ... They all had TOYS... IT WAS GREAT as a KID. GREAT SHOW!!! MAN!!

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Rinks! We had one of those about 1.5 hours away. It ended becoming a flea market, but still had the Rinks name out front. Great memories you have there. Thanks for sharing them.

@jayalexander3356 8 месяцев назад

I forgot about TG&Y. I can still hear the jingle, "Your best buy is at, TG&Y". Anyone remember Ben Franklin's?

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Ben Franklin’s! Absolutely!

@jasonwomack4064 8 месяцев назад

Near me until a few years ago, a store still had the old Ben Franklin sign on top of their awning. It changed hands, and they ripped down the letters and key logo. It caused quite the small town uproar, and got worse when it was discovered they tossed it in the dumpster. A few people still won't shop there because of it.

@wizard3z868 8 месяцев назад

Yes it now a tnt fireworks store in londonderry NH

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

@@jasonwomack4064 That sounds like something that would happen in my (Tony G) own small town! 😆

@tdhawk167 4 месяца назад

We had our own Macy's type store in upstate NY in the capital district. "The Carl Co". They even had elaborate windows and sponsored the Thanksgiving Parade and the circus. Spent much of my young childhood there behind the scenes- with my Aunt who worked there, and with my Dad, when he was head of their security. When I was older, I worked there in several positions before heading off to college to study veterinary science. Loved the place. Miss it and the great people I worked with there, included Mr. Carl and his family.

@RetroDaze 4 месяца назад

Awesome memories. Getting to experience things from both sides of the checkout counter makes it doubly special.

@andreajanota6258 8 месяцев назад

There was a Zayre a few blocks from my house, but it was on a diagonal street and between my house and Zayre there was a drive in movie theater. I would often get on my top bunk to watch the drive in movie screen that I could see from my house and if you look left you could see the Zayre store sign . I remember when it was bought by Ames. Those really were the days

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

That is awesome that you could see the movie from your room! How cool to have a drive-in AND a Zayre so close!

@andreajanota6258 8 месяцев назад

@@RetroDazethat really was awesome. I had a great time.

@ctfan1486 15 дней назад

I was working at Murphys Mart in late 84 when Ames bought it. They changed things too much. I can still remember the smell of popcorn as soon as the doors opened at Hills. We had Horns, Gimbels and Kaufmans in one mall and Sears, Montgomery Wards and JC Penneys in another one. The only one left is Penneys, barely. Love Pittsburgh Dad!

@RetroDaze 11 дней назад

Hills was so awesome! It was the quintessential department store!

@RC-qu7th 8 месяцев назад

I worked at Kings Dept store in 1973. Often wondered why it closed. We had two stores in our town & they were always busy.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Yeah. Unfortunately Ames had a habit of swooping in and either running the stores into the ground or just closing them down.

@Beth9228 3 месяца назад

I remembered going to Zayre near me. Ames moved in and it felt liked Zayre. There was another store that was in this grocery store that I used to work in the early 90’s. It became a Paminda in 2009-2012. It became a Shopko that closed in June 2019. I do missed in going into that store for shopping. There was 2 Shopko in this bigger town that is a hour and a half away from me. I even liked going to an old school Kmart when I was little kid towards my early 20’s.

@RetroDaze 3 месяца назад

We actually had a Pamida in the late ‘90s but it closed and the building was converted to a flea market.

@kimberlyblack4969 3 месяца назад

I loved TG &Y when i was a child. Especially during the holidays. I can remember my mom taking us there to pick out one of those wonderful and glorious boxed Halloween costumes in the 70's. Another great department store was the Treasury store. Brings back so many great memories.

@RetroDaze 3 месяца назад

Thanks for sharing those memories Kim. We actually did a video on those costumes you mentioned… ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SFcVgRYT6Lo.html

@kimberlyblack4969 3 месяца назад

I will definitely watch that. 😊

@kimmichaud7741 8 месяцев назад

Ames , Zayres , Kmart , Stuarts , Caldor , Bradlees , Woolworths , remember them all in Massachusetts never heard of Hills

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

I think Hills was more of a midwestern staple. We had a couple nearby, and they were both fantastic!

@ShadeofJeremy 8 месяцев назад

Hills man. I got so many of my favorite toys there. (Even the U.S.S. Flag on clearance) I remeber stopping by the snack bar on the way out every time we went. And then it was my first job. Working in the stock room putting price tags on all the merchandise. I have nothing but fond memories. Heck I even bought that candle you mentioned.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

That is awesome! Not only did you get to experience the consumer side but also the company side. You have nostalgia from multiple perspectives. Even have the candle!?

@ShadeofJeremy 8 месяцев назад

I have the candle jar. Used up the candle a while back. And yes I'm quite nostalgic for the store. I still miss it.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

As do I.

@MrFIRESEAL117 3 месяца назад

I have a good deal of nostalgia for Sears department store for the simple fact that I got the majority of my PS1 games from a glass case kiosk, arranged much in the same way as perfume or jewelry but instead with video games lol. It was Bazaar, it was placed smack right in the middle of the mens clothing section.

@RetroDaze 3 месяца назад

😆 Maybe they figured that if you were looking for a new shirt or pair of jeans, then you must surely be a gamer.

@davidmc8475 2 месяца назад

As a teenager I worked in a Mammoth Mart and a G. C. Murphy. I worked only the Christmas holidays for about 8 weeks. Dealt with lay-aways and returns. Mammoth Mart had 35 stores and went bankrupt in 1979.

@RetroDaze 2 месяца назад

Mammoth Mart? Need to look that one up.

@Mikedeela 4 месяца назад

I worked at Ames for three years. For retail, it wasn’t terrible. But I was a teenager and I wasn’t making any kind of actual living with it. Store workers couldn’t make a living there. Assistant managers could make enough to get by if they lived alone, store managers did OK, and district managers made a reasonable salary but the entire managerial staff was stressed out all the time.

@RetroDaze 4 месяца назад

Oh man! I can only imagine being in management during those later years when things were falling apart financially AND structurally.

@guinnevere100 3 месяца назад

I remember I used to shop frequently at Bradlees and Ames. And I actually went to work for Ames for a while.

@RetroDaze 3 месяца назад

Seems like several viewers had a work stint at Ames!

@boredsights3923 7 месяцев назад

We had a regional department store named Grand Central. Their main competitor was Kmart. Walmart didn’t have a location here until the mid to late 80’s.

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

The mall most local to me (Tony G) is called Grand Central Mall. What a coincidence!

@lydiakossow 8 месяцев назад

Want stories... I've got'em.😁 I lived a breathed our little 5nDime, "Spouts Ritz". It was so old that my great grandmother had shopped the store since the earliest days of the township. They had a "green stamp" program that you could collect and cash-in for other merch. They (mom and g-grandma) acquired my entire nursey and wardrobe with them. As a young girl, I would immediately run to visit the mystical looking Sea Horse that was bobbing along in an ancient 20s lighthouse style tank. I happily muched away a on bag of freshly popped pocorn while i stared at this cute yet nafarious looking curiosity.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Awesome memories! That’s so amazing that the store was there so long. Thank you for sharing those memories with us!

@lydiakossow 8 месяцев назад

@@RetroDaze no problem, I enjoyed the memory ...but apparently I "oops" on my spelling again, it should've been spelled Sprouse Reitz.☺️

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

That should make it much easier to look up on Google now. 😆

@mikemcgown6362 8 месяцев назад

Growing up I remember Hill's, Twin Fair, and Rink's Bargain City were the department stores we frequented. I can't recall the one Mom liked best that had everything the family needed but I do remember the diner they had. It was the first to go when Kmart took it's place. Then Hill's was taken over by Cook's which gave way to Hobby Lobby. Rink's gave way to Big Lots and Sack and Save Discount Grocery. Kmart stuck in until Wal-Mart came around. Britt's!!! That's the name of the one that Kmart took the place of. I knew digging through the memories it would come to me. I've accepted these stores to be gone forever but memories are still strong.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

What a great list of stores! We had a Rinks within driving distance, but Hills was our main stop. Once Rinks closed, it became a flea market but the sign on the front remained. It’s still there I believe.

@Bikeguychicago1 14 дней назад

There needs to be a part two featuring K-Mart, Sears and Montgomery Ward

@RetroDaze 13 дней назад

That is a fun idea!

@zerocooler7 Месяц назад

I liked going to Sears when I was young - it was my favorite of the anchor stores in my local mall. My family used to shop in Caldor, K-Mart, Bradlees, Woolworth, and Jamesway.

@RetroDaze 29 дней назад

Lots of great stores listed there. Sears of the '80s and '90s had so much to offer!

@PhyllisJohnson-lr9bq 10 дней назад

I remember buying albums at Sears. 😊

@Bikeguychicago1 14 дней назад

@4:06. This is the Zayre from my hometown! The building is still there but very much altered over the years.

@RetroDaze 13 дней назад

Awesome! At least the building is still there.

@KegOfMeat 8 месяцев назад

10:52 Woolworths actually still exists, Here in Australia, Woolies is a grocery chain.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

That is awesome! Maybe they’ll make a comeback here in the states at some point. Glad to have you watching from down under!

@SyntheToonz 8 месяцев назад

All brown slacks for school come from Zayre. I don't know why. It must have been a law. Sears is almost completely gone. . . . In the 70s when pong home machines came out my mother would dump me off in the electronics section and I would play pong forever with the other kids abandoned there or anyone who walked by. It was doubly awesome when these things evolved into the VCS/telegames... Today I think what my mother did would qualify her for prosecution for neglect and child endangerment and I would end up in a state community home.... It was definitely a nicer world back then.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Agreed. What a time to be a kid. The freedom was liberating. Even if you had to wear brown slacks. 😆

@floydsemlow8253 2 месяца назад

Ames is making a comeback I heard 2023 news❤

@AutisticPhantomOtaku 8 месяцев назад

I'm surprised you didn't talk about Kmart. I really miss it. I remember there being a pathetic excuse for a flea market where it used to be, before that closed down. But maybe someday, in the near future, Kmart might come back. After all, if Toys r Us can make a comeback, who's to say Kmart can't make a comeback too.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

K-mart is actually still around, though only 2 or 3 still exist. Hence, it was not mentioned.

@AutisticPhantomOtaku 8 месяцев назад

@@RetroDazeReally? There's only two or three? That's way more than I thought there would be. But yeah, I still hope they make a comeback.

@user-ki6ce4oi8n 4 месяца назад

Hills hands down wish never closed 😞I work for Kmart when they filled bankruptcy sad it's gone

@user-up6ug2ek2q 16 дней назад

Giant tiger, Gold Circle are the ones that I grew up with that were down the road from me.

@RetroDaze 16 дней назад

Ha! What was it with large animals that seemed so appealing for business names? Giant Tiger, Giant Eagle, Big Bear?

@user-ro9ty4wy8t 8 месяцев назад

Worst thing they did ever is taking those store away

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Definitely miss having a variety of stores to visit. Now everything is Target or Walmart.

@drmgiverdrmgiver5335 8 месяцев назад

Nah. Consumerism evolved.

@drmgiverdrmgiver5335 8 месяцев назад

@@RetroDazethe reality is that Target and Walmart's days as a physical location are numbered as well

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Sure seems that way.

@brucebillington8336 7 месяцев назад

@@RetroDazeJJ Newberrys, Coronet, May company, Zody's, Whitefront, Sprouse Reitz, Buffums, and a membership store called Gemco, and one called Fedco. SS Kress, and Thriftymart. How about Sav-on drug stores, and Thrifty drug and discount center. There might be some of these still around. 13:04

@schristy3637 8 месяцев назад

I worked at a ZAYRE as a young man( It is a They took the name Zayre from a phonetic spelling of the Yiddish word meaning “very,” as in “very good) Zayre's is kind of still here.. In away. I 57( soon to be 58:).. :( HA!) I called Zayre's the nice K-Mart.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

We had included a bit on the origin of the name, but cut it for flow and brevity. Love the nickname… 😆 Like Target is the nice Walmart.

@bigmada Месяц назад

I got banned from Ames in 1993 when I was 8(?) for shoplifting a pack of baseball cards. In 1999 or 2000 I interviewed for a job there but ended up going for a job at a grocery store across town.

@RetroDaze Месяц назад

From stealing from there to trying to work there… circle of life. 😆

@ivyrivera8081 8 месяцев назад

I worked at Ames in Chicago,IL

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

How was it?

@stephanieaston7178 7 месяцев назад

My favorite Ames memory is finding a certain notorious Teletubby who had been recalled, due to a disgruntled worker programming it to say something naughty… I found and purchased a couple of them, and felt like I was getting away with something…🤣

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

Hahaha! How appropriate for the memory having to do with Ames to be “dirty”.

@johnkosh6495 8 месяцев назад

Indianapolis had Topps and Turnstyle Dept. stores that competed with K-mart.

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Cool. Have to look those two up.

@ToyInsanity 8 месяцев назад

Heck's, Polk Bros

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Heck’s! Affectionately called “Poor Man’s Hills” by some. 😆 Great store though. Have to look up Polk Bros.

@bluejedi723 8 месяцев назад

Bon Marche am I the only person who remembers that store?

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

When did they officially close up for good?

@kimmichaud7741 8 месяцев назад

I do

@JasonNewmarch 7 месяцев назад

They got purchased by Macy’s and all turned into Macy’s

@juliemcarthur3004 5 месяцев назад

I remember zayre

@jackilynpyzocha662 4 месяца назад

Ames is making a comeback!

@RetroDaze 4 месяца назад

Well, there was some hint of that happening but it seems to have simmered down now.

@ctfan1486 15 дней назад

Rather see Hills come come back.

@chadbraun2076 7 месяцев назад

Does anybody in the upper midwest remember Shopko? I think they went out of business like 4 or 5 years ago. When I was a kid in the 80s & early 90s in the small city in Wisconsin. That we had for department stores were Shopko & Kmart. but one memory I had of Shopko as a kid. There was a small grocery store attached to Shopko & we were doing our grocery shopping. They came over the P.A. that there was a tornado touchdown & that everybody was to go to the back part of Shopko. It was kinda scary at that time. sirens were sounding. but we went into the back storage area hunkered down next to a wall. I remember people passing out Pringles candy & soda. for a 5 year old it got kinda fun. When I was a little older in the early 90s I remember closeing the store down many times because we go there so late at night. One they were locking the doors behind us😅. Now the Shopko store is a storage unit & the little grocery store is now a pizza ranch there is still a small part of Shopko that still remains. Shopko optical. & I knew they had pharmacy & think they even had a dental office there at one time.

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

That WOULD be an unforgettable memory! Gonna have to look up Shopko.

@chadbraun2076 7 месяцев назад

@@RetroDaze I believe they were based out of Green Bay Wisconsin.

@chadbraun2076 7 месяцев назад

I seen a small mention of the store Premdia "if I'm spelling that right". in this video. At least you showed the stores sign. Well Shopko did the Ames thing & bought out the Premdia stores & called them Shopko home town. Somewhere in the late 2000s early 2010s. that might be part of the reason why Shopko isn't around anymore.

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

Interesting. Prior to our local Pamida, the store was called Big Wheel. Always wondered if Pamida bought them.

@juliemcarthur3004 5 месяцев назад

Never heard of hills

@Randytherumbler 4 месяца назад

Or Phar-Mor,until when it first started to do business at Corpus Christi, Texas,in 1991. Little did I know that they already had been in serious trouble with their CEO,Mr. Monus. Mr. Wanna-be Wanna-get rich quickly scheme. THAT was a disaster. Only been there in business for only ONE year.

@chrissy240 Месяц назад

I use to work at an Ames in 99

@RetroDaze Месяц назад

What was experience like?

@SDune 3 месяца назад

Miss hills.,......

@RetroDaze 3 месяца назад

Absolutely. Hills was just one the best. Loved going there in my youth (Tony G).

@jenniferdragonetti1345 7 месяцев назад

How in the world can you talk about Department stores of yester year and NOT MENTION SEARS?????? Sears was the grandfather of ALL DEPARTMENT STORES and had probably been around a loooooot longer than any of these other stores that you had mentioned!

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

Ahhh… but Sears is not defunct. Sears still exists in 12 or 13 locations. This is only about department stores that DON’T exist anymore. 😉

@wizard3z868 8 месяцев назад

What about Rich's anyone remeber them? Turns ot there are 2 one privite owned in new englad closed in 1997 and anther with ties to Macy's

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Interesting. We’ll have to look up Rich’s. Thanks for sharing!

@chrisnewsome6039 8 месяцев назад

How about Maloneys

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

We’ll research that one.

@kimmichaud7741 8 месяцев назад

Its not markay its marshay the pronounciation is marshay not markay ( bon marche )

@RetroDaze 8 месяцев назад

Whoopsie! Thank you for the clarification.

@kimmichaud7741 8 месяцев назад

@@RetroDaze no problem there was one down the street from my house it still says bon Marche on the building but it's a resteraunt now lol

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

Is the restaurant called Bon Marche as well? 😆

@kimmichaud7741 7 месяцев назад

@@RetroDaze no lol the bon March sign is painted on the side of a very old building they never removed it but the resteraunt has its on sign in the front lol and the top floors are offices now

@RetroDaze 7 месяцев назад

Oh! Okay. Gotcha.