Back in the early - mid 80's I lived in a charming little apartment in the downtown of a large city in CA --- It was perfect for me at the time - My office was about a mile a way - A nice walk in good weather. I didn't need a car because there was a Woolworth's, a couple small, independent grocers, a Payless Drugs and many wonderful little shops and sidewalk cafes. The Woolworth's was really great --- The lunch counter made the best milkshakes -- I could buy household items and some groceries there, plus they had a small pet section and I enjoyed visiting the finches and parakeets with their cheerful chirping. I miss those times --- When you could spend an Saturday walking around the downtown --- The lovely little shops that sold everything from vintage clothes to coffee beans, handmade chocolate and candies, toy stores and book stores --- Never felt worried about my safety.
I was literally shocked and tears came to my eyes when I drove past the Tower Records on Sunset, in LA and the sign said, “For Lease”. My heart sunk. I knew that it was an end of an era in the business of music. Still chokes me up.
I went to Ponderosa Steak House many, many times. I rarely ordered a steak, i went for the all you can eat buffet. On Fridays they had a lot of fish and my favorite breaded shrimp. I would pile it high on a plate and dip in cocktail sauce. Best deal in town.
One of my best friends was shot and killed at a Chicken Delight back in 1973 by two guys robbing the place. He was only 18 years old. The police caught the guys that did it. They were both sentenced to life without parole. 😢
I remember how store employees were gracious and courteous and helpful; in the upper scale, stores like Sage-Allen, G. Fox, and even on the "lower" echelon stores the "discount stores", King's, Caldor, Badlee's. I remember Five and Dime stores. Literally, that's what they were called. They had cheap tin toys from some place that mass produced stuff. Began with a J. Oh! That's right! Japan. So much of the five and dime stock was stamped, "MADE IN JAPAN". "Supermarkets" back then were about the size of a small "drugstore". The drugstore down the street - Pope Park Drug - sold everything. And they delivered beer after you called them by dial telephone which in those days had one line, and answering machines were a thing of the future. When the man arrived a half hour later or so with the beer, you paid him cash on the spot. Milk was delivered by milk trucks and were left in the more or less insulated tin milk box by the front door. When the milk was delivered, the milk man picked up the empty one quart milk jars which you left in the milk box.
I really enjoyed this episode. I have some great memories of going to Friendly's with my grandparents. One time when I was quite young, I got a rather large dinner and finished it with no problems. Then for desert, I had a Fribble. My grandmother couldn't believe I finished it. I also remember going to Woolworth's as well as it's sister store, Woolco, and a lot of other similar stores like Hill's, Ames, and Grant's. My parents took my sisters and I to Ponderosa; there are a handful of them still around, as well as a few Bonanza's, once a rival but now a sister restaurant. I was in HS when the video game craze was in full swing. I played a lot of "Tempest", but also played others such as "Frogger", "Gorf", and "Defender". There were so many popular games in those days. As for book stores, don't forget Walden's and B. Dalton Books. My friends and I would get video game cartridges at Blockbuster as well as movies. It is sad to see these disappear, but times change. I try to make new memories with the times we are in now, look back, and have fond memories of what I experience now.
Nostalgia plus! Going to stores back then was pure adventure. I have never felt comfortable with online shopping restricting it as much as I possibly can.
Hasting's. It was a regional brand, but it effectively rolled Borders together with Blockbuster, and threw in a GameStop for good measure. Actually, the back catalog of rental movies was much deeper at Hastings than at Blockbuster. It died when, trying to weather the Amazon storm, it was sold to a vendor of the sort of cheap junk you'd expect to find in a Spencers, only cheaper, and it became their clearinghouse for cheap plastic junk.
The one that shocked me the most was Bennigan's. Another was the Mexican chain Don Pablo's. How do both of these business's do a land slide amount of business at the time they go away???
Gone but not forgotten. Do you remember? Newberry's, TG&Y, Thrifty drug store, Zody's, White Front, Gemco, Fedco and Dennis Park Bakery. I miss them all! The ones I miss the most were Woolworths, Sears, Kmart, Fedco, Newberry's, TG&Y, Thrifty and the best bakery ever, Dennis Park Bakery 😋
Remembering the whole vibe that one got going to the mall. Sometimes to look for your friends, cos we didn’t have cells . Sometimes to shop with earnings so you had to look at all the shops. Sometimes just because you’re bored, lol.
Mc 'Croys & The Ranch House & Morrisons Cafeteria & my best Memories were Howard Johnsons & White Castle..& Wolfies..all in Fla growing up..Ponderosa in NJ close to Cherry Hill Mall in the 80's..I love your diction & your expressive descriptions..Cheers.. .
I'm a big fan of antique and vintage glass. I miss being able to see plenty of Fenton, Westmoreland, L.E. Smith, Viking, Indiana and other beautiful American made glassware in antique stores, most of which are disappearing themselves. I know that I'm off the mark here, because an American art glass factory is not the same as a store, but these demise of these glass making businesses affects what's in the stores, and the enchanting fairy lamps, the gorgeous glass baskets, the sparkling moon and stars, bowls and canisters are all but gone. There is still plenty of milk glass, and I can sometimes find a charming "hen on the nest" container, but it's going.
John Wanamaker in center city Philadelphia was a great place to enjoy the holidays I have never seen anything like it again it made Christmas shopping fun with its organ and light show in the main gallery on the first floor.
Well, a little more accurately about the Woolworths in the suburbs where I grew up was first being hit with the smell of moth ice and often not-so-clean parakeet and hamster cages! Haha! The FAO Schwartz in San Francisco was a really great experience! It was on a three level structure so you could watch and listen to the animated musical display as you went upstairs!
OTASCO …….Morgan &Lindsey 5 and dime…..Western Auto…Gulf gas stations…ALCO… Wilson’s dept store ( aka Service Merchandise)….Gaylord’s dept store….Roses dept store….Freds dept store.. Grants dept store..Gibsons dept store….I remember going into Woolworths as a child in the 1960s and being yelled at by my grandmother because I sat in the wrong location by the lunch counter. I’m white. If you know what I mean…
The other one that really shocked me was The World Famous Palomino club, only in LA. I went home to Oregon for a little while, came back and got dressed to go to the Pal. When I arrived, it was closed and surrounded by a chain link fence. Another end of an era. World famous Country acts would play there and it was a watering hole for locals and musicians alike. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1jvE5QEnxZg.html
