Top 10 Stores That Don't Exist Anymore 

For more videos on business and entrepreneurship, check out our channel ContextTV: ru-vid.com Have you seen a famous store or chain close its doors in your town? Which do you miss most? Let us know in the comments.

Given I used to work at Toys r us, it hurts not having them around anymore, even as an adult due to the memories I had going there as a kid!

I speak for everyone when I say, when Toys R Us & Blockbuster got shut down, parts of our childhood died at that moment!

I miss Borders. My Mom worked there when I was little, and over the years she collected enough books from there to last me from elementary school till college. I used to have my own little Borders in my basement! I miss going to the promotional events with her and getting a free book at the end. I loved that I got to have one on one time with the authors at the end while my Mom cleaned up. I’m a junior in college now and I would kill to sit on a colorful rug with a hot chocolate while someone reads to me. I miss it a lot.

Toys ‘R’ Us was everybody’s childhood, we all know that we always begged our parents to get a toy from Toys ‘R’ Us but once we all heard that Toys ‘R’ Us we’re going out of business, all of our hearts dropped, these stores will forever be in our hearts.

Kids these days don’t know how awesome Toys R Us and Blockbuster was back then

My local Toys R Us was turned into a Wine and Spirits and they recently put a giraffe wearing sunglasses on the front, so it’s like Geoffrey the Giraffe grew up with us

The “Welcome To Circuit City…Where Service Is State Of The Art” tagline/jingle is great.

Rest In Peace to Blockbuster and Toys R’ Us. Those stores were a big part of my childhood. 😔

The ones I heard of: - Foot Locker - RadioShack - ToysRUs - Blockbuster

I loved Borders. It was a great place to go to for magazines as well as books. They had a very extensive collection of magazinesm

At the risk of sounding prehistoric, the demise of Sears meant the loss of the very heart of U.S. retailing. Sears had invented nationwide sales, and the money back guarantee, defined middle class accoutrements, and built the world’s tallest skyscraper. All that being gone amounts to the fatal blow.

I was heartbroken when Toys R Us and Borders closed. I went to them all the time as a kid

I remember A&P as a little kid in Maryland. It was the first time I was made aware of the ampersand "&" sign and I still associate the symbol with today.

My heart really hurt when I saw that toys r us was putting them out of business, when I had a kid I was telling myself I can’t wait to take them to toys r us. Oh borders closing hurt my heart too! I loved borders when I was kid I used to sit at borders for hours I liked it a lot more than barns and nobles. Also blockbuster was my whole childhood as well I loved going to blockbuster on a Friday night to rent movies, it’s so sad my childhood is crying

I was deeply shocked when they announced that Toys R Us was closing. I loved that store so much, that I still miss it to this day. RIP to all of the stores that closed for good. Update: Fuck, I have 485 likes, one from WatchMojo, and 64 replies! Thanks! Keep liking and replying!

Toys "R" Us, Blockbuster, and Borders used to be my favorite places to go as a kid. It's sad that many things from my childhood no longer exist.

I miss Fry's. Their stores were awesome. Radioshack at the end of their run was like going into a mini swap meet. They sold cell phones no one wanted and just odd shit that no one was going to buy.

I worked at a TRU store for nearly 10 years, I was the last employee hired when they first opened. They started to fail when they began hiring upper level management from outside the company instead of promoting from within. Those new people seldom understood the toy business, some had never even worked in retail.

"I don't wanna grow up! I wanna be a Toys R Us kid!!"

Toys R Us and Blockbusters being on this list really hits you in the feels!

Can someone build a time machine so I can travel back to the blue-tiled bathroom of my childhood blockbuster and sob uncontrollably as that video-rental institution marked the pinnacle of human existence??

BRING. BACK. TOYS 'R US.

I have a few also-mentions to add. Before Toys R Us closed, there was Child World and KB Toys closing; the former being my favorite of the trio. If I'm not mistaken, FAO Schwartz also closed their doors as well. In the category of box stores, we lost others like Two Guys, Caldors (which I often frequented), KMart, Jamesway and Bradlees. I believe Sears may well be on that list. All these stores I have shopped at and enjoyed doing so because each was slightly unique from one another. Today, one Walmart is pretty much like the other. In the category of supermarkets, we used to have a Pathmark on the other side of town. There was also Grand Union three towns over. With electronics, the passing of Radio Shack hit me hard. I bought my Atari XL computer in NYC at a Crazy Eddies, another lost store. We had one at one of our local malls and I bought almost all of my LPS and audiocassettes from that chain. The impact of losing all these stores is tough. Though not a chain, there was a colossal book store a block or two from the southern start of Central Park that was absolutely enormous. I think it was called The Coliseum. When I discovered it had closed, I was dumbfounded. Most of all my texts on theater and filmmaking were purchased there.

Kids today will never get that experience of walking around a Blockbuster on Friday afternoons

I feel like Sears will be going this way soon. I live in Massachusetts & they used to be in every mall. Now, only one remains.

These stores were primarily located in the New York area (but both had stores in New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia and Baltimore metro areas), Crazy Eddie's (electronics) and Modell's (sporting goods) were well-known, especially in the New York City metropolitan area, are dearly missed. Crazy Eddie's was short-lived due to rapid expansion, while Modell's, after over a century of business, couldn't make enough money to cover its brick-and-mortar locations and not enough revenue for its online business.

The fact that I helped close down some of those stores (online purchasing) really hurts. Another store that died but due to cancel culture, that I loved, was Steve and Barry's.

I was a manager of 3 different Blockbusters for 5 years while I was in college. It was a good job I enjoyed, and it had great benefits. Got 7 free rentals a week, had early access to movies and games, and a 10% discount on all purchases. And lets not forget that we got to play movies all day while working. It was sad when it went out of business, but I moved on to bigger and better things.

Man, the 80's really love their jingles and theme songs in all their commercials.

It’s sad to see most of my childhood places that are gone

The ones I only know going out is. Circuit city,toys r us,dress barn,block buster,family video,radio shack and that’s all I remember.

I still remember the MASSIVE ToysRUs book during Christmas

the line " I guess everyone grew up , there's no more toys r us kids anymore " from Toys R' Us when they closed is heartbreaking.

Uff! Don’t know where to start here. In the last 30 years I’ve lived here I can remember so many of them and gives me so much nostalgia to see them all gone: my first computer was a TRS80. Radio shack was a main part of my life as an early 80s computer person. Then once in US, Woolworth was my to-go shop for everything. I loved Circuit City and Toys r Us was almost a weekly visit for my kids, even if not shopping was done. I loved Borders store in my neighborhood, and needless to say blockbuster (still keep my membership card!) And I even forgot Linens and Things. Other big ones not included here are Pan Am, Sears and Kmart.

Radio Shack... that's the one I miss most! I used to cobble together A/V equipment into video game, TV & sound systems all the time. When it came to finding adapters and converters, there was no other option then Radio Shack, and they never failed to have it.

The day Blockbuster and Toys R Us died, is the day when a piece of me had died I used to love going to both stores back in the day Good times... :(

Blockbuster and Toys R Us are the stores I miss the most! I rented lots of movies and video games from BB, even RadioShack was fun going to back in the day, too bad they didn’t evolve with the times!

Being from Massachusetts, I loved Ames, Fry's and a few more on this list. Hated Radio Shack,was a Child World kid that thought Toys -R- Us was a gaff, and every time I went to an FYE here in Texas, I called it Fry's. Great list. Spot on

I too, wish that Toys R Us was still in business! When I collected Hot Wheels back around 2002, I found most of the best deals there! When I was a child, I can vaguely recall a place called: Union Co-op, that carried the best toys before I ever heard of Toys R Us! My mother bought me a Hot Wheels Fat Track "Giant O" set there! That's what I miss the most about the toys! Hot Wheels Sizzlers!!!

Let’s all be honest, Blockbuster was one we ALL saw coming due to the age of DVR and On Demand. Didn’t surprise me at all to say the least. But it still made me a bit sad cause I had a lot of fond childhood memories at the old Blockbuster that was only a 3 minute drive away from my house where me and my family went to EVERY SINGLE WEEK ever since I was 6 years old and I discovered A LOT of movies and TV shows there that are STILL among my top favorites even to this day!

I miss Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. Going there and picking a game to rent for the weekend. Fun times. Now I can just get whatever I want on my computer or console without going anywhere. The convenience is nice but it's not as fun.

I miss Fry's the most. They even showed my hometown Fry's in Roseville on this video and it nearly made me tear up

YEP! I live in Bend Oregon and am very glad that our Blockbuster is still alive and well!

I think it's safe to say that overall, the Internet killed most of these brands off. Amazon alone has probably killed off 8/10 of these brands for sure, and the other two were probably done in by streaming services (so companies like Blockbuster went under because we can now stream, on-demand, whenever we want on platforms like Hulu and Netflix for a set monthly fee in most cases).

All these stores are now located on Memory Lane.

Should of added in Maplins. Similar to Radio Shack, the British Store Maplins sold all sorts of electronics from circuit boards, to computer chips and USB flash drives, to RC cars and bicycle lights and disco party lights and speakers. The store opened in 1972 and closed all its stores in 2018 sadly. It was a sad day fore many in the UK because a lot of its electronics were affordable compared to rival shops like PC World and Curies.

A couple I had never even heard of such as Frys. A few others not mentioned that I miss include Suncoast, B Dalton Books and Walden Books. I only got to go to Borders when I traveled but I enjoyed it very much and miss it very much.

I primarily remembered Circuit City, Toys R Us, and BlockBuster. The fact that they no longer exist when I grew up seeing them nearly everywhere makes me feel old.

I miss a lot of stores that are no longer in business. Circuit City, Toys R Us, Ames, KB Toys, Suncoast, Radio Shack, Hollywood Video, Blockbuster, etc.

Woolworth's was everywhere in the UK. I spent many a happy hour at the pick and mix counter. I didn't know that Foot locker was derived from Woolworth's. @5:31, Barnes & Noble is also in trouble with a raft of store closures. RadioShack was known as Tandy in the UK and had high street shops in several locations. The shops were closed and the line was taken in-house by Woolworth's. Today, it has an online presence. There was much weeping and wailing and the gnashing of teeth when Toys r us folded.

We had Radio Shack in the UK for a while and then it became Tandy. I used to buy loads of stuff there. Motherboards, sound cards etc. Really miss it.

maybe we should do an episode, called "Ghost stores" :D

As someone who grew up with Toys R Us, seeing all stores close is the most heartbreaking thing since the loss of KB Toys and Blockbusters/Hollywood video. Even worse, seeing the near empty store for the last time just makes me want to cry. Every kid today will never experience walking to a store filled with toys like the rest of us.

I like the list, though I've a few honourable mentions for you. Comet, a firm I once worked for, was a big retailer who went bust in the 2010's, as they had a whacky policy where they wouldn't match online only retailer prices. Dixon's, who closed all their stores and went online only, and Debenhams. Since Comet and Dixon's were both electrical retailers, maybe you could do another video on favourite electronic stores which no longer exist.

Toys R Us ruined itself once at lunch when I worked at Target we got on the subject of that store and my Supervisor said "You ever noticed everything is always on sell there? It's because they are selling it at full price and trying to make you think you are saving money."

The Toys R Us wound is still fresh…😭

The way he said "Blockbuster", you could tell the narrator thought it was a real shame they closed down.

I live in Chicago, IL so wondered why I didn't see Sears or Wards stores closed on list. I miss Blockbuster & Borders Books!!🥺

I cried when toys r us closed. That was my childhood.

man, I remember the tradition every year with geoffrey the giraffe calling me on my birthday saying "wow, you're... another year older!" then when they'd send the christmas toy ads right after thanksgiving & I'd be able to circle items & my parents would basically play an elimination game of what I'd get on christmas day lol man the memories of my childhood

R.I.P. toys R us for the good memories of spiderman & batman action figures... 🌹

Remember "Builder's Square"? They gave birth to stores like Home Depot and Lowes and even had their own College Football Bowl game:)......Excellent video, thanks!

This video was depressing. When the ‘Toys R Us’ song was being sung, I started to tear up. I WANNA BE A TOYS R US KID! 😢

I grew up with all these stores!! Blockbuster, Borders, RadioShack, and Toys R Us were the best! Kids today really missing out on getting the big book from Toys R Us in the mail and going to pick out what you want for Christmas! Those were the days!

Toy's'Rus used to be my favorite store ever! They opened again in Macy's and American Dream, but they don't have bikes, video games, and stuff like before.

10. Circuit City! My family bought our first computer there in the mid-90’s! 9. There wasn’t one nearby when I lived in Tennessee, and there was never one nearby in Kentucky, where I live now. 8. Same as No. 9 7. Ah, Sam Goody-that and Suncoast were regular haunts during all the mall trips in my teens. 6. I don’t think I ever set foot in a Borders-I’ve always preferred Barnes & Noble. 5. See Nos. 9 and 8. Also, I never needed anything they sold. 4. Linens ‘n’ Things? I never shopped there, and never needed to; lots of other shops sell what L’n’T sold/sells-and at much better prices, too! 3. Again, I’ve never been in a RadioShack-because, as with Fry’s Electronics, I’ve never needed what they sell. 2. OMG, TOYS ‘R’ US!!! So many childhood memories! Whenever my sister and I got good marks on our report cards, our mama would always reward us with money and take us to TRU to spend it. I always made a beeline for the Barbie Doll and Disney aisles, while my tomboyish sister tended to loiter in the Jurassic Park and LEGO aisles. 1. We had other, cheaper video rental stores nearby. However, my mama, my sister, a few of my cousins, and I are going on a long-overdue road trip to the Pacific Northwest-and yes, we fully intend to stop by Bend, Oregon to see the last Blockbuster in the world!

There is nothing like Toys R Us anymore.... used to love going in there even if it wasn't to buy anything....😭

Sigh…. A lot of these stores remind me of my “mall rat“ days. I wish Toys “R” Us never had to declare bankruptcy……. Fond memories indeed………

Woolworths was very popular in the UK as well, especially the pick 'n' mix for kids.

theres a radioshack in my area still. also honorable mentions of Gallery of Sound, The Wall, Laneco, Jamesway, K-mart.

Honestly I miss BlockBuster it always made for a fun Friday night as a kid

There's actually 1 blockbuster left that's still open in Oregon

I was an assistant manager for Sam Goody in the Sherman Oaks Galleria in the early 1990's. We had a lot of fun with all the celebs that came into that prime location and just played whatever music we wanted, not always the new releases and promo stuff we were supposed to, LOL.

There used to be a Woolworth's in Pecos, TX where my dad grew up. I remember Waldenbooks, Hastings. When they introduced computers, they shoud've known it would eventually be the end of chainstores. The internet can be a wonderful tool, but it can also be a distraction, like anything.

I loved Sam Goody and Suncoast as a kid, those were the destinations at the Mall...and Spencer's...and the Arcade. R.I.P. Malls Honorable mentions: Children's Palace and Kay-Bee Toys

Toys R Us may be gone, but their legacy will never, ever, ever, ever, ever die. Even as an adult, I appreciated how they drew in kids with incredible marketing. I am proud to have been one of those kids. This also came with lots of memories to be made.

Thank you. Watching this with law enforcement and people in my neighborhood.

Grew up with Toys R Us in the 80's as a kid, always went to blockbuster to rent movies for the weekend, hanged out at circuit city to see all the new computers, bought all my electronic knick-knacks at Fry's and Radioshack, always visited Sharper image at the mall and studied at Borders during college...life goes on

I miss the 2000's!!!!, these stores were relevant......I will never forgive the world on how it is now..

Circuit city Toys “R” Us RadioShack and blockbuster the nostalgia is just to much

Those who got to visit these stores for real were lucky indeed. There is nothing like visiting a huge store like these and spending a couple of hours. I relish visiting Sam Goody(FYE), Toyr R Us, RadioShack, Fry's, Borders & Circuit City. Used to work for Toys R Us for a while and Circuit City and Best Buy were the tech partners.

Aww whenever I think about Toys r us it brings tears to my eyes. I had some amazing memories with that place. One crisp cold night in the 2010s I cried and dragged my parents to toys r us because I was bored, we ended up having the best time, ate at a restaurant and enjoyed your lives and I’ll always remember those memories.

Of course Blockbuster... I remember friday nights going up there right after my mom picked me up from school. We'd either go to Blockbuster, Hollywood video,or Movie Gallery because alot of times one of them didnt have anymore of the new releases and back then, We didnt have a DVD player yet, so we couldn't get the DVDs only the VHS and that whole 'new release' shelf was empty. Nothing but the styrofoam filled sleeves on the shelves and you were hoping you'd spot one that had the blockbuster case behind it!! Lol and when you found it....just that last one...you felt like Charlie when he found the Golden Ticket!!

Ironic that Fry's slogan was "your BEST BUYS guaranteed"

I still have a shortwave I bought as a kit from Radio Shack a half-century ago. Bought so many kits and parts there.

I remember that on my first visit to New York ever, there was a Toys 'R' Us store at Times Square, and the next year when I came back, there wasn't. A shame.

It still hurts me till this day that there’s no Toys R Us anymore I thought it was going to be round until I had kids and grandkids it’s sad to what this world has come to I really wish I could roll back time and go back to being a kid again were Toys R Us was thriving

It was sad to see the big iconic Toys R Us in Times Sq NY close it's door. Use to take my little sister there. But the fact that Japan still has several stores is amazing.

I used to love going to Montgomery Ward Auto to buy tires for my 99 Intrepid. The next best smell to new car is new tires. Long before that Dad took me downtown to OTASCO to buy tires for his 67 Impala. Like father, like son.

I never thought a toy store like Toys “R” US would go out of business I remember my mom taking my father to work back in the 70’s and there would be line of people going around the corner of the store waiting to go in especially with the holiday season. A&P was another store my mom shopped at all the time.

how is Montgomery Wards not on this list. A round for a hundred years then gone :(

I loved Borders. I bought most of my books there since I lived close to one before it closed down

One store that was not mentioned was a favorite of mine was Hastings books music store in Arkansas and Kmart.

The fry’s one surprised me. I used to go to that one in San Jose from the video. I think we all learned one thing from this video, being that the government/state should have never shut down business for covid. Should’ve been up to the individual to go shopping or not.

Suddenly, I want to cry. So many memories in so many great stores

The last time I was in Toys R Us, “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John was on. It doesn’t get more ironic than that.

Blockbuster Video & Radio Shack were Great to shop at back in the day.

I used to work at Goody when it was still called Musicland. Went by way of most music stores.

Regarding Frys, the pandemic really didn’t affect them. I’ve followed a subreddit about the stores and for a couple of years they ran on zero stock. People were waiting for the day they admitted it’s all over. Poor management, poor service. Sad, because the stores once seemed fun and they had quite a following.