CLOSED! 12 Iconic 1980s Stores That Couldn’t Be Saved

[@EastStarc]

Who Remembers Service Merchandise? I enjoyed this store

[@scottyj6023]

I remember them, I loved looking at the new electronics in their catalog.

[@tmo3973]

I could spend hours at Service Merchandise.

[@maggiegarber246]

I do!

[@truelies3690]

Yes, the conveyer belts rolling the item you ordered in store. The cabbage patch doll craze in 1984 had me there buying one before they all disappeared. Great time, great country still.

[@danl6213]

I remember them too......they also had Best, which was a similar type of catalog store, not to be confused with Best Buy which came much later. It might have just been an east coast chain.

[@UncleDavesKitchen]

I miss shopping malls in the 1970s and 1980s. It was an adventure, so many options, speciality stores and great places to eat. The mall close to me had an ice skating rink so we could eat in the food court and watch people skate. I miss the fun and options we had back then, people were polite, clean, got showered and dressed nicely to go to the malls.

[@lim4275]

We had a mall not too far from us that also had a skating rink. It was fun to watch people skate. I miss the malls too!

[@tomsmith2013]

Get back on your lithium.

[@davidkettelle1581]

@@tomsmith2013scumbag

[@jptang1701]

@@tomsmith2013 I'll get back on your Mom! Once it's my turn. Long line tonight...

[@EastStarc]

@@UncleDavesKitchen we are boomers and up will always miss the best days to be lived. I am grateful for all those memories. It's hard to live in a tech and text world just because it's a turn off switch in my mind. My mother at 88 still has a landline phone and each day when I call her I feel blessed. I'm only 61 young and active and I so badly want to bring back my roots One step at a time 😊

[@erickmcgraw]

So sad these businesses do not exist any longer. Thanks for the hard work and effort to bring this video together. It put a smile on my face from the days when they were around.

[@ClarkieandJoseph]

I immediately started to sing the jingle “I’m a Toys R Us kid.” And “There’s more for your life at Sears.” Those stores and many products had some of the best Christmas commercials. Great memories!😊

[@ponyblu]

I had the sweatshirt!

[@rflett5797]

There is a Holiday 2017 Toys R Us Commercial that is the final Christmas commercial before the company filed for bankruptcy. The song in it is like a thank you and goodbye to everyone that shopped there over the years.

[@googleuser868]

Let's go Kmarting at Kmart and shop the Kmart way with Kmart low low prices everyday.

[@jarekstorm6331]

I worked at Radio Shack right out of highschool. Those were good years. For small towns, Radio Shack provided access to stereo, electronics, computers, and accessories of all kinds. I miss the world before the internet.

[@danabaker596]

Grew up on Radio Shack. Our family loved radios. I still do.

[@mikeywid4954]

I really miss Kmart. My late wife and I always enjoyed the shopping experience there.

[@navycorpsmanveteran61]

Sorry for your loss. My wife loved Kmart also. She stayed in that store...😂

[@melissahouse3488]

I won a coloring contest at K-Mart 🖍️☺️ I miss all of the old stores. We had a Stieger's dept store by the K-MART, and Brunswick Bowling Alley which is now a Planet Fitness and blows. I could go on & on, but all of those fun places are gone now and so isn't the economy & populous that fed that healthy culture. That particular shopping plaza has struggled to gain stores since those major losses. Sears is missed, I'm glad JC PENNEY is hanging on but we're gonna end up with nowhere to shop but junkie Walmart and even Target has gone down in quality & up in prices.

[@freecitizen7372]

Sears and Woolworth were the Amazon and Walmart of their times. I miss those stores.

[@andyvonyeast332]

I miss Sears so much. Especially the tool department. I wish I could take my son shopping in the Sears Tool Department, just like my Dad took me. Sears was my first Credit Card, they helped me launch my Career as a Heavy Truck Mechanic. Craftsman Forever!!!

[@skipperclinton1087]

@andyvonyeast: Last time I bought hand tools (wrenches), they said "made in China" on them. That was 10+ years ago.

[@888junkcarsbuyingteam8]

Yeah unfortunately they're quality has dropped drastically...I grew up being a Craftsman kid...my very first toolbox and hand tools... sadly those memories are all that's left

[@mtericktucson]

Same for myself, still have a great many of the craftsman tools. I do remember around 1992 when they started asking for a warranty if you were a pro mechanic or not. That was the start of the decline, before then it was no hassle on the warranty.

[@SurprisedBuffalo-ug3rf]

My mom and dad only had 1 credit card, a Sears card

[@lisalu910]

The Sears Portrait Studio was a family tradition for many people back in the day. Looking back the portraits were godawful by today's standards, but we dutifully took the kids there once a year for the Family Portrait. I remember how anxiously we waited for the photos to come back so we could go choose our package. No digital previews, no proofs, just a package of photos take it or leave it. Of course you always bought the whole thing because they told you they'd only destroy the ones you didn't buy. lol

[@bookemdano7567]

When I was a kid… that Sears Wish Book was gold!! I went through that so many times to stare at the pictures and wish! lol! I remember B. Dalton bookstores being pretty big in the our malls. Along with Fayva Shoe store! And our “box” stores besides Sears and K-mart were Zayre and Caldor. ❤

[@timsmith2525]

The highpoint of Christmas!

[@labspeciman7402]

It was fun back then because you had to go out to enjoy adventure. Stores were amazing as a child because they had everything. Now you can shop online. Making us stagnant.

[@bridgetmccracken1381]

I really miss K mart and Sears, wish I could go back just one more time!!

[@paul16451]

I worked at Sears for a summer job in high school in the 80s. Loved that employee discount, they had some great clothing back then!

[@cdeeb002]

We still have a Sears here in Orlando

[@bridgetmccracken1381]

@@cdeeb002 I think that i great 👍

[@N2tech]

The last Kmart is in Miami, better hurry.

[@julesservantofjesus972]

Yeah K Mart was a place to go before the malls came in. Even after. When I was young until I was a teenager, my Mama and I would stop by there about twice a week after my allergy shots appts. I miss my Mama and those times. 🙏🏻✝️🩷

[@user-gn8su4vz7b]

I remember shopping at Ben Franklin stores.

[@Bettinasisrg]

I pained the inside my entire house with their "Oops paint"! Anything light that got returned they'd mark way way down and then they'd add whatever color for ¢25! I think the total was $10 for 6 rooms painted!

[@Sherry-h8m]

I went to all those stores especially Kmart. I have a lot of vinyl 45 records some still have the price tag. I always loved waiting for the Sears and Montgomery Wards Xmas catalog. Thanks for the memories.

[@dgm2485]

I absolutely loved K-mart when I was a kid. Sad they're gone.

[@InFltSvc]

I want to go back and do it all over ...I am telling you the 70’s and 80’s were my decades and they were the best years of my life. Those decades were quite possibly the last best decades in America. One has to understand that America was absolutely a different place back then. It was still a treat then to get 25 cents from mom and walk uptown to the gas station to get a Coca-Cola or Pepsi or to the ice cream shop and get a CMP ice cream. We truly did not lock our doors and stayed out till after dark with our bikes and on Halloween we all went trick-or-treating without our parents at night in the cold and it was great fun.. In the summer we played outside all day and all night. I remember wonderful 4th of July celebrations going on picnics and then mom took us to the ball park and we laid on blankets to watch the fireworks. And of course Christmas and even though it was tuff for my mom raising us she always made sure we had a great holiday . Even Easter was special in America back then... as we got older we started to go see the movies and we really did have the best movies. We had real holidays were we all got together and enjoyed each other’s company. We ate dinner every night together and talked not shouted at each other. We had great stores that are all but gone now in 2024 and great movie theaters and of course the MALLS! It was not the 80’s without a Mall. My very first few jobs were at the mall. First Macdonald’s and then The Gap!. Yes sir those days were GREAT! and we were very lucky to have lived them .... today I don’t even see kids outside and everyone is in fear for safety from crazy people.... I don’t recognize America now..God Bless us all ! And now for that first job at Macdonald’s, it was great ! We had McDLT’s, fried apple pies. (What a huge mistake McDonald’s made discontinuing them) real fried chicken strips, fresh made pancakes and biscuits and not to forget the holiday coupon books for five dollars and the food was HOT and tasty for a good price, in fact you could get a cheeseburger, fries and a drink for less then a dollar. but today (2024) , it’s sad and a joke, kids standing around doing nothing but reading iPhones, floors filthy, food is at best warm and nobody cares, not even Macdonald’s, because I have called them many times but the kids from the last generation are running these companies and they just don’t care….everything seems to have gone to hell now. 😒

[@michaellazor5667]

I used to prefer Kmart over Walmart back in the 90s. I miss that place.

[@kevinluschak5241]

Oh yeah remember all of these places! God the 80 s were so awesome!

[@pmafterdark]

Remember so many of these store so well. Here in the northeast Sears, Radio Shack and Toys R Us were huge. I can remember the, opened in 1951, wonderful Shoppers World in Framingham, MA having Jordan Marsh on one end with Toys R Us on the other end. I never thought Sears would be gone. Really miss the quality of those made in the U.S.A. Craftsman tools.

[@Oldschoolrules123]

We still have 1 little Radio Shack here in West Central Florida.

[@gregggoss2210]

Sears Craftsman tools wer the best. I still have many Craftsman tools of my own and some I inherited from my father. I miss Sears, my dad, my mom, and my brother. Getting old kind of sucks.

[@Jason-hb9nu]

I remember the English soldiers during Christmas time at Shoppers World. They were wooden and very big. This was in the 70's 80s.

[@jeremy1350]

ATTENTION K - Mart shoppers, right now in housewares we have a "Blue Light Special" going on right now !! Come and check out our housewares department today !! When I moved to Montreal, in the early 2000's I did my laundry in a laundromat in Verdun Montreal, and the woman who ran the shop was a deposit location for Sears Catalogue Shopping. The amount of boxes and crates that used to come to the shop used to fill up the entire space. We had a Sears way out on the North end of the Orange Line at Cote Vertu. That store eventually closed.

[@debrakildau9288]

My mother inlaw used to run through kaymart for the blue light specials !❤❤❤miss her !❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@BettyBlack99]

And the person shakin the bell outside for donations during the holidays.. Salvation Army?!

[@jeremy1350]

@@BettyBlack99 We don't see the "Bell Ringers" in the mall any more. However, the Salvation Army is just a few blocks away from where I live in Montreal. I think people got sick of them ringing that damned bell day and night. We've been listening to Christmas Carols in shops since early November !!! UGH

[@teejaynumber13]

I think it's not really the stores themselves we miss, but our nostalgic memories of them and childhood.

[@clairestanfield-ui1fg]

yes

[@Fatjohny100]

Having places to gather and purchase what we needed or wanted gave a sense of community...Weather it was Sears in rural cities or in the big city malls...We all went to these places....That sense of community seems to have disappeared as we all use the internet. Walmart has replace the small city grocery store and with low prices on all the other goods, no more Ma&Pa shops...Most places won't hire 15,16 year olds anymore...I bagged groceries back in the early 80' at Red Owl...Sadly...It feel the world keeps evolving...I just seems like not for the better...Just look at the division in the country today...we're all detached with no sense of community... I'll be gone soon enough, hopefully the world figures something out...

[@jamesbarnett2483]

@@Fatjohny100excellent comment, I agree wholeheartedly.

[@pinebarrenpatriot8289]

I actually miss Kmart the store. Always less people than Walmart (which of course was the problem) but i always got in and out. It was less of a circus than walmarts

[@BettyBlack99]

Yep. Well i think the quality of things were better then too. Not everything was made cheap in China. Glad to have the memories

[@mikerules666]

Circuit City is another store that started back in 1949 and through the 80's and 90's it was a powerhouse when it came to electronics sales. By the year 2008, because of the financial crisis, they were forced to file bankruptcy and went out of business shortly after. Best Buy offered to buy the chain and merge it with their stores, but they were turned down and the rest is history.

[@billschlafly4107]

I think it was their crappy return policy sank them. Sometime in the late 1990s CC added a charge or either 5% or 10% for restocking the merch. That burn was the last time I bought anything from CC again. Why take the risk when the price was the same at Best Buy.

[@GeorgieB1965]

I think someone bought their IP with the intent of making them an online store, but not sure if they actually did. Eta: apparently the website is active and up to date.

[@SSN515]

Their customer service and returns was lousy. Best Buy cleaned their clocks back in Best Buy's heyday.

[@UmmYeahOk]

@@SSN515I don’t think Best Buy employees were paid on commission either. That meant that their staff wasn’t so pushy. They’d greet you if you came within a certain range, which I’m sure was some sort of requirement for them, but could easily get annoying if they were very well staffed that day. But Circuit City was always like that. Maybe I didn’t want to buy today. Maybe I wanted to shop, save my money, then return. Nope. Credit is your friend.

[@jarekstorm6331]

Got my first real component stereo system from Circuit City. Pioneer Receiver, CD player, and JVC cassette deck with Bose 401 speakers.

[@robotorch]

Born in the last part of the 70s, I had Radio Shack, Kay Bee Toys, Toys R Us, Children's Palace, Children's Kingdom, Best, Service Merchandise, Big Bear, Harts, Kmart, Hills, Ames, Murphy's Mart, Sears, JCPenney, Stone & Thomas, McAlpin's, Dawahare's, Lazarus, Dillard's, Proffitt's, Belk, Software Etc., Babbage's, Electronics Boutique/EBGames, Waldenbooks, and B. Dalton Bookstore in my little area of the country. Quarter arcade cabinets and $0.50 or $0.75 plays for sit down machines like motorcycle games or flying games (like After Burner I/II or G-LOC or Virtua Racer). What a time to live. I love the original commercial Internet era of 1995-1999 and 21st century e-commerce, but in the 80s we really had it made. This country has been hollowed out. Old man rant over.

[@Blue-wave2028]

Sears and Montgomery Ward were my favorite as a kid Born in 1957 the 60s were a great time growing up , paging through their catalog, circling items for Christmas. Montgomery ward closed in 2000 in Minnesota.

[@Bluzmn]

As a musician and then a roadie in my teens and early 20's, I was at Radio Shack all the time!

[@samiam1509]

I worked at K Mart the summer of 1997; it was great. I miss the 90s and the wonderful stores such as Bradlees, Ames, Caldor, Service Merchandise, Radio Shack.

[@birdsfan57]

Really miss both Caldor and Bradlees. Great products (especially curtains at Bradlees) at reasonable prices.

[@karlstriepe8050]

They killed Kinney! Those bastards!

[@earthwormscrawl]

I wonder how many people don't get that joke! 🤣

[@karensteck3800]

​@@earthwormscrawlI loved Kinney's!

[@luisgordillo1695]

Good one . lol 🤣🤣

[@mamacindyrogofsky495]

I got the joke! 😂😂😂😂😂​@@earthwormscrawl

[@jergervasi3331]

Funny. BTW, Kinney became Foot Locker.

[@StaceyWard-z4s]

Those were the days ❤

[@XLessThanZ]

Tower Records 👍🏽. The documentary is great ❤️

[@TheBoomerPlace]

I saw that too. I used to shop there as well.

[@cmaden78]

One of my fave documentaries too! If u like that u may also enjoy a fictional movie (based on the true story) CBGB. it's one of my favorite movies.

[@cmaden78]

Oh .I also went to Tower Records on my honeymoon. We found some absolutely amazing imports, obscure punk, legendary vinyl. We played in that store for a couple hours 😂💜🖤🤗✨🤘🤘

[@suzycatipiller821]

I remember my dad getting the submarine sandwiches at Kmart.. We lived in a rual town so it was always a treat. They weren't fancy but we really liked them. I really miss that store...My family spent a lot of time there....This city I live in now had 3 of them. They are all sitting empty😢

[@Nuggs1980]

Miss Kmart, the sub sandwiches, bubblegum ice cream, Icees, the cafeteria they had. Sears had everything you could possibly want and the snack bar with popcorn and coconut bon bons. Toys R Us with the long walkway in until you rounded the corner and finally see all of the store and toys, huge selection of Barbies and baby dolls. Miss shopping at BEST, Circuit City, Mervyns, Gottschalks, Woolworths, and Montgomery Ward. 80's were the best!

[@skipperclinton1087]

@Nuggs1980: Kresses 5&10 with ice cream fountain counters.

[@melissahouse3488]

Woolworths!!!! ❤️❤️ They live on forever in our hearts & memory. Unique places that worked & brought much happiness. Where did that go!?! I have my theories. It's pretty desolate, I hope they make a revival.

[@kikayei]

There was a department store called “Mays” on Fulton Street in Brooklyn, NY. As a kid during the 1970s, I loved going to the third floor because that’s where all the toys were located. It was sad when it closed in 1989, but I’ll always remember it.

[@69ChevyGarage]

I remember Mays and Alexanders. They would decorate so beautifully on Christmas.

[@lizjo7213]

A&P was my store when I was a kid... they had green stamps you'd collect in a booklet to get merchandise...me and my mom would have so much fun collecting those stamps for stuff we wanted...

[@lisalu910]

In the southern states we had Piggly Wiggly and Winn-Dixie. I'm not sure if either of those still exist in some smaller towns, but the Publix and Kroger conglomerates have wiped them out of the metro areas.

[@pameladonnelson2093]

I miss Gemco. Montgomery Ward, Sears and KMart😢

[@robertmartin5916]

Gemco! That's a name I haven't heard in a long time. I bought my first stereo there.

[@AbstractM0use]

"Toys-R-Us was a magical destination where kids' dreams came true." Having grown up in the 80's, this couldn't ring more true!

[@pinebarrenpatriot8289]

I was sad my local Kmart closed about 10 years ago. I got 5 pairs of nice dress pants I still wear to special occasions for like $30 bucks during their clearance sale. They could pass for expensive $100 pants too. Thank you K-Mart. Good times😊

[@genevieve730]

I grew up pretty poor and we got our clothes from church donations and outlet stores (not the upscale ones we have now). The first time I met my uncle and he took me to Sears to buy me a winter coat, I thought I was in paradise.

[@dad4ever-c90]

In my area, Sears was the original big store that seemed to sell products of every kind, no matter what you were looking for. Their "lifetime" warranty on their own brand products sounded great! But they frequently changed the design and model numbers of everything. So when you tried to exchange a worn out or broken item, they rarely still carried the EXACT same one the return policy necessitated.

[@IceManLikeGervin]

I remember most of those stores but nothing beats Woolworth's... IYKYK

[@SSN515]

Loved the lunch counter and checking out the pet department. They used to have "real" tropical fish back there, too, before the Gubmint started banning a lot of therm.

[@IceManLikeGervin]

@@SSN515 I could spend the whole day in Woolworth's from eating to looking at the games/books/comics and everything else. lol

[@tmo3973]

I worked there in high school. They treated us part-timer kids so well. I loved Woolworth’s.

[@tinytt854]

Ours had a little snack bar until they took it out. Years later, the store closed

[@maggiegarber246]

I had a chair that I bought from Woolco, the bigger store chain from Woolworth’s parent company.

[@Abandoned-t3v]

I really miss Kmart and Sears even Woolworths

[@fionag8869]

Dont forget kmart had the first slurpees, cherry and coke, they were delish!!

[@kotysuefawcett6538]

K-mart was my absolute funnest job back in the day!👍

[@fionag8869]

@@kotysuefawcett6538 i miss kmart, i loved it

[@lisalynnmarie2448]

I remember my mom actually buying K-Mart's ham from where you'd get the Slurpees. It was delicious ham, and the glaze on the top was actually pretty good! I also remember the long lines for a Slurpee, too

[@fionag8869]

@@lisalynnmarie2448 hahahaha oh the memories

[@joedanis2889]

​@lisalynnmarie2448 I road my bike to K-mart almost every Saturday in the late 60's. With my $1.00 per week allowance I would get a 45 rpm record, 1/2 pound of cashews or pumpkin seeds, a Slurpee and a piece of fried chicken from their snack bar. The chicken was quite good.

[@onefatstratcat]

As a musician and sound engineer, I still have a bunch of Radio Shack adapters and such in my case :)

[@californigirl]

Here in Wiilliamsburg Va we had one last independantly owned Radio Shack, called Gizmo's. Sadly the owner retired and closed the store last year. It felt like losing a dear friend.

[@ProfessionalMusicPartners]

One of the members of a large synth forum was once the engineer who designed RS audio mixers and such, in the late 80’s a Radio Shack store sponsored my strolling ‘robot band’ with the hundreds of batteries needed to keep our wearable amps and synths running 🤣

[@supertuber120]

I think my Mom still has my old TRS-80 computer in the back of a closet somewhere.

[@mandovapehater6988]

Ekkard had a pretty good selection of toys too. For a pharmacy. We had a Roses, which was like a Kmart, that also had a diner inside. And we still have a western auto in our town today. Awesome times. Burger chef, revco and the old school walmart store.

[@timsmith2525]

I remember buying Star Trek AMT model kits at Eckerd-and my dad bought all kinds of thinks: toasters, coffee makers.

[@mandovapehater6988]

@@timsmith2525👍

[@rick3747]

I am 58. I have lived 98% of my life here in the Lehigh Valley PA area. We had Falks, Grants, Hess', Sears, Kmart, Two Guys, Service Merchandise, BEST, Jewelcor, Orr's, Leh's, Boscovs(still here), Bon Ton.... My goodness, I miss the shopping, the food, the staff, the vibe.....

[@carolpelletier7631]

Who can forget Spencer’s!

[@naughtydorf18]

hehehehehhehe 😈

[@julesservantofjesus972]

Always the store where I would giggle. LoL 😆

[@billschlafly4107]

I walked past one 2 days ago.

[@Ray-vq2jc]

Spencer's is still in business. At least in North east Florida.

[@lovly2cu725]

not me. i was there last week

[@starmnsixty1209]

Ah, Western Auto and A&P... Vanished memories of a much-missed childhood. Thanks for these nostalgic journey's, RC. Believe all Kmart's are gone now as of the end of October unless a couple of "mini-Kmarts" are stuck in with some of the few Sears still going.

[@Randy7th]

Sears took WAY too long to fire the CEO that sent them down the toilet! They were Amazon and Walmart combined at one point. With the catalog stores, everything was in place for internet shopping...but instead they sold off all their name brands-Kenmore, Diehard, Craftsman...

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

When Eddie Lampert reopens Sears, will you let him welcome you back ???

[@gregmarino5248]

LAMPERT Destroyed the Sears Brand

[@EastStarc]

I'm still mourning Steinmart closing which was in the last 4 years Sad! Sad!

[@BethWondrely]

I remember the TRS-80s. Used those in computer class in high school

[@lelandgaunt9985]

Trash 80😂

[@Doc_Dolan]

In actuality, for the time they were around, they had very good hardware! The Tandy Software is what really sucked. However, with the good hardware, and a "Format C" command, then reload using DOS, and they would go on from there for many years. When RS decided to replace all of the TRS80 point of sale terminals in the stores, I was able to buy quite a few thru my sis-in-law (she was a regional manager), then reprogram them with early versions of Windows. Entire systems cost me only $50.00 (computer, monitor & printer), add $10 for new DOS software and boom - $250 for a computer and dot-matrix printer. Even though the cabinets said "Tandy", I installed screen savers that said "I think I am, I think I am an IBM!" I made great money that summer, re-doing the ones I bought, and quite a few others for folks who already owned them that found out I could convert them! RS mistake was no one wanted to use the crappy Tandy Language, and most commercially available software would not work on them. THAT was RS's main mistake.

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

👾 The Dancing Demon always gave me the middle finger. Peek and Poke still mystify me...

[@kevinluschak5241]

The Blue Light Special I so remember that!

[@Randy-Wright_Edt]

Blockbuster Video

[@Sharon-xn1dm]

Was so fun looking for movies, sad now lol

[@GluteusMax777]

Video1 also

[@ericwells7203]

Hollywood Video

[@danpoutsma1351]

The Wherehouse

[@lisalu910]

Oh yes! Every Friday night, the fun of seeing what the newest releases were and hoping you'd score a copy.

[@Cybo-Man]

Kmart was awesome. I remember the huge toy aisle and the giant circular AC vent on the ceiling

[@footballlvnlady]

I miss Kmart too. We had a department store that started here and went nationwide. Called Shopko. Loved that store too. It was a local family that started it. In the late 90’s a management company bought it and ran them in the ground. We had Sears and Wards too. Didn’t do Wards much. I shopped at Sears mostly for holiday clothes for my daughter. Just drove by where it was located. Now, there’s a big car wash and coffee shop. So sad at all these stores we lost!

[@DLDX]

Sears/Kmart forever!

kmart was the spot

[@nelliemcdowell2575]

You forgot woolworth

[@lisalynnmarie2448]

There weren't any Woolworths stores near our home in Michigan, which was sad.

[@nelliemcdowell2575]

@@lisalynnmarie2448 I worked for woolworth in Houston Texas for 10+ years. I loved it

[@Pisti846]

Woolworth's closed in the 90s, maybe that is why he left it out.

[@Steven-kr2ti]

That was awesome

[@lisalynnmarie2448]

@@nelliemcdowell2575 I bet you did! We had Kresges that I think was our version of Woolworths but I'm sure I have the name wrong!

[@nancyholcombe8030]

I miss the days when it was ok for you and your friends to meet at the mall or local strip mall for lunch and hours of shopping! Half of the time, I would come home with only one or two things but that didn't matter. It was the time spent choosing your purchase, with the help of a good salesperson and the pleasure of the company you were with. You knew the salesperson too, because you shopped there and that one always treated you so kindly! I truly hate how impersonal shopping has become! We had Sears, K Mart, Western Auto, Montgomery Ward, Waldenbooks and Radio Shack at the three malls I used to go to. Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was where you went for the best meats, vegetables and customer service! Eckerd Drugs was right around the corner. Woolworth's was the one store I missed seeing here. Like Sears, it didn't update quickly enough and that hurt it. Silly thing though, was that I would make a fifteen-mile trip to our last Woolworth's when I couldn't find what I was looking for and it would always be there! Some things were truly better when life was slower! 😊

[@significantstrike-nd8cs]

Dang, that shot of the toys r us and the print ad alomost brought a tear to my eye. It looks like the one that was near us. By near i mean about a 45min drive so a trip there was absolutely a treat.

[@MrDan708]

There seems to be a misconception that Toys R Us was killed by the internet/Amazon/Walmart or whatever, but they went down the tubes after a group of investors took it private in a leveraged buyout - and then stuck the debt on the chain's balance sheet. It never recovered.

[@JAbell1966]

Toys R Us didn't close because of changing markets, it wasn't a retail juggernaut but it was still doing well. TRU closed because an investment group bought the company and transferred all of the debt from their other businesses to TRU which bankrupted the company. That group also did a lot of damage to the toy industry as a whole by telling manufacturers during Toy Fair of 2018 that they were doing fine and would still be open for the Christmas season and placing orders for product and then just months later announcing closure of all stores in the United States leaving manufacturers with literal tons of product that had no where to go except straight to close-out stores.

[@jefferysill5539]

Vulture capitalists

[@gregwasserman2635]

There are less than 10 Sears stores left and 5 Kmarts (and only 1 in the lower 48). You can do several more episodes on this topic as many retailers have closed since my youth.

[@ericknoblauch9195]

The last Kmart in the United States is now closing too. All that remains of Kmart now is just a website for online orders.

[@gregwasserman2635]

@@ericknoblauch9195, there is one last Kmart in Miami that is wedged into what was a garden center, 1 in Guam, and 3 in the Virgin Islands.

[@ericknoblauch9195]

@@gregwasserman2635 That store was in the news within the last two weeks. It has been announced it is closing.

[@TheChoochooboy99]

It sounds odd, but Eckerd Drug Store was a favorite of mine growing up as a kid in Tulsa. Especially the one in the old Sheridan Village shopping center. The shopping center has long since been torn down and was replaced by a CVS which is now also closed down. Such great memories of a time now long passed.

[@elainelivingstonky]

every store I went into had a special smell. It’s like you knew you were in Eckerd’s drugstore. I don’t know how they did it, but they all smelled the same.

[@warp9p659]

I bought my first VCR player at Montgomery Ward. It cost a fortune and weighed as much as a boat anchor. It was an RCA and had a corded remote, lol.

[@steverye8872]

When I was a wee Lad my Grandfather had a Curtis Mathes Top loader with a spirally chorded remote. So heavy it bowed the top of the Curtis Mathes TV case.

[@pumpkingirl4229]

I miss my Kmart..the Submarine sandwiches, popcorn, and Cherry Icees..😞

[@rayberger2694]

I still have and use sometimes an old Radio Shake folding speaker that I can plug into my windows 7 laptop or radio. It still works great. I feel like something was stolen from us now that all these stores are gone.

[@SSN515]

My parents and us kids used to shop at a stand alone, big old single building Sears back in the day. Located close to downtown Rochester, NY. Our house had nothing but Kenmore appliances and Craftsman tools. The fridge, washer, dryer, vacuum cleaner, et al, out lasted my parents and were sold at estate sales. We still have and use a lot of the Craftsman tools.

[@thetaekwondoe3887]

Did that become Midtown Plaza?

[@SSN515]

@@thetaekwondoe3887 No. The Seneca Hotel was torn down and was replaced with Midtown Plaza in the early 1960's. Midtown is torn down now and is just a empty "parcel" still, I think. They can't figure out what to do with it. Sears was at 286 Monroe Avenue close to downtown and had a huge parking lot in the back and side. The building and some of the parking lot is still there and it's called "Monroe Square" now. I think it's a healthcare place with some other stuff and shops in there now.

[@gregorygriffin6341]

The common thread here is online shopping. Amazon and the internet ate a lot of these stores up. But like the narrator said, they were/are dear and fond in our memories and hearts.

[@Tomatohater64]

My childhood toy store was always Children's Palace.

[@billschlafly4107]

Loved Children's Palace! It was like an adventure driving to the store with the fancy castle store front. Next to our Children's Palace was Show Time Pizza...going there was rare as hens teeth.

[@Tomatohater64]

@@billschlafly4107 Back in the early and mid '70s, my family would only go there twice a year: for Christmas presents and for birthday presents. And since my sister's birthday is only 10 days before mine, we'd make one trip there in late July to get both our presents. Her birthday at the end of July and mine in early August.

[@andyk6796]

Children's Palace, Children's Palace, Everything a Toy Store Should Be. 🎵

[@Tomatohater64]

@@andyk6796 Around Christmas of 1970 or 1971, I got my all-time favorite toy ever at Children's Palace: a Marx Civil War toy soldier set. Loved it. Played the Battle of Gettysburg over and over and over. Sadly, when we moved in 1978, my mother threw the entire set out but waited weeks to tell me. 😣😖😭😭😭😭😭

[@D-Fens_1632]

A couple years ago a really bad storm with high winds ripped some signage off a building that used to be a Venture, revealing the old Venture sign. Very briefly it was like living in the 80s again.

[@roneastman4457]

In the 70s if you bought a radio at Radio Shack, they gave you a card. Every month they would stamp it towards free batteries to keep the radio going and keep you in the store.

[@RJDA.Dakota]

Used to love that Radio Shack catalogue. The battery every month card was a very useful thing, actually. It also was the go-to place for my shortwave radio listening hobby.

[@earthwormscrawl]

I remember going to Radio Shack with my dad when I was a kid in the 1960's. He'd use the tube tester when replacing vacuum tube to fix the TV. I stopped at a Radio Shack in the late 2000's (or early 2010's) just before they closed and said to the young girl behind the counter that the place was never the same after they removed the tub testers. Her blank stare was priceless.

[@lord_erdrick]

Murphy's Mart, Ames, Hills, all stores I remember, that don't exist anymore. Though, I did read something interesting about Ames coming back in 2026. Pretty wild to think that, with competition the way it is.

[@tomwarner2468]

One reason our a&p closed they moved away from their customer based. They were a neighborhood store that seniors could get to by walking! They moved away from the seniors! Setting up shop close to Walmart didn't help!

[@lovly2cu725]

they were expensive. never heard about walking there unless it was in the 1930 when there were no suburbs

[@cyclenut]

In 1991 I was in a poverty town. An oder couple had their TV killed when lightning struck the power lines close to their house. It was a 19 in RCA and it was on the trash pile. I logged it home an found the fuse blown and the only other thing wrong was a 7809 voltage regulator was dead. For about 3 dollars at Radio Shack. The couple did not believe the TV fixed, till I plugged it in. I only charged 20 bucks. I bought lots of electronic parts for projects. I really miss Radio Shack. Sears Christmas catalog, mechanic tools and fashion clothes. It is unbelievable that Sears is gone. JC Penny also had good clothing. Western Auto in the 60s and 70s had Matchbox cars. I liked them better than Hot Wheels. In 1970 my dad bought a Homelite chainsaw, I still have it. Walden books in the 80 had a computer book section in the back. Using DOS, programs and programming in different languages.

[@jefferysill5539]

The old Tube testers in Genovese

[@andrewjones6693]

I used to work at Radio Shack in the late 70's - early 80's. We couldn't wait until August when the new Radio Shack catalogs would come out. I still have a pair of Realistic Mach One speakers and was just now surprised that a good pair are going for $900 on eBay! 😲

[@coppertopolo]

I remember that next to every Kinney Shoes there was a Robert Hall clothing store. Between the two of them you could completely outfit yourself. Sadly, both are gone now.

[@lovly2cu725]

omg st george avenue Linden nj. im doing my xmas shopping at Robert Hall this year

[@leonsighdoria1919]

Zody's in North Hollywood, CA. My mom bought me a Merlin and a Big Trak back in the day for Christmas one year.

[@broeheemed32]

Toys R Us closed because no one buys toys anymore. "Mom" drops an iPhone in the crib, and they've never let go of it.

[@lovly2cu725]

thats not why they left the usa. they are on line and in Canada

[@lelandgaunt9985]

Devices have raised children since at least 2011.🙄😤🤢

[@supertuber120]

A new one just opened in The Mall of America a couple months ago. So they're not everywhere anymore but there's still a few floating around.

[@latemreggadable]

toys r us closed because of bad financial decisions like babies r us and then their prices just became way too expensive

[@thetaekwondoe3887]

I'm horrible. For toy drives I donate books (either box set chapter books - Boxcar Children, Little House, or similar) or books that require some time spent on them such as Where's Waldo? sets or Can You See What I See? Books (beautiful books, btw). Anything to get kids away from screens for a bit.

[@floridaprepper751]

I miss kmart, toys are us, and montgomery wards. Those were some really cool stores.

[@EricNTammy304]

I learned BASIC on a TRS80 in the front of an Ohio Radio Shack.

[@jarekstorm6331]

I still have my 16k RAM TRS-80 Color Computer.

[@Uns_Maps_8]

Radio Shack was truly unbelievable

[@Markimark151]

I don’t think you should’ve put Toys R Us, Kmart, and Sears on this list since they could’ve been saved had it not been for the leverage buyout thanks to real estate developers who wanted the properties for housing real estate, it has nothing to with their business model! Management politics ruined those companies.

[@johnb.7979]

Late '70's as a 10 yr old kid, I remember the one and ONLY time I bolted across a Kmart for a 'Blue Light Special', the special was on MODEL CAR KITS! YES! At the time, decent kits were around $3-$5 so when I heard 'none over .99 cents', I was gone! My Mom even encouraged me, when she heard the announcement, she simply said "GO! I'll catch up!" I had a couple of dollars on me from chores, and my Mom gave me an 'advance' so I ended up with 5 kits for about the same price as one at regular price. Now, a 'good' kit starts at what? $50-$60? No wonder kids (and adults) don't build them anymore. *sigh* (yeah, yeah, I know, not quite the '80's story, but the talk of Kmart brought back this memory...)

[@jons.6216]

Gemco is definitely one I miss. The one where I grew up was close enough to bike to or take a longer walk. When it closed it became a large Target and has been ever since. Target is not at all the same shopping experience!

[@joeheid2776]

I used to always get my shoes at Kinney's.

[@lovly2cu725]

Thom McCann

[@Redcell6A]

You had me with the very first/opening picture. Never a time machine around when you need it.

[@drewblue1164]

Walking into Toys R Us as a kid was like walking into Disney World.

[@LajitasRain]

I felt that way into my 30's.

[@goodoakpress]

I've never heard of Venture, but I sure miss Gemco and Kinney Shoes. Kinney was big when I was in high school, and I could afford to shop there. Every fall I bought a new pair of shoes from Kinney for the school year. And unlike Costco or Sam's Club, you didn't have to own a business to get a Gemco card, and it only cost a dollar. Gemco was my go-to store when I was in college. I also miss Kenmore appliances. They were always dependable and lasted for years.

[@gotmike101]

I live in N.B. Canada and we still have a Toys R' Us!

[@caroleckstein3541]

I miss the bookstores but I’m one of those people who turned to Amazon for all my book buying and eventual Kindle purchases which I adore!

[@christinewilliams5713]

Bibliophile, here. I still do both. It took years for my aunt to convince me to get a kindle... I finally got one to take books to the beach. I still love printed books, though: the smell, the beautiful front cover artwork, turning actual pages, or owning an autographed copy. Glad to still have a Barnes & Noble to sit in, sip a drink, and page through physical books. But now I only buy printed copies of books that I know I'll reread. The kindle keeps me from having 9,000 books cluttering up my home, lol.

[@caroleckstein3541]

@ You sound like me as the reasons I avoided the kindle for years. However, now that I have a kindle I am no longer able to read an actual book. My motto is once you go kindle you can’t go back.

[@wolfpacva]

What about 2 GUYS from Harrison and E J Korvettes. These were 2 of my favorite stores.

[@Found4655]

2 Guys!! Yezzz!!😂

[@lelandgaunt9985]

Who

[@lovly2cu725]

bought vinyl records at Korvettes in woodbridge Nj. was built where there was a drive in movie.

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

😄 Roseanne Roseannadanna bought her cheap little blouses at Korvettes. It's always something...

[@birdsfan57]

Me too. Spent many after school days browsing through the albums section back in the 70's. Even met The Brady Bunch (Barry Wiiliams, Chris Knight, Maureen Mccormick) when they made a promotional appearance in the record dept at their South Jersey store, back in 1973.

[@MoeSlislack]

I want my radio shack back!!!

[@ishotu747]

You forgot Zayre and Ames Department Store

[@sashasue00]

I don't know Zayre, but miss Ames, and Jamesway!

[@cvanderbilttiii5200]

Great presentation taking us back. Stores I remember in the 1980’s: LaBelle’s , FedMart , Diamonds/Dillard’s & The Broadway.

[@raananh-w2j]

Drugstores such as CVS (Consumer Value Stores) and Walgreens are next to go. Totally clueless on how to run their stores which are everywhere. WAY WAY too expensive for no reason. Very bad management.

[@LookToWindward]

Their stuff is expensive for the same reason it’s expensive in a convenience store. Rite Aid is a mess but CVS isn’t going anywhere.

[@raananh-w2j]

@@LookToWindward Not true. While CVS / Walgreen was never cheap, YOU and I were buying there because the prices were fair. Now, even with a LENGTHY "%6 off this item or that item" receipt from CVS, I would not buy a thing. I stopped buying anything there. Also, cheaper, more convenient and more selection on Amazon. CVS and Walgreen are doomed! DOOMED!!!

[@raananh-w2j]

@@LookToWindward Also remember: CVS = Consumer Value Stores were once very cheap, even when they had stores inside malls. It was the cheapest place to get things in the whole mall.

[@julesservantofjesus972]

​​@@raananh-w2j CVS used to be Revco. In fact when I worked for CVS back in 1999, our checks still said Revco.

[@julesservantofjesus972]

I agree with you about Walgreen's especially & CVS! They are shutting down stores like crazy! Where are people going to get their prescriptions?

[@glennscotti8891]

Kmart was my first job in high school in the early 90s. It was always busy and Christmas was pure insanity. To this day it was still my favorite job.

[@nonenonnenopenonenomorefor5556]

Missing sears k mart radio shack the blue light special!!!!

[@johnlewisbrooks]

I'd give ANYTHING to go back to the 80s...

[@beepbeep164]

I miss bugging my parents for toys at Kmart and Toys R Us

[@thomasallen3818]

My wife and I used to joke that we should have had stock in Toys R Us because with four kids aged 14 to 18 months apart, we spent a lot of time and money at the toy store. If it was a toy on the market, Toys R Us had it. We’d let the kids go through and make a list of toys they wanted, then we’d go back alone and pick out equal amounts for each of them. Our grandkids have missed out on the joys of toy shopping.

[@RecollectionRoad]

Do you have any favorite memories from any of these stores? I spent a lot of time at Western Auto when I first started driving.

[@angeldesigns1385]

My mom used to be a manager at K-mart back in the 80’s so I got a lot of the toys that were opened up and couldn’t be sold! Especially the G.I. Joes and matchbox/hot wheels that came in single time seal packaging 😃

[@johnjeffreys6440]

Made in Taiwan. I often wonder why I never see many manufacturers in the US. I also wonder if people in Taiwan see labels on their products that say, "Made in the USA."

[@lovly2cu725]

@@johnjeffreys6440 so you werent born b4 the 1980s

[@johnjeffreys6440]

@@lovly2cu725 68

[@Strikker-h2z]

my last visit to Kmart was in July 2019 and Dawson Creek Canada on my way back from Alaska. And it looked very much like it did in the 1970s. 10:56

[@rawbacon]

They could be saved. My sister worked on the Kmart reorganization for years but Kmart refused to listen to them and after many years they had to drop Kmart as a customer because they refused to take action........They could be save but refused to be saved.