Defunct Discount Department Stores

[ronandannette]

We have bugger all but Wal-Mart and i won't shop there. Luckily, Superstore has underpants that aren't $6/pair because each comes on its own wee hanger. I can get all the clothes I want at work but no underpants.

I think fondly of the grand, tacky, weird-smelling 5-and-dime stores of my childhood: The Met, Woolworths & Saan Store. Nothing left now, but I do think Army & Navy might still be open.

Yep I'm in BC and grew up in the 80's with Woolco, Woolworths and Zellers. Could Woodwards be considered a discount department store or were they more like Sears/The Bay?

Sad to see my local Zellers/Target still sitting empty. Nothing has been done with our local store yet and my oldest keeps asking me why can't they just open up another Target lol

Lord I miss Zellers - I never imagined I would until we all saw how disappointing Target turned out to be. I'd love somebody to wave a magic wand and put all the Zellers back where they used to be.

 

[E&Cmom]

Yes, I was referring to Walmart/KMart type stores, but all replies are welcome. I like seeing the names of old stores in various parts of the country, and I recognized a few.

For Canada, I remember going into a Zellers. Also remember Eaton's. I trust that The Bay/La Baie is still in business.
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Yes, the Bay is in still in Business. They recently recharged their name and signage to " Hudson Bay". Eaton's was a large department store and I remember Simpsons as well which closed in the early 90s.

 

[E&Cmom]

I think fondly of the grand, tacky, weird-smelling 5-and-dime stores of my childhood: The Met, Woolworths & Saan Store. Nothing left now, but I do think Army & Navy might still be open.

We still have Army and Navy here in BC and it still smells weird. Lol.

 

[Planogirl]

If we're including all types of stores I'll add Foley's and Casual Corner. I liked both of them a lot.

 

[brooke789]

My hometown was the home of a regional cl Thing and home goods dept store, BC Moores. Anyone remember them? They were bought out by Goodys a few years ago, so any that were left are now under that name.

I remember shopping at Roses which was like a lower class version of Walmart. They're making a comeback, too. They just opened up one not too far from us. Not sure what they sell now, but when we went as a kid it was like the old style Walmarts, but without e clothes.

Also, did anyone mention Brendles? We had one and didn't shop there often bc my mom said the prices were high, but if you ever got a gift that needed returning it was the place to go because you got a lot of cash!

 

[RedAngie]

Yep, we still have a Burlington Coat Factory open about 5 miles from my house.

Sorry, I thought someone upthread mentioned Burlington Coat Factory, but I was mistaken. The one near me closed several years ago, and I thought the whole chain went under. But I see there are plenty open across the country.

If we're including all types of stores I'll add Foley's and Casual Corner. I liked both of them a lot.

Sure, whatever types of closed stores people want to mention.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

ACME Bomb Company. Very sad day for coyote when that happened.

 

[txdisneymama]

So Cal raised ... I remember Fedco and Gemco that have been mentioned. And Service Merchandise. Also had Mervyn's, Broadway, and May Co. ... but those weren't quite discount stores.

Does Pic N Save still exist? I loved that place!

 

[MomofKatie]

I grew up in Atlanta- we had:

Richway- a discount version of Rich's (which became Macy's). Very similar to modern Target stores.
Service Merchandise- we got a lot of cheap IKEA type furniture there as newlyweds.
Woolco- big box version of Woolworth.
Kmart
Mervyns- my mom LOVED this store. Was like an early version of Kohl's.


Whatever happened to Goody's?? They were all over Charlotte, then suddenly went away about 7-8 years ago. They were like a Southern version of Kohl's.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

So Cal raised ... I remember Fedco and Gemco that have been mentioned. And Service Merchandise. Also had Mervyn's, Broadway, and May Co. ... but those weren't quite discount stores.

Does Pic N Save still exist? I loved that place!

Thank you! I was wracking my brain to remember the name of Pic N Save! I kept thinking Payless but knew that wasn't it. I loved Pic N Save!

Add Buffums to the list of higher end California department stores. My 80 year old mom was a Buffums Girl at the Long Beach store during high school. You had to interview and get selected. One girl per each area high school was chosen to be a liaison for her school and work at the store.

Also do any of you SoCal folks remember the ice cream counters at Thrifty Drugstore locations? They served cylinder shaped scoops for a dime!

 

[RedAngie]

ACME Bomb Company. Very sad day for coyote when that happened.

There was and still is an Acme supermarket chain in the Philly area. Sister to Jewel-Osco, Albertson's and a few others.





When I was a kid, I always wondered why the Acmes I went to never sold bombs, or rocket powered roller skates, or similar items.

 

[PollyannaMom]

This is a neat thread!

I do remember Grants and Newberry's from when I was a kid in NY. Grants was in my little town, and Newberry's was near my grandmother's (a couple of towns over) I think.

We actually still had a Woolworth's when I first moved to MA in the mid 90s. We had Bradlees and Ames nearby for a while, and still have a K-Mart not too far away.

McCroy's and Caldor sound familiar, too, but I can't place them as clearly as the others. Maybe McCrory's was at a mall we used to go to??

 

[bcla]

So Cal raised ... I remember Fedco and Gemco that have been mentioned. And Service Merchandise. Also had Mervyn's, Broadway, and May Co. ... but those weren't quite discount stores.

Does Pic N Save still exist? I loved that place!

I worked a summer job in the shipping industry, and Pic N Sav was one of our clients. We moved containers full of their stuff across the country. They changed their name to MacFrugals in the 90s before being bought out by Big Lots.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

There was and still is an Acme supermarket chain in the Philly area. Sister to Jewel-Osco, Albertson's and a few others.





When I was a kid, I always wondered why the Acmes I went to never sold bombs, or rocket powered roller skates, or similar items.

I'm just glad someone got the joke.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Txdisneymama, I loved Pic n Save growing up! I am from LA and they were many of them. I have vague memory of getting stickers for like 15 cents and other stuff real cheap. My Grandpa loved going there. I believe Big Lots bought them out. I do now sometimes go to BL and they are handy but I definitely miss Pic N Save! Sort of related, one of the 99 cent only stores closest to me years ago was Bargain Circus--my only true emmory of that is a red mouse (not Mickey) stuffed animal Grandpa got me. I loved it because I loved Grandpa

I also used to shop at Mervyn's. To me they were a lower priced Kohl's...maybe more like Sears years ago? Sears out here these days often seem deserted of shoppers yet lots of stuff and kinda dark inside the store. I much prefer K-Mart. There are still a few of those in this general area (from 10 minutes to 45 minutes). Someone mentioned Foleys. I THINK I went there a few times in the 90's with my Grandma in Houston.

My bedroom air conditioner unit came from FedCo. I want to say I remember Gemco but really don't, name stirs a small bell lol.

Growing up there were also May Company Stores that later became Robinsons May. When I lived in NorCal we had Gottschalks. I do remember going to a Marshall Fields when Grandma and I visited Chicago and how much she loved the candy they sold there or am I thinking of something else...I think it started with an "F.." maybe Fanny May, is that right?

Target didn't start sprouting up until mid later 90's and my immediate area has no Wal-Mart, I wish it did. One will eventually coming to Burbank.

I remember in Houston going to a 5 and Dime Store and thinking that was so cool! Not sure I ever went to Woolworth's, I believe I went to a Newberry's at least once or twice.

A lot of strip mall centers now all seem to have Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's. I did go to a JC Penney today. To me Kohl's (with sales/coupons) is often a better bargain. I do remember Fred Meyer and how HUGE that seemed to me the first time I went there.

Lol, I am not a shopping fan really so funny to remember and think about all these places, some good memories though

 

[NewRVLady]

I am in the sOuth... To me Howard Brothers was like a pre- Walmart

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Has anyone mentioned, or familiar with, Ayr-Way?

 

[GaryDis]

I remember all the NYC stores mentioned, grew up near an Alexander's.

There used to be a chain in the Boston area named Lechmere. The closest equivalent today would be Best Buy. I still think of them when taking the Green Line to the Museum of Science, as the next and last stop on the line is still called the Lechmere station.

 

[Missy1961]

Mays and Alexander's. Both were lower end department stores in the NY area that sold mostly clothing. Not really comparable to Walmart, more like JC Penney or Sears.

There was a huge Alexander's in Manhattan on the ground floor of the World Trade Center from the time the twin towers first opened.

i worked in Mays when I was a freshman in college. they closed sometime after that. I loved that place.

and I loved Alexander's as well. I used to shop in the one in Roosevelt Field all the time.

And I miss TSS, Korvette's and Caldor too. I used to shop in the Woolworth's on 34th Street in NYC on my lunch hour back in the day. I came across some yarn I bought there a few months ago, stuffed in the back of a closet.

 

[Missy1961]

When I was kid we had Two Guys and Times Square. Then, we got a Caldor.
I also remember Consumers and Service Merchandise...both catalog type places.

Targets came around in the late 90's and Walmart's in the early 2000's.

In the 80's we had the big indoor flea markets...like Tri-county and busy bee. How else would I have gotten ridiculously large costume earring to go with my big hair?

When my brother and I were in college, we used to go to the flea markets to get video games for his Atari. Good times.