Defunct Discount Department Stores

[bsblady01]

And as of april is sounds like kmart is closing stores.

 

[kmermaid]

The Two Guys we had had a small bowling alley (like a skee ball but it is was bowling pins) in it and outside it had a soft pretzel stand that had the best pretzels.

 

[Angelrose]

Oh I remember another one that was in Atlantic City. Garwood Mills. Really cheap stuff, but they had some nice clothes. I remember finding a pink sweater that I really wanted. My mom said I could have it if I saved up for it. So I hid the sweater underneath all the other sweaters. When I finally had enough money, I bought that sweater. I think it was part alpaca wool. I loved that sweater and wore it until it actually just fell apart. Funny how you remember silly things like that.

 

[North of Mouse]

We had Gibson's (one of the first 'big box' stores), Service Merchandise, Globe, Woolworths, Morgan & Lindsey, Levys

 

[RedAngie]

Another type of defunct store I remember was a restricted store called GEX. It was for government employees and their families and maybe military too. One uncle worked for the county and we went with him a few times. Similar to the typical discount store of the day. I think you could even order a new car there. They had a carnival in the parking lot every summer.

 

[bookgirl]

TG&Y, Otasco, Montgomary Wards (originator of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer), John A Brown, CR Anthonys (the clerks put your payment in a pneumatic tube back in the money office fascinated me as a kid), Service Merchandise, S&H Greenstamps store, Foleys

 

[sasywtch]

West Coast...
White Front
Gemco

You took the two I was going to say. Gemco, LOVED them because you could get groceries and clothes in the same store! Another one is the May Company included Consumer's Distributing of which I was a manager years ago. They were also one of the write the catalog number down and out it came from the conveyer belt stores.

 

[sasywtch]

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!

Rite Aid has Thrifty ice cream in the cylinder scoops unfortunately, not a dime anymore.

 

[ibob52]

Rite Aid has Thrifty ice cream in the cylinder scoops unfortunately, not a dime anymore.

West Coast ~ Thrifty* ~ sold their ice cream ~ a nickel a scoop

5-10-15 cents ~ single-double-triple ~ sugar or regular cone

*way back when I was a youngster*

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I forgot about Ben Franklin. It seems now that where those used to be, they are now occupied by a Dollar General or Family Dollar.

 

[Disneylover99]

Growing up in the Toronto area, Bargain Harold's and Bi-Way were the two stores to go to for really cheap crap. Essentially they were the dollar stores of the 70's/80's before we even used the term dollar store.

 

[intheworks]

Hills Department Store.Best store ever!Loved shopping there, they had a snack counter when you went in with frozen cokes and the best popcorn.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

.

Two things I have to add to your list:
1. Genovese Drug Store (if you are native to Long Island, NY)
2. The Wiz ("Nobody Beats the Wiz!") which was sorta like PC Richards and Sons

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about but now remember Nobody Beats the Wiz.

Oh I remember another one that was in Atlantic City. Garwood Mills. Really cheap stuff, but they had some nice clothes. I remember finding a pink sweater that I really wanted. My mom said I could have it if I saved up for it. So I hid the sweater underneath all the other sweaters. When I finally had enough money, I bought that sweater. I think it was part alpaca wool. I loved that sweater and wore it until it actually just fell apart. Funny how you remember silly things like that.

That sounds vaguely familiar. I remember something called Garwood that was near or at the Jersey Shore.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

The French hypermarket Carrefour opened two locations in the early 90s. One in the PA suburbs north of Philly and one in South Jersey. They dwarfed even the largest current Walmart supercenters. Both only lasted a few years. I guess America wasn't ready for such a concept.

The one is South Jersey was subdivided into a Kohl's, a Marshall's, a Raymour & Flanigan furniture store, and a Pathmark supermarket. (Pathmark closed a few years ago). The furniture store was briefly a Service Merchandise before that chain went kaput.

 

[bethbuchall]

Twin Fair
Gold Circle
Woolworth's
Brand Names
Ames

It's funny because most of these stores were like Walmart and Target. Wonder in the the next 20-25 years what will replace WalMart and Target?

I'm thinking that you must come from the same part of the country as I do. While I know some of the other stores that people list, this sounds most like what we had growing up. Our Ames was originally a Neisner's.

 

[sailorstitch]

3D
Children's Palace

 

[Dan Murphy]

Dispensa's Kiddie Kingdom.

 

[lakelandgal70]

We had PharMor and Woolworths. I truly miss PharMor

 

[moon]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Burdines (which became Macy's). I remember Woolworth, the only store of its type in Miami Beach (South Beach). Great Sunday's and Banana Splits. I couldn't believe it when it closed (about 15 years ago).

 

[VandVsmama]

I grew up in the SF Bay Area in San Jose. Back in the 80's, we had:

Woolworth's
TG&Y
Mervyn's
Gottschalks
Pic N Save

not really discount stores, but:
I Magnin
Bullocks

I miss the Tower Records stores, too. I did a lot of hanging out in those stores as a teenager.

Grocery stores, we used to have an Alpha Beta near my house. I used to see ABCO around, too.