What store/stores did you go to as child to get spring clothing, shoes, etc,/food, that is no longer in business? mine

[debm55]

is A & P for food and Kaufmanns for clothing.

[Walleye]

1. We had a store in Dover called Emmanuel's. It was the first name of the owner. I can't remember the last name.

But it was the upscale store for women’s clothing. My grandmother worked there for quite a long time, you could get great shoes there.

[debm55]

2. Thank you very much, Walleye.

[Eugene]

3. Jordan Marsh, Bradlees for clothing

SS Kresge and Child World for toys and games.
Hanlon's for shoes.
Lechmere for electronics

[debm55]

5. Thank you very much, Eugene. Too bad that they are all gone.

[Tadpole Raisin]

16. Bradley's and Lechmere, yes!!

And Caldor before that.
I was standing in Caldor at the TV section when the Challenger exploded, sigh.

[FirstLight]

4. MERVYN'S

God, haven't thought of that in YEARS! we used to hit the "eastmont mall" in the sketchy part of Oakland near our house, it was always an adventure...and they had an Orange Julius!

God, I can smell the Mervyn's store and that mall right now! crazy!

[debm55]

6. Thank you very much, FirstLight. I remember the Orange Julius from my local mall, too. And all the stores.

[Basso8vb]

23. The old Mervyn's on Hamilton Avenue in Campbell was remodeled into a Safeway about 20 years ago.

You can still see the remnants of the marquee on the side of the store.

I went there for clothes and all of my scout gear.

[OLDMDDEM]

7. Hinky Dinky for food and Golds for clothing. (in Nebraska)

[debm55]

14. Thank you very much OLDMDDEM, Love the names.

[Tadpole Raisin]

8. Z. A. Y. R. E. , ZAYRE! But it was so long ago! nt

[SheltieLover]

10. Thx! I'd forgotten about ZAYRE

[Tadpole Raisin]

12. For some reason I remember their fish tanks at the back of the store.

Weird.

That flashing zayre sign always sticks in my mind too.

[SheltieLover]

13. Lol

I don't recall fish tanks, but I have vivid memories of the penny horse ride at Zayre & A&P.

[debm55]

19. I remember those!!!! Thank you SheltieLover.

[SheltieLover]

24. I loooooved those horse rides!

[Tadpole Raisin]

26. They were a nickel right?

I think my mother let me ride the horse after shopping if I was good in the store.

Bribery! I just didn’t know it then.

[debm55]

17. Heck I remember ZAYRE stores. Thank you Tadpole Raisin.

[SheltieLover]

9. Corvette's, K-Mart, Sears, Campbell's

Lots of them. All out of biz now.

[debm55]

20. All so true, SheltieLove.

[SheltieLover]

11. Woolworth's, SS Kresge, Boston Store

Thx for the trip down memory lane.

[debm55]

32. Thank you SheltieLover. I don't think we had any Boston Store. though.

[Srkdqltr]

15. J L Hudson , downtown Detroit.

[brush]

18. Montgomery Wards, Sears, Kress, McClellands, Gimbles.

[debm55]

33. Thank you very brush.. I remember them all except for McClellands.

[Basso8vb]

21. Kinney Shoes, Miller's Outpost, Mervyn's

and especially Marshall's when I was growing like a weed and outgrew shoe sizes in months, sometimes weeks!

Foot Locker became a go-to store in my mid to late 80s teen years.

[debm55]

34. Thank you Basso8vb. Thank you for sharing with us.

[Freddie]

22. Sears for kids clothes

They had a punch-card thing that gave you a greater discount if you spent so much. I always found nice, inexpensive clothes for my kids (90’s) until my daughter became a teenager and had to have the labels that were so important back then. She gets her own kids’ clothes at Target.

[debm55]

35. I love it, Thank you very much Freddie.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

25. The State Street Mill in Utica, NY

in the 1950s, early '60s.

[debm55]

36. Thank you very much PoindexterOglethorpe.

[FalloutShelter]

27. Gimbles Dept. Store

Last edited Thu Apr 17, 2025, 01:23 PM - Edit history (1)

1842-1987

We made a pilgrimage there every year when we were kids. The large store in Newark had a small restaurant, and we would dress up and shop for our Easter clothes with my mom and Grandmother.

[debm55]

37. Same here FalloutShelter.

[FalloutShelter]

46. So you're a Jersey Girl?

[CurtEastPoint]

28. Belk's (still around but called 'Belk') and Ivey's (long gone) in Charlotte

[debm55]

39. Thank you very much, CurtEastPoint. I have ordered from Belk online.

[CurtEastPoint]

47. I can remember the big downtown store very well. Escalators with wooden slats for steps, elevators with operators

[debm55]

49. Our Store in Pittsburgh---Kaufmanns had the escalator with wooden steps and the elevator operators. At the top of the

store was a restaurant

[CurtEastPoint]

51. I can hear the kabonk kabonk sound they would make when the reached the top or bottom and went under.

[redstatebluegirl]

29. My mom bought our school clothes at Sears.

Also all of our jeans and boots for showing cattle.

[debm55]

40. Thank you very much redstatebluegirl

[TexLaProgressive]

30. That's a long list

Most of clothing and shoes came from locally owned stores, even the department stores. Groceries came from Mom and Pop stores and supermarkets that were city wide but not even close to statewide.

I was complaining about the loss of the last men's clothing store 15 years ago. The big chains don't concern themselves about what I want.

Sorry for the rant from an old curmudgeon. I just passed 3/4 of a century last month, so maybe I'm entitled. Waving his stick at big box stores.

[debm55]

42. I agree with you TexLaProgressive. I liked the locally owned stores here in SW. PA, They are all gone now.

[RoadRunner]

31. Monkey Wards

& sometimes Sears. They had a machine where you put your feet in and see an X-Ray to see if shoes fit properly. Probably why my toes are numb today.

[debm55]

43. HAHAHAHAHAHAH. That's funny. I forgot about Monkey Wards. I bought my bike there. Only had one and it was from MW.

[oberle]

38. Woodward and Lothrop

Or Woodies for short. We used to go to the one in downtown Washington DC. They had a wonderful restaurant with the best malted milkshakes. My mom worked there on weekends so I think we got a discount. It was such a treat to go down there to get Easter clothes.

[debm55]

44. Thank you very much for sharing your memories with us. oberle

[some_of_us_are_sane]

41. SEARS

Without question.

[debm55]

45. Thank you very much. At one time, Sears and Penney"s were my stores.

[Earl_from_PA]

48. 5 and dime stores

G.C. Murphy
F.W. Woolworth's
Hills

[sakabatou]

50. For movies, it was Blockbuster

[elleng]

52. Abraham & Strauss for clothing, and A&P for food (The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company.)

Bonwit Teller for special clothing.

[SamKnause]

53. Sears, K-Mart, Twin Fair, Big Wheel, Pamida, Rawsons, IGA, Woolworth's and Liberal.

Sears, K-Mart, Twin Fair, Big Wheel, Pamida, Woolworth's for clothes, toys, household items etc.

IGA, Rawsons, and Liberal for groceries

[BlueKota]

54. Woolworths, and Nichols

[NNadir]

55. Robert Hall's. Definitely lower middle class stuff, appropriate for my family.

[debm55]

56. We did our school shopping at Robert Hall's

[Dorothy V]

57. Base Exchanges and Commisaries are still a thing, but ..,

Five of the Air Bases we were stationed at are now closed.

[Nittersing]

58. Acme for groceries, Sears for just about everything else. nt

[catbyte]

59. Wurzburgs in Grand Rapids, MI

It was a big department store, something we didn't have in the middle-of-nowhere northern Michigan we moved to when I was 4. We'd drive down to GR every Memorial Day weekend to tend a relative's grave and to go shopping. I remember always wanting to go to the 5th floor because that's where all the toys were, and I'd always get a new outfit for my Barbie.

The building is now the headquarters of the Grand Rapids Police Department, sigh..

[Cirsium]

60. Detroit

Kresge’s, Hudson's, Crowley's, Neisner's, Federal's Department store, Farmer Jack's, Chatham's ...

There were a lot of little local clothing and food stores. I can't remember their names now. Then there was City Records, who got the latest Motown releases before anyone else did.

[Aristus]

61. There was a little store in Sierra Vista, Arizona in the early 1970's called The Small Fry Shop.

Kids clothing. I think the owner's name was actually Fry.

I'm sure it went out of business decades ago.

[ProfessorGAC]

62. Al Baskin & The Boston Store

Al Baskin was a suit & jacket place for men, but the 3rd floor was the California Room for women. (The basement was boys, 2nd floor was men.) They didn't have girls' clothing. There was Fahrenbackers for that. My wife got her girl's outfits there, and her school uniforms.
The Boston Store was a department store like a Marshall Field or Macy's. A new bigger towns outside of Chicago had them.
None of the 4 have been in business since the 90s. Maybe even earlier.

[Eugene]

63. ... and not to be forgotten, Filene's Basement

and the Filene's main store above it at their flagship location in Downtown Boston.

[Clouds Passing]

64. A & P, IGA, Venture, Peaches Records & Tapes

[Comrade Citizen]

65. Long time ago

Hills - where the toys are
Winn Dixie, Bruno's - food
TG&Y, ALCO, bEST, Service Merchandise, Sanger-Harris, Foley's, Stripling & Cox, COX's, McRae's, Caster Knott, Parisian - dept stores
Hypermart USA, Auchan - hypermarts

[surrealAmerican]

66. Korvettes, jcPenney's or Sears ...

... If I needed shoes it was Thom McCan's.

[chowmama]

67. Pranges department store

Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

[Mad_Dem_X]

68. Sears

My mom would drag my sister and me to Sears and make us try on clothes, which we hated to do. We were such brats; we complained practically the entire time. We certainly tested Mom's patience.

[LogDog75]

69. Sears

That's where my mom would buy all our clothes.

[OldBaldy1701E]

70. Richfoods, S&P for food.

Sears, Peebles, Ivey's, and K-Mart for clothes.