Businesses that are defunct that you are pissed about closing

[empirestate]

Big Nick's burger & pizza joint at 77th and Broadway. Absolutely livid.

Colony Music, 49th and Times Square. Extremely chagrined.

Around Rochester, NY it was the opposite, with one exception: road maps.  This was a natural consequence of Barnes and Noble having stores that were physically twice as big.  What's also interesting is the different expansion strategies: Barnes and Noble would saturate an area and be very common, while Borders would have only one store per area but cover more areas.  In many towns, Borders was the only large bookstore around, but they always played second fiddle to Barnes and Noble in the larger markets.

Borders used to actually carry USGS topos. But another reason for their supremacy was simply existing in the area before B&N ever even appeared.

More than Borders specifically, I lament the closing of brick-and-mortar map stores in general. In Rochester, Scrantom's was another great source for these, as was the Map Source, which moved around a bit before shutting down. World Wide News too, although they're still open and I haven't been inside recently to see how their selection is.

[PHLBOS]

Spag's

My brother was telling me about that place when he first moved to central MA circa 1991.  Unfortunately, I was already living in PA at the time; so I never had the chance to check it out during family/holiday visits.

I didn't realize that it was sold to the Building #19 chain (filed for bankrupcy in 2013).

Speaking of which, a friend of my mother's misses the old Building #19 stores; particularly the Lynn one (#19-7/8).  That one closed nearly a decade ago.

[renegade]

-  And finally, for you Canadian residents or visitors -- Mother's Pizza...Worth the trip over from Detroit.

Wow, do I ever miss that place!

[ftballfan]

I saw Blockbuster mentioned here, and while I liked that place, I much preferred the "mom and pop" type of video store.  There was one near me that used to host Nintendo tournaments, always had a few games popped into a console I could try out while my parents looked for movies, and even had an infamous "back room" my friends and I would attempt to peek in as kids.  Ha ha ha.

I am in agreement there.  There used to be one here called Couch Potato Video which had as good a selection as Blockbuster, but then Blockbuster and Hollywood Video killed them off.  Now that Blockbuster is gone, there's really no good place around here to rent old movies, because it seems like Redbox has only the most current movies.

Family Video?  They're very much still around, but I don't know how far outside of northern Illinois they exist.

Many in the midwest and south:  http://www.familyvideo.com/locations.php

Family Video is big in Michigan.

[ftballfan]

My hometown used to have a Big Boy and it actually did well. I have a feeling there would still be one if the owner didn't lie. The plot where it was is now home to Walgreen's and during this whole time, the owner said she was going to put in a replacement location on some land she owned (and may still own) a little bit down the road. Turns out it never came and we're still waiting for Big Boy to return eight years later. In fact, its last day was the top story on one of the local news stations.

[DandyDan]

I saw Blockbuster mentioned here, and while I liked that place, I much preferred the "mom and pop" type of video store.  There was one near me that used to host Nintendo tournaments, always had a few games popped into a console I could try out while my parents looked for movies, and even had an infamous "back room" my friends and I would attempt to peek in as kids.  Ha ha ha.

I am in agreement there.  There used to be one here called Couch Potato Video which had as good a selection as Blockbuster, but then Blockbuster and Hollywood Video killed them off.  Now that Blockbuster is gone, there's really no good place around here to rent old movies, because it seems like Redbox has only the most current movies.

Family Video?  They're very much still around, but I don't know how far outside of northern Illinois they exist.

They have one in Bellevue, NE,  but I'm not driving to the part of Bellevue it's in just to get a movie.

Just to follow up, I just noticed this weekend the old Blockbuster I used to go to, in La Vista, NE, is now a Family Video.

[kurumi]

In our childhood Connecticut town, a Dairy Queen (of which there was only one) closed, replaced by a bank (of which there were already approximately 6.02 x 10^23).

[capt.ron]

Back when I lived in Anaheim, CA, there were some cool department stores: Zody's, The Treasury, and Gemco. Also... Fed-Mart, Alpha-Beta (a grocery store), and Skaggs drug store.
Restaurants, I remember Chubby Burger (which turned into a Wienerschnitzel) and trampolines were behind the restaurant. Also remember Bobs Big Boy.
The Buena Park Mall used to have the May Company, which is now occupied by a Wal-Mart supercenter , Where JCPenney was is now a movie theater.
When my family moved to Arkansas, I remember a Tasty-Freeze. Never been to one though. Also, Minuteman and Andy's

[Dr Frankenstein]

Taverne Magnan, widely considered to have served the best roast beef in Montreal.

Its Dec. 2014 closing had to do with falling sales, apparently caused by incessant road work in the area, its location in a lower working class / industrial neighbourhood and the fact that millenials are looking for something classier and more modern than a "tavern" (i.e. yuppies who think that a good dinner can only be found in a fancy and/or creative restaurant). The fact that it was one of the most well known restaurants in the city didn't seem to help that much. It's a shame, their food was excellent and I already miss that place.

[on_wisconsin]

Shoney's (Before it retreated down south)

[noelbotevera]

Borders - I loved the book stores. There was one in Hagerstown, MD that I liked thanks to the cafe to buy food, lie on chairs, and read books. We still go to Hagerstown (only a 20 minute drive - not too bad) for the movies now. Bummer. Fun fact: While my dad was living in Dearborn, Michigan (he was a student in Detroit's schools for a master's degree), he actually went to the first Borders. It opened in the mid 80's (I think 1986 - my dad was still in Dearborn).

[catch22]

Borders - I loved the book stores. There was one in Hagerstown, MD that I liked thanks to the cafe to buy food, lie on chairs, and read books. We still go to Hagerstown (only a 20 minute drive - not too bad) for the movies now. Bummer. Fun fact: While my dad was living in Dearborn, Michigan (he was a student in Detroit's schools for a master's degree), he actually went to the first Borders. It opened in the mid 80's (I think 1986 - my dad was still in Dearborn).

The original Borders on South State Street in Ann Arbor dated from the early 70s and occupied several small two-story storefronts, all linked together via doorways cut into the walls.  You had to be careful walking around on the second floor, since the floors didn't line up exactly.   I remember they had a very large collection of topo maps in large pull-out drawers.  I miss that place a lot. 

During the expansion era, they moved around the corner to the vacated Jacobson's department store on Liberty Street, but it was just like any other of the newer stores after that, full of stationery, cards, trinkets, games and not so many books.  I don't miss that place as much.

[doorknob60]

Taco John's. They still exist as a company, but the closest one to me now is in Mountain Home, over 60 miles away. Maybe I'll stop by when I drive through there, but oh well. Cheap food (even compared to Taco Bell and similar) and a bit better than other Mexican Fast Food places. I'd say they're similar to Taco Time, but Taco Time is more expensive. http://www.idahostatesman.com/2014/12/15/3543394/taco-johns-in-nampa-closes-its.html They had a student deal where I could get two burritos for $1.29 (and the normal price was $0.99 for one which is still good).

[Pete from Boston]

Decathlon Sports.  Still in business with hundreds of stores on four continents, but closed in the US in 2006.  Great selection of reasonably-priced sporting goods of all kinds, including a pole-less tent that unfolded erect that I'm still annoyed I didn't buy.

[1995hoo]

Decathlon Sports.  Still in business with hundreds of stores on four continents, but closed in the US in 2006.  Great selection of reasonably-priced sporting goods of all kinds, including a pole-less tent that unfolded erect that I'm still annoyed I didn't buy.

Given the, um, predilections of a certain Olympic decathlon winner, the use of the word "erect" in this post.....ummm, well, never mind.

[Pete from Boston]

I made it clear there was no tent pole involved.

[nexus73]

Closures I miss in Coos Bay-North Bend:

1-A&W had two places here.  Now the nearest ones (real ones too!) are 45 miles north and 30 miles south.  Love the root beer!

2-Black Knight Pizza did not last long but when it was here it was the best this area ever had.  You paid a premium price but you got what you paid for and then some. 

3-Carl's Jr. picked the worst possible location for traffic flow and wound up going down the drain.  Prior to them it was a Rax and after that an Arby's, both of which also failed for the same reason.

4-Our local Pontiac-Buick-GMC-Opel-International dealer was the easiest of all the GM dealers we had to work with and the owner was quite the cool car collector.  Now we just have one GM dealer and no more Pontiacs, little Opels or big Cornbinder pickups, Travelalls or Scouts.

5-Independent locally owned radio stations have shrunk down considerably. 

6-Local weekly papers disappeared in the Eighties.

7-We used to have two bowling alleys, one with 14 lanes and the other had 24.  Both did well.  The 24-lane place burned down in the Eighties.  Given the amount of league play here it was missed.

8-A local golf course got bought up for wetlands mitigation and is now closed.  It's the only place I ever went golfing and was quite popular (and affordable) amongst the locals.

9-Losing the Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, Volvo and Volkswagen/Porsche/Audi dealerships.

10-The Catholic Church's presence in terms of schools, hospitals and old age care facilities has all disappeared.  I am not Catholic by any stretch of the imagination but they did quite well here when they were a major player in those areas.

Honorable mention: No more radio/TV repair shops exist here.  The last one closed in 2014.

Rick

[SkyPesos]

Borders - Frequently have books on sale. I remember walking out the store with a huge stack of books a few times.

Circuit City - I have a very limited memory of that chain, as toddler me didn't care at all about electronics. All I remember is that my parents much preferred them to Best Buy, and we still have an old camera my parents bought from Circuit City.

Toys R Us - I lost track of how many of my Christmas presents were bought from Toys R Us.

[MATraveler128]

Toys R Us was sad to watch go under. I remember going in there all the time. The one nearest to where I live became a PGA Store. There is still a hint of the former rainbow tiles on the outside now painted over in dark blue.

[1995hoo]

Several people have mentioned Circuit City. I was never a big fan. Maybe it was because I was younger when they were still operating and so they thought I would be easy to push stuff on, but I recall they were always hyper-aggressive about pushing extended warranties even on cheap products like a $20 Walkman competitor. It was annoying.

The Circuit City nearest our house was replaced by an HH Gregg. They didn't last long in the DC market and they weren't here long enough for me to "miss" them, but we did buy two appliances from them (a refrigerator and an oven/range) and we were very satisfied with the experience both times. That store location has now been divided between a Marshalls and a Party City, neither of which I've ever visited (though I do periodically go to the Bed Bath & Beyond next door, usually for electric toothbrush heads to take advantage of the ubiquitous 20% off coupons).

[Flint1979]

For me it would be Dominick's, a former grocery store chain in Illinois. I was saddened to hear that they went out of business late in 2013. My first job was as a bagger at store #117 at 580 S. Roselle Rd in Schaumburg, IL.

That particular location had an interesting history of its own-it was a Kohl's grocery store first, with the arched roof design. When Kohl's pulled out of Illinois Eagle took it over, and then Dominick's took the store over when Eagle bowed out.

From what I understand that after I left the Chicago area in '91 the old man died, and the rest of the family just didn't want to put up with running the company. So they sold out to Safeway who kept the Dominick's name in place, but tried to force it's California style on its Chicago clientele and ran the company into the ground.

Honestly I was surprised that Dominick's closed like they did especially how big of a chain they were in the Chicago area. It seems like Safeway had a lack of interest in the Chicago market too and as a result some of the stores were looking run down.

[SectorZ]

Several people have mentioned Circuit City. I was never a big fan. Maybe it was because I was younger when they were still operating and so they thought I would be easy to push stuff on, but I recall they were always hyper-aggressive about pushing extended warranties even on cheap products like a $20 Walkman competitor. It was annoying.

The Circuit City nearest our house was replaced by an HH Gregg. They didn't last long in the DC market and they weren't here long enough for me to "miss" them, but we did buy two appliances from them (a refrigerator and an oven/range) and we were very satisfied with the experience both times. That store location has now been divided between a Marshalls and a Party City, neither of which I've ever visited (though I do periodically go to the Bed Bath & Beyond next door, usually for electric toothbrush heads to take advantage of the ubiquitous 20% off coupons).

They once tried to sell me an extended warranty on a $3 CD single. I don't remember the cost because I don't think I let them get that far. I had many regular CDs in that $10-$15 range also have such an offer for the warranty and I think it was $2.99 for it. This started happening 2006-ish (I remember because it mostly occurred in the Leominster Mass one when I had moved to Fitchburg), two years before they went belly up, so the signs were there of the trouble.

That said, I liked them better than Best Buy, but Lechmere was better than all of them, and that is the one place that is gone that I wish I could will back into existence.

[Flint1979]

Borders - I loved the book stores. There was one in Hagerstown, MD that I liked thanks to the cafe to buy food, lie on chairs, and read books. We still go to Hagerstown (only a 20 minute drive - not too bad) for the movies now. Bummer. Fun fact: While my dad was living in Dearborn, Michigan (he was a student in Detroit's schools for a master's degree), he actually went to the first Borders. It opened in the mid 80's (I think 1986 - my dad was still in Dearborn).

The original Borders on South State Street in Ann Arbor dated from the early 70s and occupied several small two-story storefronts, all linked together via doorways cut into the walls.  You had to be careful walking around on the second floor, since the floors didn't line up exactly.   I remember they had a very large collection of topo maps in large pull-out drawers.  I miss that place a lot. 

During the expansion era, they moved around the corner to the vacated Jacobson's department store on Liberty Street, but it was just like any other of the newer stores after that, full of stationery, cards, trinkets, games and not so many books.  I don't miss that place as much.

I remember when they opened one in downtown Detroit in the Compuware Building when it was first built about 20 years ago. Also had a Hard Rock Cafe in there too.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Several people have mentioned Circuit City. I was never a big fan. Maybe it was because I was younger when they were still operating and so they thought I would be easy to push stuff on, but I recall they were always hyper-aggressive about pushing extended warranties even on cheap products like a $20 Walkman competitor. It was annoying.

The Circuit City nearest our house was replaced by an HH Gregg. They didn't last long in the DC market and they weren't here long enough for me to "miss" them, but we did buy two appliances from them (a refrigerator and an oven/range) and we were very satisfied with the experience both times. That store location has now been divided between a Marshalls and a Party City, neither of which I've ever visited (though I do periodically go to the Bed Bath & Beyond next door, usually for electric toothbrush heads to take advantage of the ubiquitous 20% off coupons).

Circuit City never appealed to me all that much despite the fact that I live in that store's hometown. I preferred Best Buy in about 99% of situations - they had better prices and much better customer service. The only time I bought anything significant from Circuit City was during their liquidation sale (I bought a $999 camera lens for $170).

The Circuit City locations in Short Pump and near Chesterfield Towne Center became hhgregg, which might fit the bill as the worst store I've ever shopped in for anything ever. No selection, high prices, and if you wanted to buy something that needed to be removed from a locked cage (like computer equipment), you had to wait an absolute eternity. The Short Pump location is now The Container Store, and the Chesterfield Towne Center location was recently demolished and will likely be replaced with a strip mall.

I was pretty sad to see Martin's close their stores in the Richmond area when Royal Ahold merged with Food Lion (the merged company closed all the stores and some Food Lion stores as "redundant"). They carried over decent prices, excellent food varieties, and good customer service from when they were Ukrop's (another beloved Richmond product) and I preferred them over Kroger. Of course, now the Richmond grocery store market has Kroger, Food Lion, Publix, and Wegmans, with Weis Markets slowly making their way south along I-95 (they opened a store in Spotsylvania a few years ago).

[kphoger]

Wow, this guy's very first post on the forum was an off-topic 6½-year necro-post?