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Defunct restaurant chains and retailers

Started by Stephane Dumas, September 05, 2016, 03:33:50 PM

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Stephane Dumas



7/8

Target Canada and Future Shop are two noticeable stores gone from Canada. I was going to say Zellers, but apparently there are still 2 left (though it's clearly a shadow of it's former self).

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/04/13/bring-back-zellers-target-canada_n_7056128.html

QuoteZellers Outlasts Target Canada: Does It Deserve A Comeback?

Posted: 04/13/2015 2:01 pm EDT Updated: 04/14/2015 8:59 am EDT

Target's last remaining Canadian stores closed on Sunday, marked by a funeral and some premature store closures that allowed the chain to disappoint its Canadian customers one last time.

But as Canadians mull over all the retail chains that have disappeared (bye bye, Future Shop, Sony Store, Mexx and so many more) it may be more heartening to look over what has survived.

And one unexpected survivor is Zellers. Yes, the long-iconic Canadian chain – the majority of whose stores were turned into Targets – lives on even as Target leaves no trace.

Granted, the chain is a shadow of its former self, down to just two locations – one in the Ottawa suburb of Bells Corners, and one in Toronto's Kipling Queensway Mall. That's down from some 350 locations at its peak in the 1990s (nearly three times as many as Target ever had in Canada).

And the two remaining Zellers locations are essentially discount outlets for The Bay and Home Outfitters, two other brands owned by Hudson's Bay Co.

Yet the symbolism of the Canadian chain's survival has spurred some people to call on HBC to "bring back Zellers,"  now that Target's departure has left a hole in Canada's retail landscape.

ut despite the Twitter chatter, HBC doesn't sound enthusiastic about bringing back Zellers.

"There are no plans to open additional Zellers stores,"  an HBC spokesperson said in a brief email.

That's understandable. As a largely "failed"  retailer, Zellers has a public image problem that would be hard to overcome among those consumers who aren't calling for its return.

In fact, when Target was setting up, internal documents show it was doing everything it could not to be associated with the "depressed" Zellers stores that preceded it. (Who would have thought they would end up tarnishing their own brand so much more?)

But with Target gone and a wave of store closures and mergers reducing retail competition in Canada, it's little wonder some consumers feel they were better off in the Zellers era. It's the Canadian consumer's ultimate case of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone."

But if the organizer of the Target funeral in Toronto this past weekend is on to anything, Zellers – like Target and Future Shop – just had too much red signage for Canadians.

A blue Zellers, anyone?

ftballfan

K-Mart could be joining the defunct retailers list in the near future

US71

Quote from: ftballfan on September 21, 2016, 06:47:58 PM
K-Mart could be joining the defunct retailers list in the near future
I've heard rumors of by the end of 2017
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Revive 755

* Venture, a chain similar to K-Mart.  There's still a fairly intact version of one of their former stores in Fairmont City, Illinois right close to I-55/I-70:  Streetview

* HQ, a hardware store chain

noelbotevera


US71

Anyone mentioned Builders Square?

Git n Go, Bowen's Restaurants
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Takumi

Quote from: Revive 755 on September 25, 2016, 09:56:16 PM
* HQ, a hardware store chain
I remember them, and Hechinger. I had family members who worked at the local Hechinger, which closed when they started having financial issues in the mid 90s.

Some other defunct chains I remember from childhood:
-Ames. The only Ames I ever remember going to was the shingle-roof style, in a strip mall that still to this day has the same style of roof on it even though the Ames closed a good 25 years ago. I don't remember much about it, other than it had a bell like 7-Elevens have when you enter them.
-Phar-Mor. Don't remember much.
-Bradlees. We frequented one that had terrible roof leakage and eventually closed when they left Virginia.
-Thalheimers. A Richmond-based department store chain that was bought by Hechts, which was eventually bought by Macy's.
Quote from: Rothman on July 15, 2021, 07:52:59 AM
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Don't @ me. Seriously.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: Takumi on September 25, 2016, 11:25:42 PM
Quote from: Revive 755 on September 25, 2016, 09:56:16 PM
* HQ, a hardware store chain
I remember them, and Hechinger. I had family members who worked at the local Hechinger, which closed when they started having financial issues in the mid 90s.

Hechinger's was born and raised in  Washington, D.C. and was the dominant hardware chain in Washington and surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia.

But they proved unable to compete with Home Depot and Lowes, even though I think Hechinger's provided better service to customers, and unlike the shoddy service at nearly every Home Depot.  IMO Lowes is better than Home Depot. 

It  also seems that everything Home Depot sells is made in Red China.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

vdeane

Chase Pitkin - basically a Wegmans version of Home Depot (literally - it was owned/operated by Wegmans)

Quote from: noelbotevera on September 25, 2016, 10:56:15 PM
Howard Johnson's -drops mic-
One more left: https://goo.gl/maps/y2A2ptH5jN72
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

roadman65

Steak and Ale and Bennigans. 

Its a shame that no one tried to take them over as both used to be good.  Pillsbury, the original owner did a great job with them, but the company they sold them too ran them into the ground.

Quincys Steakhouse, although still alive barely in SC, was in Florida and had a nice buffet.  However there are none left here and anywhere outside of the Palmetto State.

Jack In The Box, although a big chain still existed, could be considered defunct if you live on the east coast as they closed all their stores up and down the I-95 corridor back in the mid or late 70's.  In fact I though they were gone up until I visited California in 88, and was amazed that they still existed as they were gone for well over a decade in my home state of the time.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Brandon

Quote from: roadman65 on September 27, 2016, 07:25:16 AM
Steak and Ale and Bennigans. 

Jack In The Box, although a big chain still existed, could be considered defunct if you live on the east coast as they closed all their stores up and down the I-95 corridor back in the mid or late 70's.  In fact I though they were gone up until I visited California in 88, and was amazed that they still existed as they were gone for well over a decade in my home state of the time.

1. There are a few Bennigans still around, but there were all franchised locations.  It's the corporate locations that are completely gone.

2. Jack In The Box, believe it or not, still exists east of the Mississippi (but not by much).  They're all over St. Louis and Metro East, and exist as far as Litchfield, IL.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

jp the roadgeek

I miss Caldor's.  The one in my town became a Walmart.

Service Merchandise and catalog showrooms: Basically Amazon in brick and mortar form.

Mr. Steak and Beefsteak Charlie's: A couple of good regional steakhouses.

KB Toys: The mall toy store was killed by Toys R Us and Walmart.

Lum's, Sambo's, Farm Shop (absorbed by Friendly's), all the stores absorbed by Macy's (G. Fox and Filene's in my parts), King's, JJ Newberry, McCrory, WT Grant's, Sage-Allen, Kenny Rogers Roasters in the US,
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

roadman

Anybody else remember Olson Electronics, which was one of my favorite haunts from junior high through college.  Similar to Radio Shack, except that Olson always offered other name brand parts and electronics in addition to their house brand (Radio Shack didn't start offering other name brand electronics until the early 2000s, and never sold other than house brand parts).
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

roadman65

Beefsteak Charlies was good.  I was disappointed that the man who played Beefsteak Charlie was not real.  It was when I was growing up I used to see his commercials and then when the first Charlie left and the second one came in, I was shocked that the first one was an actor saying he was the actual owner. 

Then I grew up, but nonetheless loved eating there and especially loved the unlimited shrimp they served.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

wriddle082

Quote from: Brandon on September 27, 2016, 10:19:47 AM
2. Jack In The Box, believe it or not, still exists east of the Mississippi (but not by much).  They're all over St. Louis and Metro East, and exist as far as Litchfield, IL.

Back in the early 00's, they expanded into Greater Nashville, Upstate SC, Greater Charlotte, and the Triad.  (Maybe the Triangle also)  Over the past 7-8 years they closed some of their underperforming locations (pulling completely out of the Triad in the process), but they facelifted the remaining ones with their current logo and paint scheme.  Furthest east location now is either Concord or Monroe, NC.

briantroutman


Quote from: roadman65 on September 27, 2016, 07:25:16 AM
Jack In The Box, although a big chain still existed, could be considered defunct if you live on the east coast as they closed all their stores up and down the I-95 corridor back in the mid or late 70's.  In fact I though they were gone up until I visited California in 88, and was amazed that they still existed as they were gone for well over a decade in my home state of the time.

Jack in the Box was founded–and is still headquartered–in San Diego, and the company has always been a largely West Coast-oriented operation. My dad recalled going to Jack in the Box locations in Delaware and New Jersey as a teenager in the mid '60s, and he assumed the company had gone out of business.

I read that Jack's parent, Foodmaker, Inc., had planned a major eastward expansion for the '70s, but a combination of fuel shortages and declining economic conditions caused the company to abandon those plans. Perhaps the company was trying to blanket I-95 first in an attempt to get visibility for the name, but when the larger overall expansion was cancelled, the pioneer outposts were no longer needed.

Quote from: wriddle082 on September 27, 2016, 11:44:57 AM
Quote from: Brandon on September 27, 2016, 10:19:47 AM
2. Jack In The Box, believe it or not, still exists east of the Mississippi (but not by much).  They're all over St. Louis and Metro East, and exist as far as Litchfield, IL.

Back in the early 00's, they expanded into Greater Nashville, Upstate SC, Greater Charlotte, and the Triad.  (Maybe the Triangle also)  Over the past 7-8 years they closed some of their underperforming locations (pulling completely out of the Triad in the process), but they facelifted the remaining ones with their current logo and paint scheme.  Furthest east location now is either Concord or Monroe, NC.


I was about to mention that, and you beat me to it. They've also opened locations in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. I was also going to add, though, that I think all of the stores east of metro St. Louis are in entirely new territory for Jack–i.e., not locations that were part of the company's eastward expansion in the '60s that have hung around since then.

roadman

In the early 70s as a kid, I remember there was a Jack in the Box on Route 28 in Salem NH.  We only ate there once, as my parents decided the A&W just down the street was much better.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Mapmikey

Quote from: roadman65 on September 27, 2016, 07:25:16 AM


Quincys Steakhouse, although still alive barely in SC, was in Florida and had a nice buffet.  However there are none left here and anywhere outside of the Palmetto State.



In addition to the Florence SC location there is still one in Monroe NC.  But that is all that's left...

hbelkins

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 27, 2016, 10:55:33 AMSambo's

My family ate there a few times in my youth. I can't imagine, in today's politically correct society, that Sambo's would have been allowed to survive.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Mapmikey

Quote from: hbelkins on September 27, 2016, 03:05:38 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on September 27, 2016, 10:55:33 AMSambo's

My family ate there a few times in my youth. I can't imagine, in today's politically correct society, that Sambo's would have been allowed to survive.

Sambo was actually the founder's name and that alone should've been alright.  However, they did have references to the racially offensive character of the same name in their restaurants...

kphoger

Quote from: vdeane on September 26, 2016, 01:20:12 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on September 25, 2016, 10:56:15 PM
Howard Johnson's -drops mic-
One more left: https://goo.gl/maps/y2A2ptH5jN72

There are a lot of them left.  Almost 400 as of last year.

Quote
Jack in the Box

These exist in 21 states.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

briantroutman

Quote from: kphoger on September 27, 2016, 03:14:12 PM
Quote from: vdeane on September 26, 2016, 01:20:12 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on September 25, 2016, 10:56:15 PM
Howard Johnson's -drops mic-
One more left: https://goo.gl/maps/y2A2ptH5jN72

There are a lot of them left.  Almost 400 as of last year.


I assume it was the restaurant chain that was being referenced. You could claim that there's one left, but since the ragtag company that franchised the remaining restaurants winked out a decade ago (along with the suppliers of Howard Johnson's food products), the hanger-on in Lake George is basically an independent diner that hasn't bothered to take down its sign. (An overpriced, "you can screw 'em once"  tourist trap I understand at that.)

As to the hotels–yes, someone (Wyndham) owns the "Howard Johnson"  trademark for lodging establishments, and for a bargain price, you, too can get a "Howard Johnson"  sign to hang in front of your failed fleabag motel. But there's absolutely no consistency between the locations, it's barely connected to any remnants of the Howard Johnson company, and it's little more than a zombie brand (like Zenith).

Brandon

Quote from: kphoger on September 27, 2016, 03:14:12 PM
Quote from: vdeane on September 26, 2016, 01:20:12 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on September 25, 2016, 10:56:15 PM
Howard Johnson's -drops mic-
One more left: https://goo.gl/maps/y2A2ptH5jN72

There are a lot of them left.  Almost 400 as of last year.

What?  Maybe the hotels, but there's only one restaurant left, and they were distinctly discussing the restaurants.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

kphoger

Ah.  Forgot there used to be a restaurant chain by the same name.

I guess hotels don't really count as retailers, do they?
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.



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