Defunct restaurant chains and retailers

[briantroutman]

Western Auto: at least 1 store in downtown Minden, LA still has the iconic sign and is open.

Being a Long Islander, I never saw one anywhere else but in the movies and on TV until I wound up in Florida, and the only two I knew of were in Brooksville and Bayonet Point. The one in Brooksville is an Ace Hardware store now, and I didn't even notice the change in franchise until recently.

Western Auto is completely out of business. Sears, which owned Western Auto beginning in 1988, sold the company to Advance Auto Parts ten years later. The remaining company-owned stores that Advance executives thought were worth keeping were converted to the Advance Auto Parts brand. Most of these had already been converted to the Parts America brand under Sears ownership.

In addition to the company-owned stores, the Western Auto network included many independently owned and operated storefronts that had been licensing the Western Auto name and getting a sizable portion of their inventory from Western Auto warehouses. These independents were given permission by Advance to continue using the Western Auto brand for a limited period after the acquisition was completed, but the Western Auto distribution network was shut down in 2003 and any remaining contracts for continued use of the name by independents ran out in 2006. So any shop advertising itself as "Western Auto"  today is doing so illegally and is merely an independent local business getting its inventory from unrelated third party suppliers.

[Brandon]

Soon to be defunct, a smaller Chicago grocer.

At Treasure Island grocery stores, 'everything must go' as they prepare to close soon

Treasure Island is the latest victim of Chicago's intensely competitive grocery industry. It likely won't be the last. After Dominick's closed in 2014, a slew of newcomers flooded into the city to compete for market share – a proliferation that only recently has reached a tipping point.

[abefroman329]

Soon to be defunct, a smaller Chicago grocer.

At Treasure Island grocery stores, 'everything must go' as they prepare to close soon

Treasure Island is the latest victim of Chicago's intensely competitive grocery industry. It likely won't be the last. After Dominick's closed in 2014, a slew of newcomers flooded into the city to compete for market share – a proliferation that only recently has reached a tipping point.

They have/had more locations than I thought - I was only aware of the two in the city.

[roadman65]

R & S Auto in NJ. They were a store similar to Pep Boys but on a regional basis.  They had stores in North Jersey and in New York they had sister stores named Strauss Auto.

[abefroman329]

Over the weekend, I drove past a Rexall Drugs. According to my Internet research, there were "thousands"  left as of 2007. I don't know how many remain today.

[jp the roadgeek]

We had a Western Auto in my town until about the mid to late 80's. Ace is probably the closest thing out there to it.  It even had a toy section in it, so it was more than just auto parts. A few years after the store downtown closed, Sears opened a Parts America store in a strip mall closer to the interstate.  It does survive as an Advance store to this day.

We had A&P in CT until about 2010-11 or so.  All of the Waldbaum's Food Marts save 1 took on the A&P moniker in their later years as A&P Super Foodmart.  The A&P name did remain on a couple of liquor stores until their demise.  Most A&P's either became another supermarket, or were repurposed into a store like Ocean State Job Lot.  The one in my town, which closed around 1996, is now a subdivided liquor store, fitness center, and a relocated Namco.

[jon daly]

I was just in an old A&P that became a Big Y yesterday. It's in Stonington on the outskirts of the Mystic section of town. I had to go to the restroom and I noticed a stick above the door  that had the A&P logo. It looked like a security or postal tour point (it had a barcode,) but I'm not sure what it was doing there unless someone had to use a tour wand to indicate that they cleaned that restroom.

[abefroman329]

Apparently, once upon a time, A&P had a presence in Chicago. There were some in GA when we moved there in the early 1990s, but we never shopped there.

[Brandon]

A&P was in the Chicago area until 1981-82.

[kphoger]

I take issue with this as who the hell buys a mattress online?

My best friend just did.  He recently moved to northern Mexico as a full-time missionary to a children's home.  He's originally from Michigan and LOVES cold weather, can't sleep when it's hot.  So..... sleeping with no A/C in the desert in the hottest months of the year isn't exactly doing wonders for him.  He found a mattress that is reported to keep cooler than other mattresses, so he ordered it online, had it shipped to our pastor here in Wichita, then picked it up when he was here for a funeral a couple of weeks ago.

Or Starbucks everywhere.

You'll know the end of the world is approaching when Starbucks opens a new location inside another Starbucks.

[abefroman329]

A&P was in the Chicago area until 1981-82.

Which is odd, considering A&P stands for Atlantic & Pacific.

[cjk374]

A&P was in the Chicago area until 1981-82.

Which is odd, considering A&P stands for Atlantic & Pacific.

We had A&P grocery stores here in Louisiana when I was a child...they left in the mid 80s.

[abefroman329]

A&P was in the Chicago area until 1981-82.

Which is odd, considering A&P stands for Atlantic & Pacific.

We had A&P grocery stores here in Louisiana when I was a child...they left in the mid 80s.

Louisiana at least has a tenuous connection to the Atlantic Ocean, via the Gulf of Mexico.

[abefroman329]

Or Starbucks everywhere.

You'll know the end of the world is approaching when Starbucks opens a new location inside another Starbucks.

Until recently there was a Jaguar dealership in Winnetka that had a Starbucks inside of it. I'm not sure if it was open to people who weren't customers of the dealership, or if your coffee was free if you were a customer.

[Flint1979]

A&P use to have a pretty big presence in Michigan until they converted them over to Farmer Jack or closed stores in the 80's.

[thenetwork]

A&P use to have a pretty big presence in Michigan until they converted them over to Farmer Jack or closed stores in the 80's.

Detroit had a few grocery chains that have disappeared in the last few decades:  A&P, Farmer Jack and Chatham to name a few.

[inkyatari]

It's probably been mentioned in this thread already, but the Chicago retailer Goldblatt's.  I remember going there all the time with my parents as a kid.  It was the first store I ever went to that had christmas stuff available at the end of September.

Remember when major department stores had not only a cafeteria, but also a snack stand that sold candies and fresh roasted peanuts and popcorn?  Those were the days.  The Sears at the Louis Joliet Mall had their stand not too far from the Atari 2600 game kiosk.  Playing  45 seconds of Space Invaders, whilst smelling honey roasted peanuts being cooked.  *sigh*  I hate getting old!

[abefroman329]

Remember when major department stores had not only a cafeteria, but also a snack stand that sold candies and fresh roasted peanuts and popcorn?

No, but that sounds delicious.

[Brandon]

It's probably been mentioned in this thread already, but the Chicago retailer Goldblatt's.  I remember going there all the time with my parents as a kid.  It was the first store I ever went to that had christmas stuff available at the end of September.

Remember when major department stores had not only a cafeteria, but also a snack stand that sold candies and fresh roasted peanuts and popcorn?  Those were the days.  The Sears at the Louis Joliet Mall had their stand not too far from the Atari 2600 game kiosk.  Playing  45 seconds of Space Invaders, whilst smelling honey roasted peanuts being cooked.  *sigh*  I hate getting old!

Ah yes, the Snacketeria in Sears.  It was on the lower level, in the middle of what's the appliance department now.  You could buy all sorts of chocolates and other goodies there.  I think that disappeared sometime by 1984-85.

[formulanone]

Or Starbucks everywhere.

You'll know the end of the world is approaching when Starbucks opens a new location inside another Starbucks.

Or...the End of the Universe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBi9Wh4F_Og

[Roadrunner75]

Ah yes, the Snacketeria in Sears.  It was on the lower level, in the middle of what's the appliance department now.  You could buy all sorts of chocolates and other goodies there.  I think that disappeared sometime by 1984-85.

Yup - I remember that.  We had a small snackbar with a couple of stools in the Deptford Mall Sears until maybe the mid 80s.  It disappeared with a renovation of the store around that time.  It always seemed empty.

[frankenroad]

A&P was in the Chicago area until 1981-82.

Which is odd, considering A&P stands for Atlantic & Pacific.

Not really;  I always assumed the implication was from the Atlantic to the Pacific, i.e., nationwide.

We had them here in Ohio when I was a kid.

[kphoger]

A&P was in the Chicago area until 1981-82.

Which is odd, considering A&P stands for Atlantic & Pacific.

Not really;  I always assumed the implication was from the Atlantic to the Pacific, i.e., nationwide.

We had them here in Ohio when I was a kid.

Exactly.

In the book of Revelation, God is called the Alpha and the Omega (the Beginning and the End).  Does that mean the apostle John didn't believe God was anywhere in between?   

[abefroman329]

A&P was in the Chicago area until 1981-82.

Which is odd, considering A&P stands for Atlantic & Pacific.

Not really;  I always assumed the implication was from the Atlantic to the Pacific, i.e., nationwide.

We had them here in Ohio when I was a kid.

Exactly.

In the book of Revelation, God is called the Alpha and the Omega (the Beginning and the End).  Does that mean the apostle John didn't believe God was anywhere in between?   

The He should have been the Alpha, the Beta, the Gamma, the Delta...and the Omega.

[1995hoo]

EDIT: The one in Danville wasn't a Scottie's, but an Ollie's Trolley -- another now-defunct regional chain.

There is an Ollie's Trolley in downtown DC at the corner of 12th and E NW (across from where Barnes & Noble used to be, a block north of Pennsylvania Avenue).

(Sorry if this duplicates someone else's comment, as I have not read the whole thread.)

Or Starbucks everywhere.

You'll know the end of the world is approaching when Starbucks opens a new location inside another Starbucks.

Or...the End of the Universe.

....

Would that Starbucks then be the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?



Regarding buying a mattress online, we bought ours online over ten years ago, but it wasn't a true roll of the dice because we were familiar with the product–we ordered a Westin "Heavenly Bed" because we really liked the mattresses when we stayed at Westin hotels. We did not, however, purchase the accompanying bedding (pillows, sheets, etc.) because we did not like their pillows–we just got the mattress and box spring from them. Still very happy with it. Wasn't cheap, but then, theoretically you spend a third of your life asleep, so getting the cheapest possible product is not a priority of mine as to that particular purchase!