Roadside chains with at least one foot in the grave

[Pete from Boston]

Sports Authority going under leaves Dick's as the only major player in a lot of the country.

Hmm, another monopoly, this one in the large-scale sporting goods sector.

Like when Circuit City closed, leaving Best Buy the last man standing.

Or when Linens 'n Things left Bed Bath and Beyond in charge.

How about Border's leaving Barnes and Noble the king of large-scale bookstores?

It's true, Dick's will join Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble as monopolies who still charge more than Amazon.

Their model comes with too much overhead to beat Amazon, though I will say this: I was hunting for a coffee cold-brewer as a Christmas present at kitchen and department stores.  Couldn't find it, went to Amazon, paid shipping, got it last possible minute.

Five minutes later I went into Barnes & Noble and there it was, cheap.

This anecdote proves little, but it showed that even though B&N can beat Amazon at "right now," it has had to wander way away from its core business to do so.

[Jardine]

B&N wanted a slot in a local mall, as a bargaining chip with mall management, they insisted the lease for an existing book store in that mall not be renewed.

And it wasn't.

I'd like to think that was the start of that mall winding up with it's 35% occupancy rate today.

[Brandon]

Sports Authority going under leaves Dick's as the only major player in a lot of the country.

Hmm, another monopoly, this one in the large-scale sporting goods sector.

Like when Circuit City closed, leaving Best Buy the last man standing.

Or when Linens 'n Things left Bed Bath and Beyond in charge.

How about Border's leaving Barnes and Noble the king of large-scale bookstores?

It's true, Dick's will join Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble as monopolies who still charge more than Amazon.

How will Dick's be a monopoly with Scheel's, MC Sports, Hibbet Sports, and more indirectly, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, and Cabela's out there?

[Brandon]

Sports Authority going under leaves Dick's as the only major player in a lot of the country.

Hmm, another monopoly, this one in the large-scale sporting goods sector.

Like when Circuit City closed, leaving Best Buy the last man standing.

Gee, what happened to HH Gregg and other smaller electronic/appliance stores, not to mention Sears (whose dealer stores do very well selling this stuff)?  Or Walmart for that matter?

Or when Linens 'n Things left Bed Bath and Beyond in charge.

Kinda silly when you consider that JCPenney, Kohl's, Macy's, Carson's, etc all compete very well in this segment.

How about Border's leaving Barnes and Noble the king of large-scale bookstores?

Border's was always second place to B&N, but what about Books-A-Million?  How about the other, smaller chains out there?

[cl94]

Sports Authority going under leaves Dick's as the only major player in a lot of the country.

Hmm, another monopoly, this one in the large-scale sporting goods sector.

Like when Circuit City closed, leaving Best Buy the last man standing.

Or when Linens 'n Things left Bed Bath and Beyond in charge.

How about Border's leaving Barnes and Noble the king of large-scale bookstores?

It's true, Dick's will join Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble as monopolies who still charge more than Amazon.

How will Dick's be a monopoly with Scheel's, MC Sports, Hibbet Sports, and more indirectly, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, and Cabela's out there?

Because there's a good portion of the country where they aren't big players. The northeast is home turf for Dick's and a couple Cabela's and Bass Pro locations aren't doing anything to change that. They just don't have enough of the "traditional" sporting goods market and they're mainly specialty retailers to begin with. To put it in perspective, Barnes & Noble has competitors, but not everywhere. They have no competition in much of the northeast, as they bought out and subsequently bankrupted their competition.

[SP Cook]

Saying Dick's has a "monopoly" is silly.  Dick's has several product lines (serious exercise gear, team sports supplies, golf and tennis equipment, not so serious exercise gear, guns, outdoor gear, college and pro fan gear) all of which are sold at many other businesses, national and local.  While other stores may not have ALL the different items, all are available from multiple other sources in any place in the country.  There is no product line where Dick's is even close to the only national outlet for.

[PHLBOS]

In southeastern PA, seeing a Modell's is more common than a Sports Authority or Dick's.

[noelbotevera]

How about Border's leaving Barnes and Noble the king of large-scale bookstores?

Sucks to see Borders gone.

Speaking of book stores, Barnes and Noble isn't quite the major player here. Stores such as Books a Million and 2nd and Charles down in Hagerstown are doing better than the closest Barnes and Noble from here.

[Pete from Boston]

How about Border's leaving Barnes and Noble the king of large-scale bookstores?

Sucks to see Borders gone.

Speaking of book stores, Barnes and Noble isn't quite the major player here. Stores such as Books a Million and 2nd and Charles down in Hagerstown are doing better than the closest Barnes and Noble from here.

An independent bookstore opened here ten years ago and is still open and thriving.  This is very unusual.

[GCrites]

In southeastern PA, seeing a Modell's is more common than a Sports Authority or Dick's.

Modell's pulled out of Ohio. Guess why.

[route17fan]

White Castle closed many of its' Northeast Ohio locations too. Forgive me if this is old news - I neglected to see if this was previously mentioned. If so, my apologies.

[thenetwork]

In southeastern PA, seeing a Modell's is more common than a Sports Authority or Dick's.

Modell's pulled out of Ohio. Guess why.

Because they got a sweet deal by Maryland to move to Baltimore!!!

[roadman65]

White Castle closed many of its' Northeast Ohio locations too. Forgive me if this is old news - I neglected to see if this was previously mentioned. If so, my apologies.

So did they in Kansas City too.  Back in 01 I was craving a White Castle, and saw the sign on US 71 (as their store in Grandview was listed on the logo sign), got off the highway to only find the store boarded up!  Then the one that was in North Kansas City on MO 9 was the same. 

It came as a shock to me, as I have not had one in a while and always thought that they had a good thing going where they were.   Like my late Uncle used to say its not the lack of customers but "Bad Management" that drives a business out.   

We had a Wataburger in Orlando at three locations which all had the customers, but they pulled the plug on it after a year or so.  I am guessing that whoever the company entrusted the franchise to, dropped the ball here.

[US71]

Not exactly a chain, but Noble Roman's pizza is all but defunct. They were primarily c-store pizza (ala Hunt Brothers & Hot to Go), but were never very good, IMO.

Speaking of HtG, are there any Smash Hit Subs left?

[RobbieL2415]

All of the Pizza Huts near my house have closed since the Recession, as well as a few Friendly's.

There was one Roy Rodgers location in Manchester that is now a piss-poor Indian food restaurant (I don't understand how they still exist on the NYS Thruway).  There was also a Burger king in that town that closed in the early 2010s that is going to be a bank.

Friendly's completely vacated the Cape.  Shame, they were decent enough to eat at when you wanted a break from having seafood.  A&P is also completely gone there, many of them were converted to Job Lots.

[noelbotevera]

White Castle closed many of its' Northeast Ohio locations too. Forgive me if this is old news - I neglected to see if this was previously mentioned. If so, my apologies.

Yup, that's true. The closest White Castle restaurant for me is in Whitehall PA, a little south of Allentown. They're basically gone in the Midwest, except for one lone restaurant in Indiana, and in the Northeast I've never seen expansion since the Great Recession.

[Pete from Boston]

All of the Pizza Huts near my house have closed since the Recession, as well as a few Friendly's.

There was one Roy Rodgers location in Manchester that is now a piss-poor Indian food restaurant (I don't understand how they still exist on the NYS Thruway).  There was also a Burger king in that town that closed in the early 2010s that is going to be a bank.

Friendly's completely vacated the Cape.  Shame, they were decent enough to eat at when you wanted a break from having seafood.  A&P is also completely gone there, many of them were converted to Job Lots.

I frequented that Roy Rogers, or at least stopped there enough times to know that it was a dump. They had stopped trying long before it closed.  The other one in that area, on 84 in Sturbridge, closed in 2012 or so.  This baffles me, because they were busy with bus traffic all the time.

I think they remain on some toll roads because those are run by food service companies (HMS Host?) under long-term contracts. They rarely survive renovations.  HMS Host actually owned Roy Rogers at some point.

Around 2009, a Roy's opened up new on 95 in Stonington, Connecticut, but I believe they have already closed.

I don't mind Friendly's, but it is a bipolar company, with certain locations managed terribly and others well.  This inconsistency has not been good for their business.

All A&P locations everywhere are now closed.

[Brandon]

White Castle closed many of its' Northeast Ohio locations too. Forgive me if this is old news - I neglected to see if this was previously mentioned. If so, my apologies.

Yup, that's true. The closest White Castle restaurant for me is in Whitehall PA, a little south of Allentown. They're basically gone in the Midwest, except for one lone restaurant in Indiana, and in the Northeast I've never seen expansion since the Great Recession.

Excuse me!?!  White Castle is all over the flipping place in the Midwest.  There've got to be several dozen in the Chicago area alone.  I can name at least 5 in a very short driving distance.

[route17fan]

White Castle closed many of its' Northeast Ohio locations too. Forgive me if this is old news - I neglected to see if this was previously mentioned. If so, my apologies.

Yup, that's true. The closest White Castle restaurant for me is in Whitehall PA, a little south of Allentown. They're basically gone in the Midwest, except for one lone restaurant in Indiana, and in the Northeast I've never seen expansion since the Great Recession.

Excuse me!?!  White Castle is all over the flipping place in the Midwest.  There've got to be several dozen in the Chicago area alone.  I can name at least 5 in a very short driving distance.

Yep, it's true. http://fox8.com/2014/12/11/northeast-ohio-white-castle-locations-to-close-permanently/

[GaryV]

White Castle closed many of its' Northeast Ohio locations too. Forgive me if this is old news - I neglected to see if this was previously mentioned. If so, my apologies.

Yup, that's true. The closest White Castle restaurant for me is in Whitehall PA, a little south of Allentown. They're basically gone in the Midwest, except for one lone restaurant in Indiana, and in the Northeast I've never seen expansion since the Great Recession.

With all due respect, Northeast Ohio != The Midwest.

There's still lots of locations in and around Detroit, in addition to the ones noted above in Chicago.  Both of which are in The Midwest.

Excuse me!?!  White Castle is all over the flipping place in the Midwest.  There've got to be several dozen in the Chicago area alone.  I can name at least 5 in a very short driving distance.

Yep, it's true. http://fox8.com/2014/12/11/northeast-ohio-white-castle-locations-to-close-permanently/

[roadman65]

Roy Rogers was good when they were owned by Marriot.  When they got sold, it went down hill.

Bonanza was good, but they closed them all in North Jersey and Virginia.  I was surprised back in 96 that they still had one opened in Milford, DE.  I ate there then to enjoy the buffet and steaks they served.

Shoneys was great until they went belly up.  One store still exists near Disney in Lake Buena Vista, FL, but that is it for my area anyway.

Big Boy was all over, but in Florida and the East Coast they vanished.  Shoneys used to have a franchise of them until they started invading other franchise markets and they dropped them.  The only ones I saw were in Michigan and ate at one in Charlotte on the way back from Saulte Ste. Marie back in 08.

Jack In The Box used to be in NJ, but closed.  Until I went to California in 88, I had no idea that they were still around. Every time I go to Texas I eat at them.

Not exactly in financial trouble, but Braums is only in a circular market of 300 miles around OKC.  They told me they will not go outside that ring because they want all their products to be fresh in all their stores as their dairy is in a suburb of Oklahoma City.  So all of you who live in Oklahoma, Southern Kansas, Western Arkansas, and Northern Texas you are lucky as they have one of the best hamburgers and ice cream around.  In fact one couple I know in Wichita, buys their milk from them as their milk seems to hold out the best for taste and freshness.

Kmart as we all know, has been in trouble for decades and scaled back big after Sears bought them out. In Orlando the ones in South Orlando all closed including the one near I Drive and Sand Lake Road.  I guess they could not compete with Target or Walmart and did not want to try.  Kissimmee, FL is the only one left this side of Orlando.


Pizza Hut cut their own throat when they pushed their carry out and raised prices big.  The one near me closed and they were in the ideal location across a street from Gatorland.  In Houma, LA they closed them all as I can see the old buildings now being used by other establishments.  When I visited a friend there in 11, I was surprised that at least one of their stores was not still open, but my friend and other locals said people of Houma just do not crave pizza like they do the cajun stuff.

[Brandon]

Kmart as we all know, has been in trouble for decades and scaled back big after Sears bought them out.

I don't know how many times this must be said, KMART BOUGHT SEARS AND BECAME SEARS HOLDINGS!  Sears did not buy Kmart.

[roadman65]

Kmart as we all know, has been in trouble for decades and scaled back big after Sears bought them out.

I don't know how many times this must be said, KMART BOUGHT SEARS AND BECAME SEARS HOLDINGS!  Sears did not buy Kmart.

Yeah right!  Sears is bigger than Kmart and the old Kresky's was in Chapter 11 and could not buy anything with its financial state. 

I used to think the same but someone very knowledgeable I know in business got mad like you did and set me straight about that one.  Unless some miracle took place for a company in bankrupcy was able to get a hold of billions of dollars and then make a drastic buy, that could only fly.

[Brandon]

Kmart as we all know, has been in trouble for decades and scaled back big after Sears bought them out.

I don't know how many times this must be said, KMART BOUGHT SEARS AND BECAME SEARS HOLDINGS!  Sears did not buy Kmart.

Yeah right!  Sears is bigger than Kmart and the old Kresky's was in Chapter 11 and could not buy anything with its financial state. 

I used to think the same but someone very knowledgeable I know in business got mad like you did and set me straight about that one.  Unless some miracle took place for a company in bankrupcy was able to get a hold of billions of dollars and then make a drastic buy, that could only fly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Holdings

Sears Holdings Corporation is an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It is the owner of retail store brands Sears and Kmart, and was founded after the latter purchased the former in 2005.

That means Kmart bought Sears.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56358-2004Nov17.html

http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/17/news/fortune500/sears_kmart/

Kmart is buying Sears, Roebuck & Co. for $11 billion in a deal that will marry two of the nation's oldest retailers that had trouble keeping up with the changes in American culture around them.

Why do you doubt the facts?

[mgk920]

Pizza Hut just closed one of their more visible outlets here in the Appleton, WI area (College Ave/WI 125 just east of I-41).

Mike