We have Chinese buffet restaurants called "Mandarin." I worked for a company that had its Christmas party at a Mandarin. My boss got a little ticked at me because I wasn't making a pig of myself. So, I got up and got a clean plate and put one stringbean on it and sat back down. No, he was not pleased with me. Glad I left that stupid job.
I didn't see Horn & Hardart on the list. We used to go to the automat when my parents took us kids to the city. They never had anything I wanted to eat. My father bought me a bowl of franks and beans. Nasty and no wonder they call it rat turds and dog turds.
zugmann blue streak 1 It may be that the many buffet chains will need to become in some way a cafeteria chain due to covid-19 restrictions on buffets ? Buffets were pretty disgusting before COVID. People are nasty.
blue streak 1 It may be that the many buffet chains will need to become in some way a cafeteria chain due to covid-19 restrictions on buffets ?
Buffets were pretty disgusting before COVID. People are nasty.
You're not kidding! There's a buffet restaurant in our area, the food was always very good, always freshly stocked and refilled, and very resonably priced, all you could eat in fact, and the buffet areas always spotless, but some of the clientele! Good Lord!
The wife and I don't consider ourselves snobs by any means, but it got to the point we started calling the place "The Freak Show" before we gave up going entirely.
No, I won't say who it is (they're still there), that doesn't matter. We still miss going though.
blue streak 1It may be that the many buffet chains will need to become in some way a cafeteria chain due to covid-19 restrictions on buffets ?
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
Another item of lost chains were the many cafeteria chains. S & W is one I remember. It may be that the many buffet chains will need to become in some way a cafeteria chain due to covid-19 restrictions on buffets ?
Flintlock76I didn't see Polk's on the list either, but I guess they slipped through the cracks, either that or the lister was more interested in chains than independents. I only went to Polk's two, maybe three times. Wow! Those were special trips, Hiway Hobby in Ramsey NJ was closer and more convenient. I didn't see Radio Shack either. Anyone know if they're still around? The've disappeared from this area and I thought they were defunct nationwide.
I only went to Polk's two, maybe three times. Wow! Those were special trips, Hiway Hobby in Ramsey NJ was closer and more convenient.
I didn't see Radio Shack either. Anyone know if they're still around? The've disappeared from this area and I thought they were defunct nationwide.
Radio Shack was among those listed - also Layfayette and Allied.
While, to my knowledge, it was only a single location - All Nation Hobby Shop in Chicago was my favorite haunt - back in the day.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Yes, there were several companies that were familiar to me. Among them is Liggett's; when I would go up to Charlotte to see my orthodontist, I would eat lunch in the one at the corner of Trade and Tryon--and I jerked soda in the one in downtown Baton Rouge the summer before my last year in high school (yes, I was a jerk).
Johnny
I didn't see Polk's on the list either, but I guess they slipped through the cracks, either that or the lister was more interested in chains than independents.
That list of defunct stores was fascinating but I didn't see Polk's Hobbies in NYC at Fifth avenue and 32nd street. I used to go there whenever I was in the city. In The Godfather the scene of Tom Hagen being nabbed by Virgil Sollozo was filmed in front of Polk's.
Other defunct hobby shops were Madison Hardware (on Madison avenue, naturally) that specialised in Lionel trains and America's Hobby Center on (as I recall West 22nd street at Seventh avenue) where there were no shelves full of stuff to look at but you had to look at catalogs on the counter and the guy would bring it out to you. They had everything there, trains, planes, you name it.
Also, here in Canada we still have Rexall Drugs and Esso (not Exxon) stations.
BaltACDAmazing the number of the defunct entities I remember having dealt with over the years.
I worked for a good long while for a mall developer. it's amazing ~who owns who~ in the retail sector. Of course when you are a landlord looking to fill vacant space in your mall, you are always looking for new players to add into the mix of tenants you have.
An ambition that often runs contrary to store chains consolidating with competitors to cut costs, or to manipulate their markets.
Convicted OneEnjoy this trip down memory lane: List of defunct retailers Note the section headed "Department and Discount Stores" is deeply nested, with store origins and eventual amalgamation with surviving entities pretty well documented. Well worth a look.
Note the section headed "Department and Discount Stores" is deeply nested, with store origins and eventual amalgamation with surviving entities pretty well documented. Well worth a look.
Amazing the number of the defunct entities I remember having dealt with over the years.
54light15 I remember Monkey Ward. And how long ago did Gimbel's go out of business?
I remember Monkey Ward. And how long ago did Gimbel's go out of business?
Back in the late 80's, they were bought out by a conglomerate. It's a complicated story, easy to find if you Google it.
charlie hebdo Department stores were already starting to lose market shares in the 70s.
Department stores were already starting to lose market shares in the 70s.
Maybe in your part of the country Charlie, but not in mine. I remember the 70's, mall culture and department store culture was still going strong in Northern New Jersey and the Greater New York Area, and was still going strong when we moved to Virginia in 1987. It's still strong now, but I'll be the first to admit it's the exception that doesn't prove the rule.
Enjoy this trip down memory lane: List of defunct retailers
I'm guessing early 80s. Or it was taken over and lost its name, like my beloved Marshall Fields.
Montgomery Ward started mail order.
I just think it's ironic that Sears has ended up falling to what is really modern day mail order shopping. They forgot what they pioneered.
Electroliner 1935Have you ever shopped at a Trader Joe's
I haven't, but I do patronise some local establishments staffed with folks more than willing to drop what they're doing and assist you. Those places "get it," which is why they get me!
J.C. Penney, Sears, Macys, they were on the downhill slide long before coronavirus showed up.
It boggles the mind how colossi like the above could get run into the ground. Hey, look at how Hostess got screwed up!
The first shoe drops in the work from home battle as the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, just announced all employees can work from home in perpetuity, even after the office opens back up in September.
I know Twitter is one of those newer social media companies, but the work at home lifestyle is perfect for technology companies that don't need offices as they have no manufacturing facilities, and even programming can be done remotely.
Also, they really aren't the first, I'm not sure if anyone is aware of this but when you call JetBlue's customer service lines you are actually talking to someone at their home. At one time all customer service agents for JetBlue worked from their homes, not sure if that is still the case and they've found that the best customer service agents are those that do work from home.
Customer service is another job that can be done from home easily, heck, that could bring customer service jobs back to the U.S. from India, if companies did it correctly.
Flintlock76 GERALD L MCFARLANE JR First off, never went to an "MBA Mill" Whoa! Don't misunderstand Gerald, I'm not throwing rocks at you, I'm agreeing with you! What I was trying to say was much of the damage done to retail has been done by the concept of the "interchangeable executive" fostered by the "MBA Mills," that is an executive can be switched willy-nilly around various businesses and run them sucessfully without a grounding in that business. I think you and I know it ain't necessarily so! Removing all those "first-contact" personnel who meet and greet the buying public and make shopping a personal and fun experience is and was a major mistake. They were part of the art, you know. And I wouldn't get rid of the bean counters, I'd just tell them to stay in the back offices and count the beans, and mind their own business otherwise. THAT'S what their paid for!
First off, never went to an "MBA Mill"
Whoa! Don't misunderstand Gerald, I'm not throwing rocks at you, I'm agreeing with you! What I was trying to say was much of the damage done to retail has been done by the concept of the "interchangeable executive" fostered by the "MBA Mills," that is an executive can be switched willy-nilly around various businesses and run them sucessfully without a grounding in that business. I think you and I know it ain't necessarily so!
Removing all those "first-contact" personnel who meet and greet the buying public and make shopping a personal and fun experience is and was a major mistake. They were part of the art, you know.
And I wouldn't get rid of the bean counters, I'd just tell them to stay in the back offices and count the beans, and mind their own business otherwise. THAT'S what their paid for!
Have you ever shopped at a Trader Joe's. Good helpful and plentiful persomel. I like shopping there. However, the days of retail clothing stores look limited. Some news feeds are saying J.C.Penney is about to file for bankruptcy, Sears is 90% dead, Macy's closing stores.
SD70Dude Convicted One SD70Dude Hot crackers, I take exception to that! Can you imagine if President Trump used the word 'plantation' as a metaphor for the workplace? CNN would simply explode. Imagine what Fox would have done if Obama had used that analogy........
Convicted One SD70Dude Hot crackers, I take exception to that! Can you imagine if President Trump used the word 'plantation' as a metaphor for the workplace? CNN would simply explode.
SD70Dude Hot crackers, I take exception to that!
Can you imagine if President Trump used the word 'plantation' as a metaphor for the workplace?
CNN would simply explode.
Imagine what Fox would have done if Obama had used that analogy........
In all fairness to both men, it's not what they say, it's how the context of what they say gets dropped or tortured, depending on who's ax needs to be ground.
GERALD L MCFARLANE JRFirst off, never went to an "MBA Mill"
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
SD70DudeHot crackers, I take exception to that!
Flintlock76 GERALD L MCFARLANE JR Has anyone noticed people stopped making less impulse buys the more retail outlets streamlined their operations by reducing floor staff? Now you can go into a large retailer and find almost no help at all, that's from slashing expenses at the wrong end of the door Trust me on this, retail is an art, not a science. And like any other business if you don't understand it won't matter how well you did at the "MBA Mill," everything you touch will turn to ***. It's no mystery to me why so many large retailers were failing, even well before COVID-19 reared it's ugly head. The rot started a long time ago.
GERALD L MCFARLANE JR Has anyone noticed people stopped making less impulse buys the more retail outlets streamlined their operations by reducing floor staff? Now you can go into a large retailer and find almost no help at all, that's from slashing expenses at the wrong end of the door
Trust me on this, retail is an art, not a science. And like any other business if you don't understand it won't matter how well you did at the "MBA Mill," everything you touch will turn to ***.
It's no mystery to me why so many large retailers were failing, even well before COVID-19 reared it's ugly head. The rot started a long time ago.
Euclid SD70Dude I don't see any allegation of racism. Charlie is accusing you of supporting management bullying and harassing ALL their workers. Where did I support management bullying and harassing ALL their workers? All I said is that management expects a full day's work for a day's pay. Does that amount to bullying and harassing the workers?
SD70Dude I don't see any allegation of racism. Charlie is accusing you of supporting management bullying and harassing ALL their workers.
I don't see any allegation of racism.
Charlie is accusing you of supporting management bullying and harassing ALL their workers.
Where did I support management bullying and harassing ALL their workers? All I said is that management expects a full day's work for a day's pay. Does that amount to bullying and harassing the workers?
Management expects 2 days of work for each day the employee is on the property - they feel that with anything less the employees are stealing directly out of their pockets. They feature a day's pay for a day's work is theft by employees.
Convicted One I think that it's one of those things where IF you are looking for the opportunity to claim offense, then it's easy to infer what you are looking for. Sort of like when Charlie was insisting that mention of "states rights" was necessarily a reference to the land of cotton. If someone looks hard enough for an opportunity to become offended, seldom are they unsuccessful.
I think that it's one of those things where IF you are looking for the opportunity to claim offense, then it's easy to infer what you are looking for.
Sort of like when Charlie was insisting that mention of "states rights" was necessarily a reference to the land of cotton.
If someone looks hard enough for an opportunity to become offended, seldom are they unsuccessful.
Hot crackers, I take exception to that!
SD70DudeI don't see any allegation of racism.
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