I worked at a Woolco in Charlotte NC in 1979. I was a cashier and met a very cute stock boy there. We’ve been married for 38 years. ❤️

Here on the west coast, we miss Kmart and Sears. Great Christmas shopping memories.

I remember my Mom taking me to Woolco to get my Halloween costume in the 70's...great memories!!

Mom taught me to drive in an empty Woolco parking lot on several Sunday mornings 45 years ago. We were supposed to be at church, but she thought that me learning to drive was more important. I never told a soul until now. Forgot all about this good memory about my mom. Thanks for reminding me.

Sister worked at Woolco/Tulsa accounting dept 1968; they had a myna bird on the floor that learned to utter offensive words, thus it was moved to the men's lounge where it learned to cuss like a sailor.

Gosh, so many memories. Gimbels, Woolco,Korvettes,Ames, Two Guys, all familiar stores that my family frequented. I miss them all.

9:00 Yes, that IS Debbie Reynolds. She opened several stores for them as a paid promoter.

Being bought by Federated Department Stores is the "Kiss of Death" for a store. Foley's Department store in Houston was a landmark store until being bought by Federated.

Also famous in California were Gemco stores. Full service department stores including grocery. It was membership, and some departments were leased by private owners. These were sold off when a hostile buyout threatened the parent company Lucky Supermarkets. Many locations became Targets.

Lord & Taylor. They had such great clothing for awhile.

Thank you Recollection Road for ALL you do 😃 ROCK ON!!!!!!🤘🏻🤙🏻✌🏻

They should add GEMCO to this list. To my knowledge GEMCO was the first store to combine a discount department store and a grocery store in one location which was a good idea for time pressed shoppers - you could buy what you needed in the department store and then go do your grocery shopping. I worked at a GEMCO in Los Angeles in the early 70’s and it was a good place to work. They closed down sometime in the mid 90’s I believe. They were owned by Lucky Stores which also no longer exists.

All I can say is a lot of Bittersweet Memories, miss them all!!

I grew up in the 70's in Southern California, when we were poor , we shopped at Kmart & Woolco but if we were really poor it was Zody's.

One more is the J.M. fields chain started in Boston after WW2 and expanded to over 100 stores up and down the east coast with many locations in Massachusetts, Pa, and Florida. It was a contemporary competition to Korvettes, Two Guys, Zayre , Topps, etc. all started by veterans after the war. It was sold to Food Fair located in Philadelphia in 1965 which converted to Pantry Pride and they went under as retailers in 1978 realizing that their real estate holdings were a better business than their retail operations. Food Fair Properties, Inc owned all of the locations and was privately held by family members and sucked all of the profits out of the retail operations and food operations . They shut them all down and kept all of the cash in the real estate empire and everybody in the public stock and employees got screwed.

Gemco and Federated Group and TG&Ys are stores from Southern California I still remembered from my childhood years

My mom used to work at E. J. Korvette's department store in Sunset Hills, a suburb of St. Louis, Mo. She started working there when I started Kindergarten in 1969.

Love seeing all the large cars and pickups in the parking lot! Most of them without power steering!

When I was living in Milwaukee Wisconsin we had a Dept store called three Sisters and Johnny walker t,reasure Island Shuster s and Kenny Shoes

Growing up in So California, I remember WT Grants, White Front, Zodys, TG&Y and JJ Newberrys. The Dept stores were Seara, Penny's, May Company, Bullocks, and Buffums, these were all back in the day were we all dressed up to go shopping! Loved that time when I was very young!

I remember the Woolworth store and it even had a restaurant/cafeteria too. Nostalgic and bizarre

Woolco was our Walmart before Walmart.

Maybe its nostalgia, things just seemed more wholesome!

There were 3 stores were my mother would shop when I was a kid, for our school clothes.. Woolco, Zayres and Rinks.. all had discounted clothes that smelled like plastic burning!

My wife and I love your videos. They bring back a lot of memories for us, we are in our mid fifties. Thank you sir.

Gimbel’s was actually the first store that started the idea of the Thanksgiving parade to kick off the Christmas shopping season.

My father was the President of Gimbels. BAT didn’t want Gimbels but had to purchase it along with the company they DID want. They slowly killed Gimbels to get rid of it. It didn’t simply lose profits…it was purposefully left to fall apart by refusing to spend money on modernization and forward thinking inventory to keep customers coming back. It was a great company before BAT took it and killed it.

Back in the late 1970's,the early 1980's ,I was working at Hudson's Eastland Mall Department Store 🏬. I remember,when Fairlane Town Center Mall opened in Dearborn and Lakeside Mall opened in Sterling Heights. Then,Lord and Taylor opened Department Stores in the Fairlane Town Center Mall and Lakeside Mall.

Woolworth's department store was an offshoot of Woolco and they had a little cafeteria in the store with the best food. A beautiful art deco style swerving counter with a little carousel at each apex. The carousel had balloons with little discount price tickets in each balloon. When you ordered your food you picked a balloon and popped it and whatever price was on the ticket was the discount and occasionally you would get a prize of free lunch or dessert. The banana splits were amazing. Of course as kids we rode our bikes there. The workers at the store were wonderful and kind. And the stores were filled with a wide variety of merchandise. Just old school americana at its finest. I will go on record saying it was a better time in America. A much simpler and better time. It was. Glad I was there.

More of a variety of stores instead of so many Walmarts now.

Christmas shopping was such a pleasure back then. You would catch the holiday excitement from the crowds, as you viewed window displays and specialty goods that weren't available at other times of the year. It was such fun to set your budget and go on the hunt, often picking up an item or two for yourself to enjoy in the process.

Nice that you got Debbie Reynolds at a Zody's @9:08. She was always a popular SoCal Valley Girl. RIP...

These videos are amazing!

The Gimbel's had a talking Christmas tree in Manhattan. It terrified my as a child.

How to destroy a department store - 1) expand across the US, and/or 2) be bought out by a conglomerate that thinks they know your customers better than you do

I never went into any of these stores, but hearing about their slow decline and eventual death makes me sad. I have had a few in my life meet the same fate and its always depressing. Nostalgia is so powerful.

One of my earliest memories was the weekly shopping at Two Guys. My mom would get the groceries, and Dad would take us to the pet department to look at the fish.

I remember going to Woolco with my mom, aunt, and grandma. To my little kid eyes, it was a huge store because, I think they were huge!

I worked at Gimbels , the candy girl !!

I remember Korvette's in Portchester, NY. It became Caldor and is now a Kohl's.

My mom worked at Woolco when I was a small child. It closed and became a "Cola" store that was pretty similar.

I remember going to Two Guys as a kid!

Memories of Woolco, Woolworth’s, Ben Franklin, Kmart, Gambles stores turned into Pamidas, and later Alco stores turned to Shopko so many more great gone but not forgotten stores.

I beg to differ on the first super store founding. Meijer started in Greenville Michigan in 1934. They were Walmart before anyone knew who Sam Walton was. And they’re bigger than ever today. Still family owned as well.

If there’s ever another installment, I think Wisconsin’s Shopko deserves a mention. Many Midwest shopping memories.

I remember Burdines, Richard’s and Jordan Marsh in my younger years growing up in the Miami, Florida area. All three were in the downtown area of Miami competing with each other.🌴

I lived in Inglewood California at the time back in the '70s about 2 miles from where I lived there was a zody's it was awesome it had everything even an optical shop in great prices and my mother loved shopping there and us kids loved going along they had great toys 🤗

I think Gimbles was mentioned in "Auntie Mame" (1956) when Mame is fired from Macy's.

Beautifully made

Was a regular at Ames til they closed down. I remember both Hills and Zayre's which Ames bought.

Never heard of some of these chains, but... I remember shopping at the big NY Gimbels as a kid once or twice when my mom & aunt took me there. We also shopped at Woolco periodically, and I used to walk the 3-1/2 blocks to the Woolworth's store near my grandparents' house with friends at least once a week. When we moved from the NY area to MD, we shopped regularly at the local Korvette's -- and sometimes also at the store near my grandparents in NY, which is where we bought my first-ever guitar. We never shopped at Lord & Taylor (too expensive!) but I walked through the local store a couple of times with friends when we were "slumming," LOL. My family also shopped once in a while at both Ames & Zayre's (which was a lot better before Ames bought them out).

I'm was a child in NYC in the 1970s, so I am familiar with many department stores - Caldor, Korvette, Gimble's, A&S, Orbach's , etc. There were a lot more options back then.

I used to work at "2 Guys" in Hackensack, NJ in 1967.

Love and miss Woolco. My mom used to take me there when i was a kid in the 70's.

I remember Ames and Hills department stores.

Most of these stores were in my area, Rockland county NY. Suburbs of NYC. Korvertes in Nanuet NY which was replaced by a Service Merchandise which also closed. There was a huge Alexanders on RT 4 in Paramus NJ which was torn down in the last 90s. The building had a huge mural. Lord and Taylor in West Nyack NY and Paramus NJ store in RT17 which both closed in 2019. You’re totally right about not attracting younger shoppers. Greatest Generation, Silents and boomers shopped there. It didn’t attract GenXers or millennials. Can’t forget Gimbals in NYC. Their Christmas windows along with Lord and Taylor and Macys was a holiday treat. My grandparents lived in Manhattan and would take us to see the windows in the 70s.

I loved the Ames store. They had complete table settings that you could buy one at a time. I slowly bought the kitchen dishes over time until I got a complete set. I am still using them today.

We had a Kresge's in our local area. Loved it, it was downtown in an old building with several stories. The first floor was the main floor, it had a long sit down counter that had some of the best food. We didn't have much money back then but mom always made sure we got a bag of Ham sandwiches, it had 6 shaved ham and cheese sandwiches on hamburger buns in a bag, nothing else. We would grab a small jar of mayonnaise and have lunch in the car. Sadly, that store burned and since there was also a Kmart on the other side of town, they didn't rebuild. Good memories! 👍

I worked at Two Guys for awhile in the 70s. I always wondered what happened to them. Thanks!

Many a Back-to-School shopping happened at the local Ames. LOVED the store, because we lived in a small town, where Walmart didn't open until '94 or so and even a drive to a mall took +/- 45 minutes either way. It was so nice (and convenient) to go to ONE store and get clothes, shoes, personal toiletries and school supplies.

A couple of chains in the California area: Fedco, Gemco, and Fedmart. I had never heard of any of these except Gimbel's.

I loved Zodys. I still remember I got my favorite dress there as a teenager. It was a fun store with great prices..

I remember going to Gimbles in Milwaukee in the 60's. It was a magical place during the holidays.

Our local department store on long island, NY was Klein's or S Klein on the square... Mom and I would make a day of it...first a little shopping then lunch at the diner next door...ahh, such wonderful memories!

The stores I remember are hinshaws,white front,zodys,cal,grants,Woolworths, fedco,fedmart,wards sears,service merchandise, ardans,dobrins glendora,

I worked at a Woolco store in Northglenn Colorado in 1974. Helped set it up for opening, then worked a year before getting a job with the State. Went back two years later part time, and enjoyed working there.

I’m glad to know that despite the rapidly changing face of America, there’s still a handful Ben Franklin stores around small towns in the country. All isn’t lost🙏🏼

Thank you sooooooooo much 👌

My first job, when I was in high school was as a cashier at Ames. Minimum wage was $2.10 per hour.

I loved going to Gimbels in Manhattan as a child especially at Christmas! When we moved to Milwaukee years later we were happy to find them here also! The other large department store in Milwaukee was Schusters. They are also gone as is Marshall Fields who I believe started in Chicago.

As a teenager in the late 60"s early 70"s , living in the Rockaways,we used to shop in the 5 towns in Nassau county.EJ Korvetts, Bargain Town, which became TSS, and Mays.I would later work at TSS in Middle Island in the late 70's.. Growing up middle class back then,we actually lived very comfortably.

Ames was depressing in Bristol, TN. The locals went there to steal and break as much stuff as possible. During the Christmas season it was actually hard to navigate the isles because of the torn open boxes and clothing scattered on the floors and walked on, there was literally nothing worth buying.

Remember Korvettes here in the Detroit Michigan ,Area. We use to go to the one in Redford MI. West Chicago Rd, and Telegraph Rd, it was another , in Roseville Michigan, 12 and Gratiot. Family purchase our first Dishwasher there. Remember in 80 when they went defunked, sad, 7 ys old, lots of stores in the area dufunk, thanks for the You Tube Channel ❤️💯😃

So glad Two Guys was finally included on somebody's list of Forgotten department stores

I recognized all of the stores referenced that operated in the Mid-Atlantic region. I even worked for Hill's Department Store for a couple of years a long time ago. It's nice to know what became of it and why the chain vanished soon after I moved onto another job.

There was one store that I missed almost 4 years ago in June. It was called Shopko. It was a good store to stopped in to buy something. There was one that was very close to me at that time. It was another store,too and even was a family owned grocery store,too. I used to worked in that grocery store in the early 90’s in the deli department. I don’t missed it at all. I was doing all of the cleaning instead of helping in making certain salads that they had or even helping on making soups,too. I did waited on customers, used the French fryer, and even did grilled hamburgers for customers a little bit.

I live in Providence, just a couple of miles from what was one of the very last Ann & Hope locations, in Warwick RI. Another one near Mendon Road in Cumberland RI is now just an all-purpose specialty/outlet store. It's still referred to by locals as "the old Ann & Hope."

I live in Canada and did not realize that the US Woolco stores had closed 10 years before ours did.

Ty for these vids taking us down memory lane. So nostalgic for simpler times.

Other discount retailers that I remember are Treasure Island and Prange Way.

This brings back so many memories going to woolco and two guys and k mart and caldor

I worked as a Loss Prevention Officer for Gimbels in Westchester for a few years. Back then we were called Store Detectives though. Handcuffed many a shoplifter there. It started my 22 years of Law Enforcement. Was really a nice store back then, right up there with the prices of John Wanamaker's. I worked there but really couldn't afford to shop there.

I remember Woolco and Woolworths. A lot of the things that you show in the videos I remember going to as I grew up in Southern California and up here in Northern California. There was a Woolworths in the town of Marysville, it unfortunately closed in the 1980's. Good memories, thank you for sharing this video.

Thank you so much Recollection Road for uploading this great video, I appreciate it!

I've never seen a Woolco store, but I remember the TV commercials in the 70s for "Woolworth/Woolco". I also remember that there were Korvette's commercials on TV, though I have no actual recollection of seeing one. I remember that my parents shopped at a Two Guys store when I was little (late 60s-early 70s), but I have no idea where it was located.

I used to work in the mens dept On the ground floor.at gimbels In the 1960s Great place

Korvetts were in Illinois. Oak Lawn, north riverside and Rockford illinois.

When I was a child in the 1980s, I lived in Kansas City for a few years. There was a store called Dolgin's that sold all kinds of stuff, and I remember getting some of my My Little Ponies there. Anybody else remember that store?

5:36 OMG! Those bathing suits! The people in THOSE days would die of shock to see our bathing suits today!

Used to shop for good sweaters and professional slacks at the Gimbels at Southgate in Milwaukee, and later at Southridge. It and the late, great Boston Store were pleasant stores for picking up well-made clothing for teaching.

Anyone remember Pin N' Save? They were exactly like Big Lots, from what I remember as a toddler. Kmart and Pic N Save were where I would look at toys we couldn't afford, but I don't remember seeing any of the major brands like He Man, Transformer, Star Wars, or GI Joes. I only remember seeing off brand toys. :)

I remember that Korvettes with the stone front, it was located on Richmond Avenue in Staten Island. Now it's a strip mall and to the right of it there used to be a Mc Cory's. 1960s-1970s.

We had a Korvette's in Brooklyn close to the Verrazano Bridge. I always thought or heard that Korvette's was called "Kor-Vettes" because the Owners were Korean War Veterans-LOL. Thanks for clarifying. 😀 Brooklyn also had a T.S.S. (Times Square Stores) at the other end of Brooklyn at the end of East New York almost at the Lindenwood, Queens border.

Oh, as a German, I'm so impressed by all that beauty at Your parking lots, back than. (And sad about its totally loss today...)

In so cal we had a great clothing store called Robert Hall ! Great clothing store.

My childhood officially ended when Ames first bought Murphy's Mart and then Hills. Such fond memories of both, but not Ames.

A common theme from these videos is that Macy's is the kiss of death for any retailer.

Couple mentioned I remember fondly. Two-Guys for one. They were ahead of their time with the combo supermarket/department store. Kings was mentioned. Some not, at least so far would be Jamesway, Wilmington Dry Goods, Value City, and Gaudio's.

I remember Zody's from when I was a kid. The stores were gigantic and they sold everything from A to Z.

Where I lived, there was a department store chain called Titche's, which later became Joske's, was popular for a number of years, and then disappeared.