Ames Department Stores - back from the dead?

Not on my list of wished resurrections.

I spent many a summer day looking through Ames when I was a kid — all good memories.

I wish it would have been Hills!

Is/was this an East Coast thing? I've never heard of this store.

Who asked for this?

R4 Yes, seems like it was mostly Northeast at first.

They bought out a chain in PA and went west a bit to the Midwest, but went bankrupt in the 90s.

They were like a lesser Kmart. Maybe somewhere between Kmart and Dollar General.

ZZZZZZZ. Wake me when they resurrect Venture.

I wouldn't quite say Dollar General. But they were definitely a rung or three below Kmart. They were along the lines of Zayre's.

My Mom loved Ames.

Anyone remember Zody's?

Why? Ames sucked back in the day. Who is missing Ames? Even this is pushing it from a nostalgia point of view.

It felt like a scam in Indiana - Ames promised prospective employees living wages right outside of Gary. The company set up two stores and promptly closed up due to bankruptcy within a few months.

All these older folks left lower paying jobs to work there and every one was terminated. This would have been around early 2001.

What's next-- Caldor? Bradlee's? White Front? Two Guys? Fedco? Grant's?

There’s definitely a market for a TJ Maxx competitor that follows the Aldi’s business model and undercuts with tightly curated inventory Let’s see some well made men’s basics and bed linens that don’t shred after the third wash, a decent sit down cafe.

[quote]I wouldn't quite say Dollar General. But they were definitely a rung or three below Kmart. They were along the lines of Zayre's.

Absolutely R9. In fact, they bought Zayre (in Massachusetts at least) in the late ‘80s/ early ‘90s.

You could always get a five finger discount at Ames.

Bring back Sears!

[quote] You could always get a five finger discount at Ames.

In my salad days we used that discount a few times at Value City.....or as we used to call it, VC Boutique.

the one in my region was DEPRESSING AS FUCK. everything about it was dreary.

Who???

I miss Mammoth Mart, with Marty the Elephant and Baby Elephant Walk as the background music in their commercials.

My mom and grandmother loved Bradlee's.

Didn’t Ames have an expansion period around 2000 and it lasted a hot minute? I remember them opening around Chicago and lots of commercials. Around the same time with Rosie and Penny Marshall doing Kmart ads.

I never cared much for Ames. There are other department stores I'd rather see return. That said, this has been circulating for a couple of years now.

What's next-- Caldor? Bradlee's? White Front? Two Guys? Fedco? Grant's?

Caldor seemed to be a step above Ames and Bradlee's. Half a step, anyway.

[quote]What's next-- Caldor? Bradlee's? White Front? Two Guys? Fedco? Grant's?

Woolco!

I shoplift at Alexander's!

Yes, I shoplift at Alexander's!

I'm surprised someone has tried to bring back the, at least in name, Woolworth or Woolco.

Someone has?

[quote] In my salad days we used that discount a few times at Value City

I forgot about Value City! That’s one I’d be glad to see again. You could go there one week and find absolutely nothing, and then the next time you’d find really fine olive oil and a good pair of shoes. Strange business model, but it made for a little adventure.

With shopping online more popular than ever this sounds like a losing proposition.

If we're ralking New England, BENOIT'S or Newberry's.

Good god. NO!

I hated that fucking place as a kid. (New Englander) it made Bradlees look fancy for fucks sake.

My poor mother.

"Mom I do not want to be seen at Ames- ITS CHEAP! And people will think that we are poor!"

"Mom, Ames is a DUMP, I want to go to Jordan Marsh".

"Mom, Ames has no brand names!"

My mother knew I was a cunt. I don't know how she dealt with me.

Ames replaced Zayre's where I lived- and BOTH were trashy dumps!

Anyone from Maine? Does DAY'S still exist?

They had that cool retro theme song.

Robert Hall

Ames was okay; they were usually in smaller areas where I lived in suburbia/rural New York.

Hills was for back to school clothes for kids whose parents couldn't afford name brands.

[quote]Robert Hall

Robert Hall was a clothing chain that offered services such as tailoring for its affordable garments. not a discount department store. It went bankrupt in the '70s when it was put out of business by discount chains such as Kmart that offered cheaper foreign-made clothing.

You may believe that a cat vomited on my toasted buns, but I don’t have a cat. I made crab salad because I have too much celery. The pink color is especially vulgar because of Old Bay and Cayenne pepper. It’s tasty, but saltines would have worked better.

In the Northeast it was K Mart, Caldor, Ames, Bradlees and Zayre. We didn't get Wal Mart or Target until the later 90s, if I'm remembering correctly. Once Wal Mart and Target arrived, the other stores really took a hit on their business and closed in the following years.

R41- You nailed it! Target barely made it to the NH Seacoast by 2000? Maybe 2003?

As a little boy in the early 90s I thought K-Mart (despite it being a DUMP) was somehow vindicated by Martha Stewart and the STUNNING Ms. Jaclyn Smith!

But mainly by Martha. My thinking was if this stuck up ruthless cunt sells her wares at K-Mart- that means something.

Kmart was just as dumpy as Ames.

Growing up in the 80s, there was a K Mart and a Caldor in the next town over (this was CT) and not many people would ever admit to shopping there but they did on the down low. There were fewer retail options back then and if you needed cleaning supplies, bathroom stuff etc. you only had a handful of stores to choose from.

And then there was Railroad Salvage, which was pretty much a precursor to Job Lots. That was the store NOBODY would admit to shopping in, but they did anyway in secret. God forbid you ran into anybody you knew when you were there!

IN NH/MA we had some REAL dumps- but these 2 dumps I loved

When I was like 3? I remember a place called "ZYLA'S"- I need to google this..

And then in Mass we had something called Building 19- It was BANANAS

These places were like small chains?

Our Ames was by far the grossest.

HOWEVER- Let me add another chain into the mix. And this place was DANK!!!! (In truth most of my shopping jaunts were with a family I befriended who were poor AF- I never was afraid being seen with them because if anyone saw us, they would know that I was just with THEM! (A real cunt I was- and I loved that family- I was an only child so everything about them was different and exciting)

I got in a fight with their mother (she could tell what a little snob I was) She said that our "RICH'S" was the same chain as in Georgia- As a fucking kid who had traveled down south I knew that -THAT-Rich's was an institution and far higher end than our RICH'S-which was a shithole that the Darfur Orphan would have lifted their nose at in disgust.

Anyone remember RIch's in New England? Truthfully, worse than our Ames!! (Ames's??, Ames'?)

I stand by that K-Mart was elevated by Martha Stewart-

1980s PA had all of them: Ames, Zayre, Caldor, Bradlees, Jamesway, Hills, Gee Bee, Kmart, Clover, and probably some I'm forgetting. No Target, no Wal-Mart yet. Ames was pretty forgettable as I remember it, and more small townish. When I lived near Falls Church, VA they converted a huge free-standing Lord & Taylor to a 2-story Caldor circa 1994 which is probably why I thought of that chain as a cut above the others along with Clover in the Philly area (owned by Strawbridge's department stores). That Caldor became Sears when they went under a few years later.

Caldor and Bradlees disappeared pretty fast.

Gee Bees, owned by the same family that spawned Stephen Miller.

[quote]I'm surprised someone has tried to bring back the, at least in name, Woolworth or Woolco.

I think Woolworth still exists in Australia.

The whole Ames thing is a hoax.

Can we talk about Spag's on Route 9 in Shrewsbury just outside of Worcester, MA? I remember my parents and grandparents taking me there as a kid! That place was crazy - I don't know if I loved it or hated it!

You all missed Horney’s in Illinois! The sneakers were new, but you had to make sure both shoes were the same size and there was a left and right shoe.

They had moon boots and Minnesota Viking parkas. I was fabulous that winter.

R46, Clover was the best! While my family rarely entered Strawbridge, we spent a lot of time in Clover… over and over.

Fuck Building 19, Ames, Zayres, Bradley’s, Calder and the like.

Bring back Orbit.

Kmart was a dump, but Building 19 made Kmart look like Macy's.

[quote]And then there was Railroad Salvage, which was pretty much a precursor to Job Lots.

R44 = "Choo-Choo" Vine.

R51 the size 65 Levi’s nailed to the wall spoke well of the range of sizes they carried. Levi’s, batteries, Pop-Tarts (I went to school in Worcester) you name it, they had it.

Speaking of Railroad Salvage, I see they are closing their last store in West Haven. University of New Haven bought the property for expansion. They are supposedly relocating.

On my way to LaGuardia this morning, I saw a sign for a Toys R Us. Old sign, or do a few actually exist? I have fond memories of going there as a kid. I have a vague memory of a horrible AI video that was supposed to herald its return but then heard nothing further.

When I was a kid growing up outside Boston in the 80’s it was Building 19 on the Lynnway my aunt loved to take us to. It was a CRAZY odd lots kind of place and you’d often have to dig through old inventory and odds and ends. It was also a fabulous place to buy drag years later with my friends, we scored fabulous gold lame gowns there for $8.

Here in Florida there is a copycat called Ollie’s, that uses the very same schtick Building 19 did, right down to the cartoons. It’s nice, but more curated and not as great as Building 19’s deals I remembered.

Out of all the dead department stores, I don't think Ames would even make my list for a revival.

There was a Building 19 in my town years ago. What a dump. It made Ames look posh. Fun to go to once, but once was enough.

How is Ollie’s? They’re starting to pop up in Flyoverstan.

Building 19 had a lot of salvage crap. I remember seeing cellophane-wrapped paper napkins that were clearly flood-damaged. The napkins inside had mud stains. Yes, they were cheap. But that the store was charging anything for them was ridiculous.

I think Ollie's took over some of the Big Lot locations.

There's an Ollie's not too far from me and it's a DUMP.

[quote]Woolco

Ah, Woolco. Good memories. Replaced here by Walmart.

I miss Zellers too. Target came up here, bought out all the Zellers stores, died a much deserved retail death and now Zellers is back trying to cater to upper middle class consumers when the original was a well liked discount, almost one-stop shopping chain.