Dimestore Memories

[Debi]

They made my brother and I beer can hats.

LOL! My awful attempts were so bad they became play yarn for the cats.

 

[garnetsilver]

The door had bells on a spring, they jingled when it opened and closed. There were smells of fresh plastic and peppermint and maybe roasted peanuts.

And there were things, wonderful things. A counter-top display of smoking pipes made by someone named "Doctor Grabow". Even adults pronounced it "Doctor Grabbo", which sounds a bit awful, many years later I found out that the surname is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, "Gra-BOE". Much less alarming. And other things, flashlights, yo-yo's, things....

Tomte Toys models

The Gayla Kite Obsession

Tricky Dogs Pair 771

I remember having the Tricky Dogs! And my two brothers had those kite kits and wouldn't let me play with them when they were finished. I also remember the dime store in New Jersey where I grew up; I think it was called McCrory's. There were aisles of fascinating stuff, a sewing department where I loved to gaze at the rainbow colors of embroidery silks while my mother shopped. We always stopped at the lunch counter for toasted sandwiches and maybe a chocolate shake, or maybe just ice cream cones. The store smelled like roasting peanuts ( you could get a bag, freshly roasted for a quarter) and you could hear the caged birds shrieking. And of course, all the wonderful toys and novelty items. When I was a teen, my sister and I would just go there to browse the aisle. I don't think the dollars stores today can hold a candle to the dime stores. They stock a lot of overflow items from bigger stores, and there just isn't that magic that the dime stores evoked!

 

[stormhorse]

Sometimes once you start to remember, all sorts of things come back!

hum-a-zoo - Google Search

green avenger squirt gun - Google Search

aurora plastic model kits - Google Search

a-ok toys - Google Search

dimestore novelty - Google Search

 

[WitchAndShaman]

As a pre-teen, my family used to shop at “Kresge” which was the predecessor to Kmart.

The one in my hometown actual had TWO eateries inside. One was a small island in the middle of the store which served hotdogs, Icee brand frozen drinks, and the most amazing ham sandwiches made with real thinly sliced ham, shredded lettuce, yellow mustard, and a hamburger bun. The other was a grill with a combination of booths and counter seating. I well remember how pleasant the waitresses were there.

That place had everything!

It survived for a very long time in a shopping center filled with lots of competition including a JC Penney, Sears, Macy’s, and even a second five-and-dime style store.

 

[WitchAndShaman]

Oh, my sister used to work at a TG&Y. That place was fun to shop at too. I remember getting my Mr. Potato head there.

 

[Duke]

As a pre-teen, my family used to shop at “Kresge” which was the predecessor to Kmart.

The one in my hometown actual had TWO eateries inside. One was a small island in the middle of the store which served hotdogs, Icee brand frozen drinks, and the most amazing ham sandwiches made with real thinly sliced ham, shredded lettuce, yellow mustard, and a hamburger bun. The other was a grill with a combination of booths and counter seating. I well remember how pleasant the waitresses were there.

That place had everything!

It survived for a very long time in a shopping center filled with lots of competition including a JC Penney, Sears, Macy’s, and even a second five-and-dime style store.

Kresge, then Kmart, also sold cold submarine sandwiches; Bologna, ham, salami, American cheese, lettuce, pickles, and mustard. I don't recall the regular price, but as closing time approached the price on those already made went down to three for a dollar. They were nothing special, just cold cuts and toppings, but a real treat for us as kids.

 

[WitchAndShaman]

Kresge, then Kmart, also sold cold submarine sandwiches; Bologna, ham, salami, American cheese, lettuce, pickles, and mustard. I don't recall the regular price, but as closing time approached the price on those already made went down to three for a dollar. They were nothing special, just cold cuts and toppings, but a real treat for us as kids.

Yes, I think Kmart would fire off a "blue light special" alert to get people to race for the cheap eats at closing.

 

[Paintman]

I painted 11 Kmarts in the early 2000s. I got a little inside baseball from several of the managers. The whole thing was a setup from the beginning. Kmart and Sears were going down because somebody wanted the real estate

 

[Duke]

I painted 11 Kmarts in the early 2000s. I got a little inside baseball from several of the managers. The whole thing was a setup from the beginning. Kmart and Sears were going down because somebody wanted the real estate

I think I've previously mentioned I worked my way through college painting parking lots. The guy I worked for had a contract with a company that owned a large number of shopping malls east of the Mississippi. I hated doing the Sears' lots at those malls, Sears always had to have their lot look different from the rest of the mall parking lot. If the rest of the mall lot was painted yellow, Sears would want their's white. If the rest of the mall lot had angled parking, Sears would want straight in parking. If the rest of the mall lot had hashed out no parking areas, Sears would want cross hashed no parking areas. Sears would also refuse to let us put our empty paint cans in their dumpsters.

 

[stormhorse]

McCrory Stores - Wikipedia


Stedmans V&S - Wikipedia


Metropolitan Stores - Wikipedia

Metropolitan Stores were usually free-standing or located in strip malls or shopping malls and ranged in size between 20,000 to 40,000 square feet (1,900 to 3,700 m2). The stores carried household items (batteries, locks, screwdrivers, hammers, saws, wrenches, pliers, wire cutters, nuts, bolts, screws, shovels, pitchforks, hand spades, spades, rakes, watering hoses, sprinklers), sundries, seasonal products, clothing and footwear (men, women, children, infants), food and snacks, jewellery, stationery, crockery, beauty products, furniture, toys (namely dolls, doll clothing including dresses, sleep ware and accessories, model cars, miniature pick-up trucks, container trucks, wheels, rigs and doll play bags), vinyl records, electronics, creative products like needlecrafts, fabrics and Phentex yarn.

For many years, Metropolitan featured in-store lunch counter-style restaurants known as Cafe Met which were usually located at the back of the stores or, when a store had a second sales floor, they were located either in the basement or upstairs on the first floor. However, as the years went on and many larger stores were either closed or converted, fewer Metropolitan Stores had cafes in them. They served a fairly standard menu of hot and cold drinks, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and such other sandwiches as grilled cheese, hot turkey and turkey club sandwiches.

The Met was famous for their grilled cheese sandwiches.
Also they had a line of very cheap black plastic briefcases that was very popular.