Have You Visited These Defunct Retail Stores?

Similar to lost media, other aspects of culture can disappear or become non-existent throughout the years, with retail stores being one of them. It's very nostalgic looking back on places you can never visit again, so let's discuss what these lost stores were like!

[ZeepAtomic]

I remember when my local mall used to be a proper mall. It had a Target, an FYE, a Justice, a GameStop, you name it, it was there.

Then one day the Target shut down, and it all went downhill from there. All the major retailers would drop like flies throughout the years, with the last major store loss being Carson's.

Now all that's left are a Spencer's and a Bath and Body Works. Honestly, it blows my mind at the fact those two stores somehow managed to survive what felt like a retail apocalypse.

It wouldn't surprise me if that corpse of a mall turns into one big Spirit Halloween someday.

[geologyjoerocks]

I worked at a KB Toys when I was in high school in the mid 90s, and I remember telling my boss I was disappointed that they didn’t sell LEGO, lol

[otaking]

There was a nearby Circuit City where I bought Kingdom Hearts II, which is still my all-time favorite video game. When it closed, it became a Toys R Us, so I ended up experiencing heartbreak twice with the same building. Currently it's a gym, and it disgusts me every time I see it. Cue Harry Potter shouting "How dare you stand where he once stood!"

[muppetsretrofan]

Toys R Us is super nostalgic to me [I'm glad they're making a comeback in Macy's], and my mom remembers going to Aladdin's Castle, Suncoast, and KB Toys, where she later worked at a few years before I was born. I wish Aladdin's Castle, KB Toys and Zany Brainy had stuck around, despite me never having the chance to go to any of them. On a different note, I've become interested in defunct restaurants, especially defunct animatronic restaurants, and the story of Captain Andy's River Towne is so interesting and full of lost media.

[queencancerous]

I remember Lazer Quest being a source of childhood trauma. The location near me had an image of an alien smashing through the wall in one of the first rooms you went into, it scared me so badly that I even had nightmares about it.

[partykeet]

Omg, thank you for bringing up Lazer Quest! We had a location in Arizona I grew up with that me and my dad went to multiple times. I LOVED how it was everyone against everyone and that you could choose your own code name and the atmosphere of everything was so cool. I remember going to a part of the arena that had mirrors, but didn’t know it at first; so when I saw movement, I shot at it and it reflected back to my freakin’ eyeballs, lol. We then moved to Oregon when I was 13 and the closest LQ was up in northern Washington. I contacted their Facebook page at about 20 years old and they said that they were expanding all the time and were looking into an Oregon location. Then 2020 happened. I was incredibly sad they all closed, but I find it really cool that you commemorate the place in your username - like carrying a little trophy every time you post a video.

[jojomations]

Hot Topic was legit an emo/metal themed store back in the day before anime/pop culture merch took over

[AkumaAPN]

A fun missing detail from this video: old Circuit City commercials would end with a jingle & a CGI animation of a giant plug flying through the air, and plugging into the ground in the front of the store, as if that red tower on the front of every store was a giant plug. Lol.

[Pikmin]

Shout out to Movie Gallery. I used to rent a lot of N64 and GameCube games from that place. Going there on a Friday night after playing a baseball game after stopping by either a pizza place or McDonald's. While my family watched there movies with the lights off, I'm in my room playing Smash Bros Melee or Mario Strikers. It's those nights I'll never forget. I still have the one game I bought when they closed, Luigi's Mansion on GameCube. Today the building still lives on as a Worlds Finance.

[cranklabexplosion-labcentr]

In AZ, we had Tower Records, McFrugals, more Radio Shacks than people, Virgin megastore, Zany Brainy, Video Update/Hollywood Video/Blockbuster, KB/Toy World, and the last FYE recently turned into a funko/edgy button and patch store.

[skittycecil]

As someone who grew up in New Jersey, one of my childhood staple stores was Ricky’s Candy, Cones and Chaos. I didn’t go there often, but it was always a real treat. I even remember having my 6th birthday party there, and how surprised I was to be taken out of the party room and allowed to choose a free toy from the merch stand! The day I found out it was closing was a rough one. I’ve been to similar candy stores since then, but none have had quite the same magic as Ricky’s.

[TheBandicootNerd]

My favorite defunct store that I have a lot of nostalgia for is Borders. Still have some books with Borders stickers on them.

[mr.sargentdrpepper]

I wouldn’t be a Nintendo collector today if it wasn’t for KB Toys that was around my block in Queens, NY! Thanks for the memories

[EthanArtsAndStudios]

I remember as a kid going to Circuit City, Blockbuster Video, EB Games, Suncoast, Justice (as they had Webkinz plushes there), Discovery Channel Store, and KB Toys. All of these stores no longer exist today, but one surviving last Blockbuster Video is still open in Bend, ON. I remember seeing a Sam Goody location in my local shopping mall, later it became FYE and it closed and the former location was transformed into a food court, it's now in the first level in my local shopping mall. Disney Store, as well as Suncoast, and Sam Goody still exists, but only a handful of locations that are still open elsewhere in the US. I remember seeing CompUSA and Club Libby Lu locations as well.

[HannahandCailinLoesch]

that you covered this! Your comment about never decoding super stylized logos as a kid is so real. It’s funny how foreign so much seems when you are super young and don’t have much context. We remember the f.y.e at the King of Prussia Mall…they used to have events there where they’d bring musicians in to perform. Thank you for the memories!!!

[blazedyn]

As a Canadian, every GameStop in my city was known as EB Games up until pretty recently, when they all rebranded. We also still have a dedicated Toys R Us here, although they no longer sell video games unfortunately.

[ComicToonProductions]

We finally have the lore of the channel name and inspiration.

[davidbutler]

I distinctly remember the Geoffrey's stores. They were an off-shoot of Toys R Us based on the giraffe mascot, and their main focus was video games. I'm pretty sure the display unit in there was the first time I played Psychonauts.

[CrownedCryptid]

Most shocking takeaway from this video is the mention of those weasl toys, like OMG I have not thoguht of those in YEARS but those used to be on display everywhere!!
Would love to see more videos like this about various dosages of nostalgia! You have such a great relatable and chill way of covering this kind of stuff!

[Elykar]

I love content like this. Fascinating to check out other folks' nostalgic places. I have many of my own, that while different occupy the same place in my memory.