The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
Today’s question.
Many businesses go out of business, and you never hear a word from them again. What are a few businesses from your past that have shut down, but you wish would come back?
Talk about it….
Run-Burger-Run
El Charro
OSH. Home Depot and Lowes offer no help. We need neighborhood hardware stores. Bill’s ACE on Contra Costa Blvd. should come back too.
Outdoor Supply Hardware replaced OSH in the same building in Concord. Been open for awhile now.
Outdoor Supply, while I’ve heard is owned by the original owner of OSH, is not the same. Their prices are ridiculous. I was looking forward to the reemergence of OSH. After 3rd trip I never went back. Too bad.
Bill’s Ace on CC Blvd. FOR SURE!! Really miss that one.
.
Radio Shack
.
Yardbirds
.
McCovey’s Restaurant
.
Blockbuster
I’d much rather stand around trying decide for half an hour of a Friday night and maybe finding something cool to watch than staring at all the garbage in the streaming choices, ultimately picking nothing and then in frustration just going to bed.
My Hubby misses Blockbuster too.
Blockbuster. I really liked that place. And yes I also commonly scroll through the steaming choices and give up cause there is nothing worth the time.
The last Blockbuster is in Bend, OR. Run by Sandi Harding.
211 NE Revere Ave, Bend, Oregon 97701.
Netflix has a documentary about it. Its still open. I would call first if you plan an excursion. She may retire in six years, as of March 20, 2021.
Not really out of business but not in NorCal either.
Sharkey’s pizza. Their MoJo potatoes are tasty. In SoCal they have a few and their PCM combos are awesome.
Pizza, Chicken & Mojos.
there’s still a Shakey’s pizza open in Oroville. love those mojo’s
El Charo. Lafayette
I second that. That one stung!
Dang thumbs and auto correct.
Shakey’s Pizza.
Simons Hardware
Marie Callenders
Hungry Hunter
Lyons Restaurant
I Magnin
I had breakfast several times at Marie Callenders when I drove somewhere long distance. If I remember correctly the food was a notch above Denny’s and International House of Pancakes.
Now when I drive back from LA after visiting my daughter, I usually stop for breakfast at either Denny’s or IHOP, usually about 45 minutes or so from Pasadena, their breakfast is okay, but nothing compared to Sugar Plum here in Concord, however it is hard to find local joint when travelling and not want to get too far off the highway.
The Emporium on Market St. in San Francisco
Mervyn’s
Radio Shack
Montgomery Ward
Grand Auto
Woolworths
Blockbuster
Pacific Stereo
The old K-Mart before it became a subsidiary of Sears.
I’m even starting to miss Orchard Supply, thank goodness we still have ACE.
I bought my first stereo at Pacific Stereo about 50 years ago, in Mountain View as I recall.
I also bought my first stereo at Pacific Stereo in Berkeley on Shattuck
My first stereo also at Pacific Stereo in Walnut Creek. Harmon Kardon’s top model back in1973.
The Thai Kitchen on Gelinda street in Concord across the, street from Brenden theater.
The business were forced to move out because the greedy landlord increased the, rent
Amen to that! Bangkok Kitchen was the best and so was the owner, Peter. He was a family friend, so it was sad to see him have to leave.
Yes!!! Miss Bangkok Kitchen tremendously!
I would say French Laundry. Is that still open?
Yes, French Laundry is still open. Gavin Newsom likes it there! Must be the stupidest name ever for a restaurant!
@Badge 1104
I think it’s a very good name for the place.
Everyone that goes there really does “get taken to the cleaners”.
Pak – India Restaurant on Contra Costa Blvd.
I know its not a business, but i want Dunkaroos back. They are suppoed to be back in production but can never find them anywhere in stores.
They have them at 7-11!’ The one at Landana has them right now. They’re in a display on the counter .
Anna Miller’s
Hooters
The Wicked Eye
Don’t forge The Cat Patch in WC. Lots of fun in the early 70’s.
… El Charro (Lafayette) and Scott’s restaurant in Walnut Creek
El Charro did themselves in, trusting dishonest family member to .manage it. It was just a shell of the old good El Charro memories the last few years.
Very sad
Aunt Barbara,
The Garcia family had just been landholders/landlords since the mid 80’s. Frank wanted to retire and the kids really didn’t want to run a restaurant. They had been leasing out the operations of the restaurant for year including recipes.
The family had received many offers of the past 15-20 years for the land and since the heirs are all in their 60’s-70’s they finally accepted one.
I do posses the bleu cheese butter garlic dip recipe as we knew the Garcia’s as Frank & Ben were childhood friends of my uncle and dad.
I wasn’t talking about the landowners….. Just the ones who ran it.(into the ground).
I’m sure the Garcia family was very nice.
The Screw Shop
Hot Dog Palace- plenty of memories from this place from when I was in high scholl to my son as a toddler eating fries and dancing in the park on a Thursday evening.
Tony Roma’s in Danville
Carlos Murphy’s!!!
The funnest place to grub in my opinion!
El Charro in Lafayette
OSH (the original one – though the current OSH is OK)
Lettuce Romaine Friends (that was were the Concord Kung Fu Academy is now)
Hobby Town
The Screw shop
That’s just nuts!
(but it was a great place to buy metric fasteners)
The Screw Shop was on the left side of Meadow Lane as you head to Willow Pass Rd. Now it’s all housing there now.
EJ Phair – really miss them
Farrells
Mr. Steak
York Steak House
Bob’s Big Boy
Popin Fresh Pies
I loved Yardbirds, bought a lot from them when I did some up grades to my Benicia condo. However, at this stage in my life I’m not remodeling or doing any major up grades so not an issue. I use to like Victoria Station, but there are other restaurants that serve steak etc.
When I lived in New York I love Chock full of Nuts, though not a big coffee drinker, they had other items that I liked, a nut bread with cream cheese, just delicious and their prices were good. I think they still have a few locations in the New York Area, but when I lived in Manhattan there were several locations.
Dairy Belle
mmmm. Dairy Belle on Oak Park. Five burgers for a buck (1966).
Also, Bud’s Pork Chop Sandwich shop on Oak Park. First time I ever had pork chops slathered in apricot jam. What time is it?
Really nobody brought up Long’s you’re all happy with CVS?
To painful to bring up.
Freddy’s Pizza in Lafayette
The Good Guys (the Electronics Store chain)
Yes!!!! I have fabulous childhood/teen memories of Jim Tate with a Pall Mall hanging from his lips flipping dough and taking sips of his special “coffee”, his trusty assistant Buddy close by and Mary waiting tables. Best pizza ever.
Freddies, the Seafood Grotto owned by the Panfili’s with crab pots going during crab season and El Charro made Lafayette a special place
Anna Miller’s
The Magic Pan
Peppermill
El Torito and Chevy’s
Steak and Brew (good sangria!)
H Salt fish and chips
Leatherby’s
Montgomery Wards
Ace Hardware in Pleasant Hill (😡)
I loved the booths at the Peppermill.
Ace in P.Hill had an excellent bolt and screw selection.
Hogans on CoCo Blvd is gone too.
The Dome theater. Loved the matinees after work.
The gem shop in P.hill.
Nations near YVHS. We would enjoy a hamburger while observing the going on in the parking lot. There are “things” going on in parking lots. Lol
Magic Garlic
York’s Chinese Restaraunt
Fong Lin Chin
Master Links
The Cuban restaurant that used to be across the street from Brenden Theaters. They were the only good Cuban food in the area.
Slow Sams market. At the corner of Olympic & Tice Valley.
LOVED Slow Sam’s!!! Grew up down the street. Learned to swim at Dewing. Also miss: Copper Broiler, LoRay’s supermarket, Lomell’s Creamery/Greyhound, Tiny’s Hut, Birdie’s Toy Store, Kittie Milk Bar, Hokie’s, the Original Mel’s, Riley’s Music Store, Banana Records, The Ramona Theater, (I guess you could throw El Rey theater in there), Pastorino’s Brittany Inn, Lupois, Army-Navy Surplus, Grand Rapids Furniture, Rinehart’s Jewlers, The Nut House, Lippert’s Ice Cream, Simas Bros. Gas station, Gemco, Rhett-White Ford, The Red Barn, I. Magnum and Joseph Magnin, Nut Bowl, Smith’s, Woolworth’s, Las Palmas Hotel, etc., etc.
Wow – how old are you guys ? I went to Parkmead and swam at Dewing in the seventies . i believe the store youre refering to as Slow Sams was called Pauls market when i was a kid. Loved Gemco LIpperts and Red Barn also.
Parkmead 60’s. Mom was there too in 1948.
I grew up on Sequoia Ave. Swam at Dewing Park pool, and occasionally had slurpees from Speedy Mart.
The Red Barn burger place, right next door to the Snow White drivein(across the street from Crystal Pool Hardware).
That’s going back aways.
To BOOYAH – it’s a drive but check out Victory Surplus on Virginia St in Vallejo. Hasn’t changed in 50 years. Friendly employees. Sure to buy something you didn’t know you REALLY needed.
Tullio’s Italian Restaurant
Beverly’s and does anyone remember the small grocery store that was in Dana Plaza shopping center? I think it’s a fitness place now but use to love going there and picking up their seasoned tri tips. I was devastated when they closed.
That was diablo foods there is still one in lafayette
Evie’s
Simon’s
Piedmont Lumber
Navalet’s Nursery
Andronico’s
El Charro
Cape Cod
Yankee Pier
Army Navy Surplus
Standard Brands
KFC in Walnut Creek
Brennan’s in Berkeley
Woolworth’s
I started going to Brennan’s in Berkeley when I was a kid with my parents. My father was a friend of Ralph Brennan. It was located in the original green building diagonally across from Spengers restaurant. I’d always get a Turkey Leg and the Strawberry Shortcake. I remember when they moved down the block to the old train station. By then I was sitting at the bar, having a drink and watching a ball game.
which ever one’s need to, to end amazon before it crushes every other retailer and most of the web
@r: I just got off the phone with a guy that has a very small electronics supply business in Oakland. He used to have a big store and a warehouse. He said Amazon stole 90% of his business and many others like it. Sad.
Not really out of business yet, but miss the Diablo Foods locations in Concord.
Even though it’s farther, Lunardi’s on Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek boarder is one of my ‘go to’ places every 2 weeks now.
Corner Bakery in Pleasant Hill when it had competent adult management.
Mattson’s dairy and fountain in Concord.
Wilson’s fountain in Martinez
the screw shop
Kelloway Hardware in WC
Pazzo in Pleasant Hill
… Screw Shop is over on Detroit now near Costco I think
Long’s everywhere but especially their enormouse department type store at 51st (Plesant Valley Road) & Broadway in Oakland, and Mr. Pickwick’s on Clayton Road. They’ve been gone a long time, and I’ll never get over their loss.
The Big C Athletic Club , i will miss it so much !
Marie Calendars.
Mervyns
Emporium Capwells
Yardbirds
Navelets
When I worked in Oakland the Capwells basement was my BFF along with the semi annual sales at Joseph Magnin.
Well Folks, Thanks for the memory. The Capwell’s basement was the BEST!
Sweet Tomatoes
Mervyn’s.
That place made clothes shopping fun for those who hate clothes shopping.
Nobody mentioned Sizzler…. good call.
El Charro for sure
and Contra costa indoor sports in Antioch
Sambo’s
loved Sambo’s little pancakes.
and the book…Little Black Sambo, that has probably since been eradicated by Dems.
Who remembers the Olive Garden? I miss that place.
I miss Charbird. They were in the same strip mall as Diggers and Bambino’s. They had such delicious chicken.
Burger Road in P Hill on Contra Costa. Best burgers n fries and also had dart throwing tournaments.
Liberty House dept store in Park n Shop on Willow Pass.
Longs drugs……great fishing tackle dept.
Aunt Barbara: That information about El Charro is completely false. I know the owners and they were never dishonest. They went out of business due to the pandemic!!! They are the nicest folks ever.
Actually the Garcia’s sold the land and that is what really put El Charro out of business. The pandemic hurt as paying the lease was almost impossible. But the Garcia heirs finally bit at an offer for the land which was in the millions
But you are correct that there was never any dishonesty involved by either party.
Also Aunt Barbara was wrong about the food as the recipes were the same since 1947. As of Nov 2019 the food was the same as it had always had been. It was still a “go to” for those of us raised in Lafayette until it closed
The record store kattycorner from Wells Fargo on Main, WC. It had a sound booth to play records. Also Tower Records in Concord. A diverse selection of music. My introduction to Ultra Lounge, music of the sixties. They also had listening stations. Bert Kaempfert!
The taqueria in back of Parknshop at the bend in the road. There was also one in WC and Danville.
Loards in WC.
Luckys at the Trader Joes, WC location had HUGE deli sandwiches.
Nations across from Albertsons in P.Hill
The antique shop at the crook in P.Hill. Hookston Rd.
New York Fabrics on CoCo Blvd.
@Just
Where does one for good antiques in this area? TIA
Yardbirds, Woolworths
I also miss Burton French Lumber that was located where the Citrus Center at Oak Grove & Treat in WC is now. It was a great lumber yard.
Kelleway hardware, and Affaghatso’s Pizza (sp?) In Walnut Creek.
Berkeley Farms WC
Mel’s
Lipperts Ice Cream
Compton’s next to Emporium Capwells
Snow White Burgers North Walnut Creek
Co-op Geary Rd
Flavios in Lafayette
What ’bout Station One? When we moved out here from the “other Bay area,”
Tampa Bay around 1991, we lived in apartment complex across street from
Petrini’s (now Lunardi’s). Also, there was little Italian restaurant (where an
Asian rest is now). Kind of behind Rite-aid. Name?? Owner was from Italy. Wife named Candy.
Also, my “Christmas dishes” came from Simon’s going out of business sale.
Guess nothing ever stays the same…..
Borders Books and Tower Books.