The Caldor Rainbow

Timewarped Stop & Shop Remains In West Springfield

2010-03-23T23:10:00.000-04:00

Check those expiration dates! Roll that cart back down that aisle! Way back...

The Caldor Rainbow has uncovered a true gem of chain supermarket-dom somewhat rare, even around these parts, an old-school Stop & Shop. Along the stretching retail hub in West Springfield, Mass., a timewarped interior Stop & Shop with plenty of long-bygone signage you might not have seen in decades still exists.

But for how much longer?

W. SPRINGFIELD, MA -- Stop & Shop, just one of 11 in a 10-mile blast radius, at Riverdale Shops plaza along Riverdale Street is an endangered species among the entirety of stores in the leading Northeast supermarket chain, Stop & Shop. In just the last year or so, the vital and somewhat aggressive remodeling campaign sought to transform many of the falling behind 25+ year "Super Stop & Shop"-era stores into newly-faced, in-and-out and color-schemed with "fruit basket" logo stores, we caught our first glimpse of in mid-2008.

Like mega-retailer Walmart, the chain followed a similar campaign, rapidly overhauling many of its stores that flood the Northeast market as the dominant, prominent supermarketeer. In 2010, finding a "Super Stop & Shop" is endangered. Finding one with signage from the mid-80's is, well, near impossible.

Twas an ordinary lunch run on a gray afternoon. Approaching the entrance, immediately visible from the parking lot was a maroon awning with a retro "Pharmacy" sign, sending a flash back to the 80's and early 90's-era of the chain's funkier signage. Upon entering the store, furthering into time's abyss, we witnessed architectural marvel all around us; spots of wood paneling, brown-tinted and paneled shelving and endcaps but shockers abound: the retro signage -- almost all of it. I further looked for a video rental store...

"The Bake Shop", complete with exuberantly grinning bakery man all still in-tact, complete with a putrid, yet lovely outdated, earthtoned Caldor Rainbow-style motif all over the rims of the walls. Zigzag "Creamery" signs, "Butcher Shop" and "Frozen Foods" all sent me back just a little.

Looking around for a nearby USA Today, I had to rest assure I didn't just step into a wormhole, sending me back to 1986. "Great Scott!"

Know of any Stop & Shop's that have missed a few eras of remodel? Please let us know as we find more and fight atrocious spammers attempting to hijack the often vacant Caldor Rainbow.

Here's to my readers, reporting safely in the present: March 23, 2010.

Krispy Kreme Klosed

2010-02-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

At 1440 Boston Post Road in Milford, the red-glazed neon once signaling freshly-made glazed donuts right off the conveyor belt lights no more.

Driving up and down the ever-bustling US-1, Boston Post Road in Milford, many will now have to chose Starbucks or perhaps for their donut fix, the newly-built Dunkin' Donuts across from the juggernaut Connecticut Post Mall. Once a beacon to one's afternoon sugar attack, the state's final free-standing Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (not "Donuts!") has finally closed.

Yes, finally. And quite frankly, I'm surprised its taken this long.

If the 1-800-Junk truck didn't scare customers away for the past year and a half, the wild sugary values and aggressive critics found in Krispy Kreme's delicious glazed doughnuts might have. Or perhaps it was the grizzly murder locals remember taking place here when it was KFC back in 1999...

Slowly dwindling from the Milford store included merchandise, a play area for kids, specialty drinks and other menu items to even plastic cups for iced beverages, Krispy Kreme tightened its belt with a firm squeeze over the last couple years of its life enough to splatter the jelly all over the walls. On a typical afternoon, one would be eerily greeted by a hollow presence in the store's lobby. Yeah, don't scare the staffers...

The location which opened to much, much fanfare in 2002 along with sister shop in Newington closed quietly in late 2009 though the Caldor Rainbow has discovered this upon passing in late January (yes, where have we been...). Forthcoming "drive-in" service restaurant (that's correct, no dining room!), Sonic is been among the rumored to open in its place -- as well as make for the first site in Connecticut. We'll surely expect blistery Winters and limited warmth in the fertile months are among the culprits for Sonic's future troubles in the Northeast and not high-caloric and sugar scares which were those largely (pardon the pun) responsible for Krispy Kreme's league of disappearing acts.

Krispy Kreme, who has closed up many stores over the last few years has no more than a handful of remaining locations along the eastern seaboard including a lone surviving Connecticut location inside Mohegan Sun Casino.

Another shop on The Berlin Turnpike closed in early 2006, caused once, albeit short-lived crippling traffic concerns along the mighty 5/15 stretch in Newington. Today, the troubled blue-accented site sits vacant after being used briefly by a since-vacated, widely-shuttered Citibank branch.

Once a treat for being on this end of the state is no more. My last trip here was in early October and even though I regularly patronized the typically ghost-town Milford Krispy Kreme for many years now, the closure is deeply saddening.

Here's some of our archival photos to remember the tale of Krispy Kreme in Milford and its brief stint in the Northeast.

View more of our photos of Krispy Kreme and more on Flickr.

On an editorial note, I deeply apologize for the lack of maintenance and atrocious levels of spam that have collected on pages at The Caldor Rainbow over many months of our inactivity. I'm working to delete what I can since Blogger hasn't any simple, bulk deletion or effective captcha against such terrorists. Some pages' comments sections have been overrun and, in some instances, hijacked by surmountable levels of Japanese spammers.

New Britain Walmart Closure And Aftermath

2009-09-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well, that's all folks!

That's pretty much what the Bentonville, AK-based juggernaut big box retailer Walmart said to its entire staff and patrons of the nearly ten-year Farmington Ave., New Britain location on August 31st, 2009. Citing many reasons other than the company line of "economic reasons," others are speculative, some phoned-in from local residents and even a turned-down request for store expansion, the New Britain location which opened in 2001, shortly after a 27-year, dilapidated swept-rockface 70's 'rainbow' Caldor had gone belly up with the entire chain, had shut it doors for good.

Two days after the closure...

The parking lot now largely barren, a rich dark green scar where the white-clad sign once displayed in front of a scene with the least amount of cars ever seen for 3PM on a Tuesday. Two New Britain Police cruisers in the fire lane, presumably surveying the area. Kids released from nearby school walk past the now vacated Walmart along Farmington Avenue. One asks me 'is it closed?', another 'is it going to be Kmart?' -- only one of those I was sure of.

Uncertain of the fate of 655 Farmington Ave., the store posters awareness on the cart-only entrance of six other locations within the 15 mile radius of the newly dark storefront.

This makes only two closed Walmart stores in Connecticut -- both in New Britain.

There's something about the city of New Britain and its unlucky history with Walmart. The first Walmart opened on the corner of Slater and Hillhurst Roads in 1997 on the site of a recently departed Price Club (and before that, a long-time Stop & Shop-Bradlees plaza). Shortly after the closure of Caldor, Walmart shuttered the Slater Road location, moving to the Farmington Ave. location shortly after the demolition of Caldor in 2001.

With the late, beloved Northeast discounter Caldor spent, it always seem to come back to that earthtoned rainbow we can't get enough of. Back in November 1972, Caldor had celebrated its 21st Anniversary by opening a rather unique concept store with a enormous earthtoned rainbow company emblem apart a memorable angular facade that haunted its own architectural flaws all the way up until its 1999 closure. Here's a bit we wrote back on January 6, 2008...

On November 2, 1972, the Caldor Corporation crafted what's referred to as the "swept wing" facade look on its proud 21st Anniversary, 21st chainwide store on Farmington Avenue in New Britain. The company then unveiled the ever-reminiscent rainbow-motif to go along with the angled facade look spawning an experimental and certainly distinct look for the ever-popular department retail chain.

One of our readers shared a slew of old pictures from his personal collection from 655 Farmington Avenue's Caldor days just as I remember them (rainbow and all). In case you missed it, he still has some prime memorabilia from the building -- namely the "C" and "O" plexiglas letters.

Walmart has been on a remodeling frenzy lately.

A sprawl if you will, all throughout the country with many stores in our fair Connecticut getting 11 out of the 34 with the new look. Reflective of their massive ad campaign that began last year, the company sought to combat negative media reflections of the chain corporate and otherwise -- the otherwise otherwise being that their stores were always so darned messy, the root of all of America's evil. We don't share this view, knowing my own bias for rival discounter, Target.

The Caldor Rainbow does not know what will happen to this site. Once a prime piece of real estate, we believe that this will likely not stay vacant for long.

Shirley Not Mistaken: A Free-Standing Roy Rogers

2009-08-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Roy Rogers himself may be dead and I think his burgers, chicken and roast beef chain seems to be following down that road. In fact, I was ready to accept Roy Rogers restaurant as an endangered specie, in critical condition of extinction.

Just recently upon my travels off Long Island, I stumbled across a free-standing 70's draped Roy Rogers in the town of Shirley, near the Route 27 stretch. Thinking it was vacant upon first glance, it didn't appear to me that an empty parking lot at 9:30 AM would suggest Roy's still doesn't have a breakfast menu.

This particular location is such off-the-radar find, it even has a weirdly-placed, double-sided, now mangled road sign that's just hangin' in there -- sporting the retro sunset-over-the-canyon logo I would love to have on t-shirt.

When I was a kid, we used to go to the formerly Marriott-owned Roy Rogers restaurant chain at the Meriden Square, near (then) upper-level G. Fox (now "Westfield Meriden", ugh). Sure, it was one of the only fast food eateries at the mall at the time, but they had some distinction over the meganauts McDonald's (never really liked McD's) and Burger King (whose fallen from grace). OK, the large portrait of Roy with a wheat stem in his mouth on the wall kind of scared a tender, younger me but I always dug the unlimited, free fixin's bar no matter how smelly handed/sneezed in sanitary disaster it might've been.

ROY ROGERS LOCATIONS BY NOVEMBER 1980 (courtesy The Hartford Courant). ROCKY HILL LOCATION (NOT LISTED THERE), OPENED LATE DECEMBER 1980.

Ever since the later 1990s, the franchise-run Roy Rogers has been slowly dwindling out of many markets, leaving one oddly-newly built one in (nose-bleed) North Stonington (I know, where?) including the once well-off Connecticut market. Since 2007, free-standing locations have pulled out of Newington (US-5 & CT-15), North Haven (US-5) and Manchester (I-84, Exit 63) to name a few. A good number of former Roy's became home to up-and-coming rival roast beef chain Arby's, whose seen sizable expansion in recent years.

Now, someone go wake up the webmaster at the "hip" newly painted Roy Rogers website, tell them Manchester has been closed for over a year.

Go see more pictures on our magnificent Flickr!

Toys "R" Us (Finally) Opens In North Haven, Closes Hamden

2009-08-26T00:15:00.000-04:00

Remember that story we did over a year ago about Toys "R" Us putting a store in North Haven? Remember when we breached the story early? So early, in fact, we had doubts it would ever come to fruition, which is why we almost retracted the story.

Behold!

Toys "R" Us of North Haven opened as the thirteenth store in Connecticut, but only the ninth succeeding store (see the list below, folks) to date.

The bright, vivacious location along Universal Drive opened with somewhat dim fanfare on July 3, 2009 and is the newest Toys "R" Us in the state since 1997. Not since 1997 has the company opened a store from the ground up; the relocated Waterbury store which was, at that time, a "Concept 2000" store.

Unlike other states, North Haven is the only store in Connecticut sporting the new 2008 logo (as seen above, taken from the Bay Shore, NY store).

Ever since that disastrous CEO dropped out for the new guy, he decided to take the company's greatest (highly profitable) asset, Babies "R" Us, and mesh the stores together into one superstore -- and its taken place in many markets though not entirely in our little, albeit fertile Toys "R" Us market of Connecticut.

Seeing the greater of opportunities, the company simultaneously shuttered its 13-year Dixwell Ave. Hamden location in place of the North Haven store, which is planted in the posh, new North Haven Commons, right off I-91, which also opened ripe in Spring 2009. The now dark Hamden location, apart of the well-established and "historic" Hamden Mart recently underwent its own umpteenth remodel to escape the once ghastly balloony red-tarp motif they had going on there for decades, succeeding a long-standing Stop & Shop which once flanked the center's far right end many moons ago.

Here's a bevy of shots from the now closed Hamden store, taken recently in August 2009.

Just last Summer, the company closed up another well-established, yet oddly placed Westport location, once along Boston Post Road (US-1) which has since become a Homegoods. While some have closed, many more across the country have remodeled into the ambitious new age of Toys "R" Us/Babies "R" Us combo stores.

And now, our known list of stores in Connecticut, now with more pictures!

History of Toys "R" Us in Connecticut

WATERBURY | OPENED : 1979(?), CLOSED : 1998
WEST HARTFORD | OPENED : 1981
EAST HAVEN | OPENED : EARLY 1980s, CLOSED : 2003
MILFORD | OPENED : 1983
WATERFORD | OPENED : 1985
DANBURY | OPENED : 1988
NORWALK | OPENED : 1992
WESTPORT | OPENED : 1992
MANCHESTER | OPENED : 1993
NEWINGTON | OPENED : 1996
HAMDEN | OPENED : 1996
WATERBURY / Brass Mill Commons | OPENED : 1997
NORTH HAVEN | OPENED : 2009

*All stores before DANBURY (1988) contained the brown roof, rainbow-striped palette, and have all been remodeled since.

A nice looking store, no doubt, but I can't shake my obsession for the past -- especially when it comes to what used to be the greatest toy store.

Oh, if anyone has any fond memories of their Toys "R" Us experience(s), leave a comment. Leave as many as you want if you have information (especially opening year) on the troubled, "sinking" former East Haven location and of course any photographs of the original Waterbury store.

PHOTO CREDIT: East Haven, CT (Unknown), Milford, CT (Milford Town Assessor Database)

Silver Lane 'Pizza Hut' Back From 7-Year Silence, Flaming Doom

2009-08-19T12:39:00.001-04:00

For the past many years, plenty have seen that vacant Pizza Hut on Silver Lane. Or perhaps you've taken the diamond lane before Exit 58 on I-84 Eastbound, glanced over and witnessed that familiar red-topped restaurant and its vacant lot held by self-proclaimed "America's Favorite Pizza" chain, Pizza Hut.

Upon today's shocking discovery driving along Silver Lane, it would appear Pizza Hut lives again -- as "The Hut".

THEN (2002-2009) AND NOW (AUGUST 2009) COMPARISONS

Pizza Hut along Silver Lane closed after a two-alarm fire sought to seal its fate one (hot) February evening back in 2002. The red roof became an actual, animated red roof that night, eventually seeing the restaurant to remain closed up for a very long time. Ever since, the location had been sitting there on the stretch nearby Taco Bell and the revitalized Rensselaer Field (thanks Cabelas), boarded up, without any public plans to re-open or sell off the deadbeat property.

For roughly 7 years, the silent property has astonishingly opened its doors for patronage once again -- and with a new look: "The Hut" (though as you can see, only on the road sign because they know this marketing scheme won't last).

"The Hut" is the chain's (silly) ginchy new attempt at market rebranding, especially to those who've not seen an "Italian Bistro" Pizza Hut (a "classier" looking mask for the chain with like menu offerings , as seen in states like New Hampshire) or are ingrained with somewhat grungy, aging look and appeal of their red-roofed restaurants. They all do it, though not as pitifully as KFC trying to hawk grilled chicken or even hide the focus of their restaurant's, well, fried claim-to-fame. This, of course, makes the Colonel roll like a rotisserie chicken in his grave-y doom!

I don't know, I guess it sounds edgey, more urban. Nonetheless, "The Hut" attempted its latest concept having no other like it in Connecticut.

This comes as a great surprise seeing as Pizza Hut has always been a shaky, difficult market seemingly unable to stand on its own two feet come later 90's for Connecticut with many past locations having coupled with other chains (like Taco Bell or packed into stores like Target), gone "delivery" only vacating many of its stand-alone sites. Just in the Hartford area: Queen St., Southington (now Outback Steakhouse), US-6 & N. Main St., Bristol (now Sovereign Bank), Elm St., Enfield (now T.G.I. Friday's) and East Main St., New Britain (now Taco Bell) have disappeared.

I abhor Pizza Hut and find their stock largely inedible (well, except for those breadsticks) and when it comes to chain pizza, it's beyond me why Papa Gino's has such a hard time in Connecticut -- their pies are simply excellent. Nonetheless, we're glad to see surprising success in such times -- especially one on a once hopeless eight-year site seeing life again.

Here are some photos of the formerly shuttered restaurant. These were taken in March 2008, but the building resembled this frozen look for many years (and surprisingly little to no graffiti).

PIZZA HUT ON SILVER LANE.

PIZZA HUT LABEL SCAR ON SILVER LANE.

There are currently 8 stand-alone, dine-in restaurants in Connecticut: Brookfield (Federal Rd.), East Hartford (Silver Lane), Groton (Long Hill Rd.) New London (I-95/Frontage Rd.), Old Saybrook (US-1/Boston Post Rd.), Vernon-Rockville (Talcottville Rd.), Watertown (Main St.), West Haven (I-95/Saw Mill Rd.).

Bradlees Still Lingers In The Garden State

2009-08-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm not too familiar with the state of New Jersey.

As a lifelong Connecticut native, I've been here the amount of times I can count on one hand (that didn't include Six Flags, at least), mainly because travelling here is just one of many hassles not found in the many other states in the Northeast. Upon my foreign observations, I still find it odd how citizens still can't pump their own gas (actually questioned an attendant about this once) and that it'll cost the price of today's cheapest fast food meal to travel from one end of the state to another in highway tolls. In fact, I'm probably an outlaw in that state for reasons involving the myriad toll collection stations, seemingly on every highway in the state.

What can I say? I shoot pictures at malls, so I like to live... err... dangerously.

Aside that, The Caldor Rainbow has visited the state a few times in the last year for all reasons involving one of my beloved, childhood department stores: Bradlees. If not for Bradlees, I'd rip my hair out travelling down the always unpredictable I-95/dreaded toll-frenzied, congested Garden State Parkway and that godawful, dreaded George Washington Bridge (took me an hour and some change to board it, both ways, some kind of record?). All the while me thinking, we the people have to pay these guys eight bucks for having two cash lanes, hours lines worth of other motorists cutting off other motorists and E-Z Pass drivers' and their competiting 8 lanes.

Despite the migrane, we've found there's still a good handful of empty locations left by the late New London, Conn.-based discounter, who expanded vastly into the retail flushed state of New Jersey. We visited a couple just recently in Bordentown and Toms River.

We hit Bordentown first, along SR-206 and a good length off I-195. This store was in a bit of a dried up, mostly residential area. We found this store almost immaculately frozen in time; all signage up on the building and nearby road. A former Jefferson Ward, this Bradlees likely swooped up that fallen Montgomery Ward offspin in the early 1980's and had a fairly good run for almost two decades. This one made it all the way up until the 2001 liquidation, typically like the chain, no exterior remodels since opening. The skylight-cased, red-stripped building haunts the otherwise active ShopRite neighboring to the left. Sadly, the vacation of Bradlees incurred a plague of trickling closures to the building's subdivisions; an empty Fashion Bug and Blockbuster Video sit labelscarred beside the surprisingly clean vacant husk.

VACANCIES FASHION BUG AND BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO

ENTRANCES TO BRADLEES

Next on the rundown was Toms River, a mere half-hour east, right off the Garden State Parkway and the ever traffic riddled US-9 artery. There's little to wonder why this rotting property can't be sold off: a great number of the plaza tenants are mired in vacancy and dilapidated storefronts. Aside the vacant Bradlees, which once prominently anchored the center, there's a checkered vacancy rate fended off by Staples and a discount furniture depot. Because the otherwise accessible location, the number of otherwise potential tenants are already situated nearby, including Walmart. The mere condition of this ancient shopping center will halt certain fertility in redevelopment, at least for now.

ENTRANCES TO BRADLEES

Having seen a good number of Bradlees in my own line of sight and in pictures, this one is by far one of the oddest looking stores I've ever witnessed. For one, there's no vibrant entrance at street level like most of their locations. Instead, you'll have had to walk down a small path, which seems like a side entrance. It also didn't help the building looked more like a distribution plant than a retail store, which had me baffled when I saw this one from the sky before getting here. Other odd traits with this one were the trio of windows out front, the abundant landscape area underneath and perhaps the coolest part: the "billboard"-like advertisements for a charge card and the later 90's "Savings on The Good Stuff" slogan adjacent the entrances. Probably not always a Bradlees, this Toms River location was likely one of many stores the chain snatched up in the early 80's boom the company experienced.

That's not all. Behind the plaza lies an entire strip of vacancies and a rather ugly rear portion of the "mall," filled with busted pavement and landscaping.

Who forgot The Dover Mall? A certainly aged outdoor mall, once could tell by the archaic sign on US-9, back unto the turn of the 20th Century, clearly will seek demolition one day soon -- or so the town hopes. The Dover Mall remains a prime example of how retail trends can turnaround a once bustling center into a dark, distressed abandon, with success and flourish surrounding all around it.

FORGOTTEN BEHIND THE DOVER MALL

There are currently other buildings formerly held by Bradlees (and Jefferson Ward for that matter) in Stratford, Woodbury Heights and Hamilton, the latter a former later-era Caldor. We would've gone for Woodbury, but that one is more a bizarro cousin of both Bordentown and Toms River.

So what can I say about New Jersey? The same for both Vince Lombardi and Grover Cleveland, whose legacies are parallel in fueling the needs of many a Popeye's and Roy Rogers consumer with their own toll-free rest stops.

VIEW: BORDENTOWN AND TOMS RIVER ON FLICKR.

Ames Updates, Vacancy In Lowell

2009-08-12T12:12:00.000-04:00

Ames may have closed back in 2003, but that doesn't mean the chain has been completely forgotten. How could it when there are still a handful of empty buildings leftover all across the Northeast and beyond?

It appears Connecticut has quietly lost another long-standing, vacated Ames in East Hartford. Well, sort of. Though it happened earlier this year, the building owners have dissolved the identity of the formerly green-clad discounter by removing all of it; the signage out front as well as a paint job thereby eradicating that iconic green facade -- thereby any history of Ames existence at Putnam Bridge Plaza on the Glastonbury line. Well, there's still the store hours and other decals left on the door. According to the retailer's website, the 40,000 sq. ft. location wedged between PetsMart and TJ Maxx is still available...

Connecticut currently has two vacant Ames locations, fully intact in Seymour and Dayville, to which we did a stories on earlier this year.

Meanwhile, in the City of Lowell, Massachusetts stands a vacant location on the City's far end, on Bridge Street in the Market Basket Plaza, near the Dracut town line. This silently vacant Ames retains its building signage not without having a taste of troubled vandals over the years with boarded-up windows. An otherwise active plaza, the Ames remains undesirable. A reader who commented on our Flickr suggests Kmart might've graced this plaza at one point with its courtesy signage scattered on the outskirts of the plaza. View the entire gallery here.

Another perk about this plaza is this vintage Market Basket clock tower sign on the otherside of the plaza.

The other one on Church Street was in fact one of the earliest Zayre locations (later to become Ames) as you can see here, with Stop & Shop formerly flanking the far end. The off-kilter, shapely, multi-peaking architecture here has surprisingly been leftover from the 1960's, having changed very little since other than some cosmetic maintenance. Actually, the entire plaza on Church Street mine as well been frozen in time if not for the tenant set currently in place today as the plaza is immaculately kept and preserved all the way back to 1961. If only more plazas could retain their funky roots instead of succumbing to blocky, uninspired, cookie-cutter plazas of today.

For the State of Massachusetts, Ames leaves vacancies today in Great Barrington, Lowell, Stoneham and Sturbridge of the once abundant market for the fallen retailer.

For the authority on all things Ames, The Ames Fan Club is where it's at.

More to come!

Roslindale Bradlees To Become New Stop & Shop

2009-08-09T00:01:00.000-04:00

We're in the throws of losing yet another vacancy left by the late New London-based discounter Bradlees -- in the state of Massachusetts.

As previously reported, there was only two vacant Bradlees sites left in Massachusetts; Roslindale and Foxboro -- to which we reported early last year. Many of the state's 33 former locations have swept up as it is now the case for the Roslindale location.

ROSLINDALE, MA -- Located at American Legion Highway, at the dilapidated, former "Mini City" long anchored by once parent company Stop & Shop, the chain who once adopted Bradlees will be doing so yet again -- by demolishing the former building and its own for an entirely new location to be build on the original site.

In the early 1960s, when the Stop & Shop Companies adopted Bradlees into its own brand, the uniform built modelesque homogenies called "Mini City" plazas which consisted of the three major brands; Stop & Shop supermarket, Bradlees discount department store and Medi-Mart drug/pharmacies. Design traits were fairly typical across the board: a strip-lined variant of the brown-shades of brick stores, a simple awning covering the sidewalks and typically conveniently connected through each store's interior.

When the companies began to break up by the discontinuation of Medi-Mart in 1986, Walgreens had purchased many of the leases and converted all stores. When Bradlees finally went out of business in 2001, Stop & Shop commonly purchased those leases and built larger stores upon its ambitious expansion midway through the post-millennial years.

Roslindale Bradlees folded in early 2001 with the rest of the chain, but even in its final years was one of the many stores which reflected an aging, crippled chain losing market share to rising competition like Walmart, mirroring our own (still vacant, graffiti-laden) Hartford, CT location. Like many Bradlees originally joined with Stop & Shop through the interior, this store sat beside an equally distressed, asthetically neglected Stop & Shop to the right of the shuttered, signature rock-walled Bradlees, whose legacy is scarred on the building.

Despite the steel-shuttered Bradlees, time has clocked the the plaza itself, anchored by an old Stop & Shop and Walgreens with a slew of smaller retails lined-up in the middle. A plaza like this has seen little remodeling (if any) or maintenance with massive deterioration all over the pothole-filled, uneven and crackled plaza which has long been a staple of the area, dating back to the early 60's. The area, neighboring a graveyard and a South Boston (Mattapan) reputation leaves an impression of an unsafe and desirable area for all but locals, despite the somewhat posh surroundings to the other side of town.

As you can see from far above, this plaza's certainly seen better days long past.

Sadly, The Caldor Rainbow arrived a bit too late for the long-standing hand-painted sign around the side of the store, which was tarped over with a 'coming soon' banner. Luckilly, we caught the building, well half of it at least, and its elderly brother Stop & Shop on their death beds even with half the outer regions of plaza fenced off.

Even living in Connecticut, where the supermarket chain has reigned supreme now for decades, and keeping their status above the rest, I haven't seen such a nasty, old Stop & Shop quite like this one.

In case you missed it, we've been reporting much on other vacant Bradlees stores left in the Northeast region including ones in Hazlet, NJ and a recently demolished one we caught last Summer in New City, NY.

As far as Connecticut goes, we've still got Manchester and (the aforementioned) Hartford stores hangin' in there, and a good handful in The Garden State.

Stay tuned for our exclusive reports on a few more vacant locations we recently visited in New Jersey.

Keep Ahead!

2009-08-06T12:46:00.000-04:00

Hello all.

I want to assure you I'm still here though much of my activity has diverted away from doing stories on The Caldor Rainbow as of late. Fear not. I'm not going anywhere. Lately, I've been performing a colossal disservice to you all by not keeping you informed about the site's activities by, well, not updating it since April.

The heydays of the site may be far away from what's been generated lately but I can assure you we're still out there, keeping tabs on our favorite departed discounters and alive ones changing with the times. I urge you all to slowly move on to our Flickr when the updates are scant around here. Yes, Flickr, where we have thousands of photos for you all to gander, ones added often (though like the site's vacant syndrome, it struck Flickr as well as of late).

I've got a few stories in the pipeline involving our usual topical updates. Keep visiting, there's someone still here!

22-Year "Danbury Fair" Mall Neon Sign Replaced

2009-04-08T12:40:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the new Danbury Fair Mall.

As we've mused before, the emblematic vintage neon "Danbury Fair" sign is now gone.

The funky sign, which was erected (shortly after this preview sign) at the opening of the Danbury Fair Mall in late 1986 once stood at the outskirts of Danbury Fair Mall and once conceptual three-level Macy*s area has been removed after twenty plus years of the mall's lifespan. The staple of the two-level regional shopping mall acquired by the Macerich property group in 2001 from its originator, Wilmorite Properties, slated a long overdue remodel on the interior of the aging mall as planned with many of its existing and acquired properties back in mid-2007 which sought to do away with the mall's aged tones of browns and tans.

Danbury Fair Mall, built upon the fairgrounds of the once Danbury Fair was modeled after the Danbury Fair with like colors, tent-like architectural mirror inside and other "fairly" reminscent design elements including bulb-lighting stroon about the mall's stretching double corridor's length of shopping terrain. The nexus of the mall's homage, located within the food court, is the carousel, formerly used at the Fair.

In late 2007, developer Macerich announced a major year-plus interior remodel, which sought to do away with much of the mall's aging 80's decor including the mall's olympic-sized (as Labelscar might refer to it as) concourse fountain and stage area. The move, which sought to add an earthtoned vibe to the center also attracted a bevy of new upscale tenants, rumors of a decaying vacant Filene's to find life as Nordstrom's (still unconfirmed) driving some veteran ones out, in order to raise the cliente a la what Taubman has done with Westfarms recently.

Here are some visuals into the new era of Danbury Fair Mall, taken (almost exactly one year ago!) April 2008. For a detailed photographic transition of the Danbury Fair Mall's original look, head over to our Flickr for many photos from 2007, right before the remodel.

The Caldor Rainbow caught a night glimpse upon a passing on I-84 by in mid-January 2009. Last year, we raised awareness for the mall's management to at least considering saving the historic sign, which by today's standards might not be much but we'd just hate to see any identity with neon flare go away.

We made attempts to contact Macerich for a story we prepared back in December 2007, but never received a response (bureaucracies).

We instead got a cold response upon our arrival to Danbury Fair Mall on March 27, 2009 for our pictures of the new sign.

Shortly after we took our shots, we were greeted by a security SUV who immediately inquired about our camera-toting activities. After a brief, routine exchange of being reprimanded, we complied with the [unwritten] no photography rule and went on our marry way.

But he wasn't done.

The guard, who incited further argumentative fracas didn't care for our failure to explain our motives or the contents of our digital media suddenly ordered an increasingly annoyed yours truly to leave -- no "get out" of the mall's property (followed by him following my car off the property). The guard (who will remain unnamed) tried to explain his reprimand by claiming "private property" universally bans any kind of photography, even if it's open to public invitation. Respectfully, we left but not without a fight.

Next time, if Macerich (or any other private outlet who allows the public for any reason onto its property) has a problem with people snapping leisurely photos on its property, you might want to put up signs or some kind of notice on your website or something before calling your clip-on tie wearing bullies. As a long-time guest of this mall, and one whose taken a bevy of photos here in the past is ashamed of Macerich and it's unprofessional, thuggish staff.

If any of you know when the original sign was taken down, had a similar run-in with security, throw down a comment or two.

Dayville Ames Remains After Six Years of Vacancy

2009-02-17T12:15:00.000-05:00

Residents of the Killingly area might know it well as a common dilapidated site on the Hartford Turnpike, shortly off Exit 93 along I-395 of one post-mortem Ames.

The Dayville location, a small town beside Killingly, opened its doors in July 1983 as one of the first Ames stores in the state along with one in Naugatuck. Unlike Naugatuck, whose lived on as a relocated site for well-known New Englander closeout Ocean State Job Lot (like many former Ames sites), the long-vacant Dayville location is still rotting away while the otherside of I-395 flourishes with the new Killingly Commons shopping center which include such major tenants as Stop & Shop, Target and Lowe's.

Upon the site, in a real dead zone, we sighted an independent fish market (who was looking on as we shot our pictures) selling out the back of a truck, a truck stop and a breeding ground for bird life. A lone, rare, rusted red Ames shopping cart filed with trash was stranded on the outskirts of the store's lot among a field of potholes and melting ice. Nearby , towards the road is a small vacant strip plaza with a Carvel, across the road an old but repainted "shingled" Dunkin' Donuts, and further across the way a vacated, boarded-up McDonald's, a vintage diner and a closed up supermarket beside the Ames.

The Caldor Rainbow took a ride over to the "country" or northeast Connecticut in the town of Dayville, Connecticut this weekend, arriving near sundown for somewhat cold, windy session. Our first trip to Dayville might be our last but was one of the more intruging shoots we've done in our Ames chapter.

THE SEYMOUR STORE, STILL VACANT IN FEBRUARY 2009.

As of February 2009, Ames still has two fully intact vacant locations left in the state; Dayville and Seymour, with one partially vacant in East Hartford.

View the full gallery of our Dayville shoot and check out more of our Ames pictures on Flickr and on The Ames Fan Club.

Agawam Ames Becomes Dave's Pet And Soda City

2009-02-09T13:45:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since we've discussed Ames.

Yes, Ames, the late green (once red)-clad discounter that ended its decades' run succeeding the troubled Framingham, Mass.-based Zayre chain to which it gobbled up in the late 80s met the same cancer as rival northeast discounters Caldor and Bradlees by the millennial swing. After a story published back in 2007 (to which The Courant used as a footnote on a story on the chain) about the remaining locations still vacant in Connecticut, six years after the chain folded, sites are eventually becoming swept up by future tenants here and abroad.

Connecticut is currently host to roughly three intact former, vacant Ames locations in SEYMOUR, EAST HARTFORD* and DAYVILLE. The chain, formerly headquarted in Rocky Hill, Conn. (still vacant, by the way) entered Connecticut in July 1983 with its first two stores in DAYVILLE and NAUGATUCK. By year's end, the store had accumulated to six total stores all over the state.

In March 2006, we took our first voyage to the former Ames in AGAWAM, MASS. along Springfield Street. The small town of Agawam, which is well-known for its adjacency to the West Springfield-hosted The Big E as well as its border to Connecticut, at one time, contained two Ames stores. The original store was located along Suffield Street, now home to a weekend-only independently operated flea market, relocated into a former Zayre up the [Springfield] street by the late 1980's.

Upon that first jaunt, we didn't leave empty handed. A genuine artifact was secured; a "receiving sign" was apprehended after minutes of painstakingly brisk temperatures, prying the sign off the vacant building with a penny and a dime. Our triumphant testimony was reported on The Ames Fan Club forums on March 22, 2006.

"Went to the Agawam, Massachusetts store this morning and did an updated photo shoot. I found this store to be quite fascinating from your galleries and took quite a bit of the building which still lies vacant. I saw a receiving sign and after a first failed attempt, I went back and got a penny, then a dime to unscrew the rusty screws from off the wall. Five minutes later full of thwanking metal sounds and achy hands and now it's mine."

The store, which had been vacant for almost a decade outskirts a diseased, ghost-town plaza had finally found a successor. Local entrepreneur Dave's Pet and Soda City (like chicken and waffles) moved into the former husk, which is historically sound as a genuine, largely intact Zayre store model from the 1960's.

Following renovations by Dave's, the store no longer retains its exterior roots.

THE FORMER AMES SITE AT SPRINGFIELD STREET, TAKEN JUNE 2007.

But, thanks to a robust photo set by Chris Fontaine, founder of The Ames Fan Club, we can see various unchanged traits evident within the building. Patrons are now welcome to shop at Dave's after many long years of looking through the glass as a vacated Ames.

Zayre stores came in a few main variants during the 60's and 70's; one such was a "winged facade" look. When the store became home to Ames, a few adjustments were made including the shrouding of the frontal large glass window panes which showcased the store's glorious innards (and rows upon rows of buzzing fluorescent) from the streets.

You can see a slew of amazing, vintage full-color shots of Zayre over on Pleasant Family Shopping to get an idea of what Zayre was like in its heydays (before the dilapidation ages of its elder life).

For more photos of the metamorphosis of the Agawam locations, swing by The Ames Fan Club were you can see my own collection as well as others including Chris's.

Dave's Pet and Soda City has three other stores in Hadley, Northampton and Springfield.

*EAST HARTFORD store has vacant entrance, no more signage but evident window decals. Space has been subdivided into Petsmart (left) and TJ Maxx.

"Friday Knights" Look Back On Toys "R" Us

2009-02-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

Plug time! Most of you may be unaware of my buddy Nick Fusari and I's talkshow or "podcast" (for neo-media aged folks) Friday Knights of the Round Table.

We began this endeavor a few months ago whereby we discuss various topics pertaining to all thoughts of sorts broken down into segments. Our show, relatively new, is still morphing into everything our hopes and dreams will allow and I have, in a few instances, had worlds collide as I've plugged The Caldor Rainbow in the few of our ten episodes available on 17 Studios.

Recently, we've introduced a new segment on the show pertaining to nostalgic ventures by which we discuss Toys "R" Us and our memories spent with the chain in its final glory years of the late 1980's and early 90's. Some of those past-present clashes include the beloved rainbow-striped frontage into the boring white looks of today's stores, the video game ticket/slip system and the wall-to-ceiling board game selection: all of which have gone by the wayside in today's Toys "R" Us. While I could've spent a lengthier time on the subject, we stamped it down to just five minutes of time [out of] mind travel. Great Scott!

Our tenth episode features this new segment we've generically catagorized as "Nostalgia" for now but the entire episode has a overwhelming retail theme whereby at the top of the hour we shootout thoughts on the Sonic restaurant chain and the now late Circuit City (sorry, the segment was cut from the final version) most of the information I mirror in my recent Caldor Rainbow article.

Hope you enjoy it and spread the word and a somewhat rare "live" media appearance by myself (on the left). If you've got suggestions, complaints or ways to bolster our show, throw us an e-mail.

We're still growing, morphing, mutating!

Roy Rogers Rides No More In Manchester

2009-01-22T13:00:00.001-05:00

Like a sepia sunset, The old-fashioned burger-n-fries chain Roy Rogers is done in Manchester. Over done (bad joke?). The franchise-operated quick-serve restaurant well known for its roast beef, chicken and burgers (or likeness to Arby's and/or Wendy's) has shuttered another Connecticut location all under the radar.

The 394 Tolland Turnpike location, located a few short turns off I-84 (Exit 63) in Manchester has been found closed by The Caldor Rainbow (and additional thanks to a reader tip off) and at such short notice. One could certainly pin this one on the shuttering economy round-up as it's owner seems to have packed up and run.

THE LATE MANCHESTER, CONN. LOCATION IN JULY 2008

Back in February 2007, Roy Rogers' franchise owners closed up many of its locations in the state including one we covered on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington, which closed up abruptly has since become new life as Arby's. One such on Route 5 in North Haven followed the same fate, shuttering silently. Over the past decade, Roy Rogers has trickled down, losing market share to other fast food restaurants who've prospered much in its place; namely Wendy's and recently Arby's.

THE LATE MANCHESTER, CONN. LOCATION SITE IN JULY 2008

ROY ROGERS WOULD BE ROLLING IN HIS GRAVE-Y: SITE MASTERS DISGRACEFULLY CAUGHT SLACKING OFF, KEEPING DEFUNCT LOCATION ON THE STORE LOCATOR

Thought their website has a 2003 stamp on it, there's no reason to perpetuate lies! Somebody tell the sleepy webmaster to remove the Manchy location off the locator.

Roy Rogers leaves one lone location in the state: all the way up in North Stonington (still under construction?) or one shortly over the Massachusetts border in Sturbridge. It's to the entrepreneurial spirit to keep Roy's dreams of serving grease-laden burgers and fixin' bars to truckers and travelers alive!

The former Manchester location will live on: reportedly soon tobecome an independently-owned Indian restaurant.

ROY ROGERS TIMEWARP AT A REST STOP ON I-90

ROY ROGERS ROCKFACED RECEPTACLE TAKEN AT FORMER NEWINGTON LOCATION

All photos taken by THE CALDOR RAINBOW.

Everything Must Go At Circuit City

2009-01-19T12:05:00.001-05:00

Say goodbye to yet another retail electronics giant, Circuit City. As you've heard, the chain has announced everything must go, announcing chainwide liquidation this past Friday January 16, 2009.

Yes, the monochrome roulette of retail's death bringer follows one of the most crippling retail seasons in recent time of 2008 and into 2009, and no more than a few weeks after the company announced a mega-sized dose of doze, as expected, the struggling second-best electronics retailer has announced it's seizure to retail la-la land shortly after the post-Christmas season, joining the ranks of other big namers who've folded in recent years (and months, for that matter) including the a 90's boomer chain from New York Nobody Beats The Wiz (later remarketed as just "The Wiz"), CompUSA last Christmas season of '08 and most recently a Massachusetts-based hi-ender Tweeter Etc., whose success mirrored hi-fidelity electronics of the 80's.

TWEETER ETC.; MANCHESTER, CT JUST WEEKS BEFORE CHAINWIDE CLOSURE

TWEETER ETC. FORMERLY AT THE STRUGGLING WATERFORD, CONN. CRYSTAL MALL (TAKEN JAN. 2007)

The chain recently opened stores in Enfield at the Stateline Plaza; placing a years vacated Media Play and most recently a concept "The City" in Torrington in 2007 at the Torrington Fair Plaza replacing Sears Hardware.

"THE CITY" CIRCUIT CITY NEWLY BUILT IN TORRINGTON (TAKEN SHORTLY BEFORE OPENING IN DEC. 2007)

Other stores in Meriden weren't too long leased in a revamped, former Waldbaums plaza outskirts the nearby mall while others with aged looks in Manchester , Trumbull and North Haven had toughed it out through the 90's. Orange had been the one store to close just before the Christmas shopping season at the cusp of 2009.

A NOW YEAR VACANT COMPUSA IN MANCHESTER WILL LIKELY STAY THIS WAY FOR A WHILE LONGER (TAKEN DEC. 2008)

While my own thoughts reflect that of many of Circuit City's harshest critics, and not just for a move that damaged the chain's corporate image, my views are shared on a consumer angle as well as many of its stores struggled to capture the unique flair and competitive model that many prefer in the flashier competitor Best Buy. Heck, that's not too far from a bitter Consumerist's editorial perspective...

It hasn't always been that bad, has it? We never cheer any chains' demise (unless they are truly dreadful organizations, to which Circuit City brushed with years back) so we'll miss them. In a troubling retail economy, it's a time unlike recent years when the slacker chains will have to pay up or pack up as we've seen. With even prominent names like Circuit City going, how far long before some of the suspect chains start shuttering underperforming stores (Kmart and/or anything under the Sears umbrella comes to mind...)

So whose left to take on Best Buy? With all the cleansing that took place in just the last year, premiere electronic giant Best Buy lives on to dominate the market with very little competition on the same level. It seems their closest game is now on par with the department retail market a la Walmart and Target.

The Caldor Rainbow will soon collect an array of vacant storefront shots to better remember the chain's impact on the retail sphere in coming months.

Share your thoughts...

Title image by The Caldor Rainbow; Orange, CT.

Retro Toys "R" Us; Bowling Green, Kentucky

2009-01-07T13:00:00.001-05:00

Reader Jessica Nielsen threw us an e-mail and accompanied gallery of photos of yet another left-behind Toys "R" Us located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It would appear apart from the stripped-away rainbow bars along the front and a white-washed road sign, this store would be a spitting image of it's original look from twenty years ago. According to the town's assessor database, the store was built in 1989 as a Toys "R" Us-Kids "R" Us hybrid.

Road sign of BOWLING GREEN store

Classic Jeoffrey sign of BOWLING GREEN store

Orange Entrance sign of BOWLING GREEN store

THE BOWLING GREEN store from space; Courtesy: Live Maps.

THE BOWLING GREEN store pictures; Courtesy: the Warren County town assessor.

Jessica, who shot the series of superb shots, tells in her e-mail "The building is white brick and appears that the rainbow boarding might have been removed at one point." At that, she's correct. Like some other older stores, like one in Durham, N.C., the once rainbow-pallette along the store's front has been removed. But when?

If anyone else remembers the Bowling Green store, tell us more about it. If we missed a store, notify us. You can refer to our list of known old-school stores.

Retro Toys "R" Us In Tallahassee

2009-01-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

The Caldor Rainbow reader and fellow retail enthusiast who traverses the circuit of mall-related blogs, Jack Thomas, has provided wonderful on-site pictures of a known, old-school Toys "R" Us in Tallahassee, Florida. This update comes off the heel of a recent retro round-up.

The retro store, likely built in the late 80's (our guess is 1986), located along Appallache Parkway seems to contain all the elements from the store's conception: the signature brown "mansard" roof, rainbow-stripes (not repainted!) and even a pastel-colored road sign these oldies typically contained. Thomas ensures us the photos are recent, taken in December 2008. The Caldor Rainbow discovered the store back in March 2008 via our eye in the sky.

To get some perspective, here's the store shot from the sky, courtesy of Live Maps.

Oddly enough, there's no Jeoffrey sign anywhere on the building nearby but we assume with Florida's frequent, rampant weather patterns, it's likely the mascot's plexiglas iteration had been destroyed or mangled over the course of the store's 20 plus year run.

The Caldor Rainbow suspects other stores with left-behind looks in Bradenton, Orange Park and Gainesville. Check out The Ames Fan Club Forums for satellite imagery.

Retro Toys "R" Us Round-Up

2008-12-01T12:30:00.002-05:00

It's been too long since we've featured a Toys "R" Us related update, and thanks to plenty of badgering by our own reader Jonah Norason, a regular who always provides worthwhile feedback in our mall sphere, he provides us with his own array of photos captured from a vintage store still out in Waco, Texas, which appears to resemble one such store in Horseheads, New York and a now (still?) vacant one in Battle Creek, Michigan.

WACO, TEXAS: STILL FEATURES RAINBOW-STRIPED CURTAIN MOTIF, RETAINS JEOFFREY SIGN; AN ENDANGERED SPECIES (IMAGES: J.NORAHSON)

The Caldor Rainbow knows of most of the vintage-looking, left-behind, or unremodeled stores left in the country in large part to our own research and on-site of Ames Fan Club board member Daniel Fife, who'se just about raided the entire eastcoast in confirmation of these stores. This year, we've visited one such location in Boardman, Ohio and have no updates regarding other stores we've since exposed here including Horseheads, NY; Clay, NY and Woburn, MA. We've also got a superb set of shots submitted by Steven Swain, another friend of ours, whose taken shots direct from the Roanoke, Virginia store.

ROANOKE, VA; FEBRUARY 2008 (IMAGES: S. SWAIN)

BOARDMAN (YOUNGSTOWN), OHIO; MARCH 2008

SAINT CLAIRSVILLE, OHIO; MARCH 2008

WOBURN, MA; MARCH 2008

LIST OF KNOWN VESTIGIAL OR RETRO STORES
Below is a compiled list of stores we know of that still feature original build date design elements, though some may be painted over, signs and other features removed or replaced.

NEW YORK
CLAY
HORSEHEADS Stripes repainted white

MASSACHUSETTS
WOBURN Stripes repainted blue

MAINE
BANGOR Stripes, roof repainted white

OHIO
EUCLID (MIXED USE; STILL VACANT)
BOARDMAN Original; removed Jeoffrey
SAINT CLAIRSVILLE Stripes repainted white

CALIFORNIA
ANAHEIM (VACANT)
ONTARIO A real oldie! Roof repainted white, stripes removed
RICHMOND (VACANT) Stripes removed; roof repainted white, then green

MARYLAND
CATONSVILLE Stripes, roof repainted white

INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS / 4575 W 38th St. (VACANT) Stripes removed
LAFAYETTE Original though roof ripples removed

ILLINOIS
BLOOMINGTON Stripes repainted white
MOLINE Stripes repainted white, signage updated to "Concept 2000"

IOWA
CEDAR RAPIDS Stripes repainted white

IDAHO
BOISE Roof repainted red, removed ripples

MICHIGAN
GRAND RAPIDS
BATTLE CREEK (VACANT)
PORTAGE/KALAMAZOO Stripes repainted blue

KENTUCKY
BOWLING GREEN Rainbow stripes removed

TENNESSEE
KNOXVILLE

ALABAMA
MONTGOMERY

FLORIDA
BRADENTON Stripes repainted white, roof repainted blue
GAINESVILLE Stripes repainted white
TALLAHASSEE
ORANGE Roof repainted gray, stripes repainted white

NORTH CAROLINA
WILMINGTON
DURHAM Stripes removed

GEORGIA
SAVANNAH (RECENTLY RELOCATED, NOW VACANT)

TEXAS
WACO

VIRGINIA
ROANOKE Stripes repainted blue

WASHINGTON
SPRINGDALE Roof repainted blue, stripes repainted white

If you have an update or one we've forgotten, please inform us.

Hey, You! We like on-site photography here and since our resources limit us from traveling halfway across the country, you'd be swell to lend us your digital eye for The Caldor Rainbow and its audience. Just enter any information about old-school Toys "R" Us stores -- we've become synonymous with any information and, of course, the best images out there.

If you missed our report on the now twenty-year, classic Clay store, see it here. Look at my personal collection, a gallery of stores on Flickr. And of course, tons of user submitted pictures on the Ames Fan Club forums.

Black Friday 1978

2008-11-27T20:00:00.004-05:00

BLACK FRIDAY is here again.

Fresh on the minds of those who dozed off from turkey (not tofurky) at the early noon hours of Thursday, they were caching up on sleep, ready to cash in on the dawn-breaking deals, gearing up for camping outside, snaking lines around buildings of the big boxers and malls early Friday morning, awaiting hearty deals and avoiding stampedes of people wanting to bombard the Walmart at 4am for a $79 giant-screen thirdworld LCD TV or quite possibly access to a Wii.

They weren't thinking about this stuff... in 1978. Or were they?

Roll your cart back down the aisle -- if you can fit it down the aisle!

The "Black Friday" retail tradition has more or less been hijacked over recent time, specifically by the material age and isn't the same as the day in history Steely Dan eluded to on Katy Lied, instead, the day is typically heralded as one of the biggest shopping days of the year. In fact, it's not, but it's the one and only day were dedication to standing long hours in frigid outdoor lines and getting sick deals on high-priced goods they may or may not get upon arriving at the gates. Don't worry about its meaning, it's "Black" largely in part of the immense volume of would-be spenders, but conversely the very climate of dead-cold darkness before conventional opening hours -- not necessarily crippling sales for retailers as you may have been lead to believe in the past.

While the term wasn't officially a household term back even ten years ago, the day after Thanksgiving is the prized grand slam, kick-off to shopping for the Christmas season -- even back thirty years ago.

However, in 2008, the retail and financial crisis of this [unofficial] holiday seem to be merging with the current dour spending climate in the U.S. (and comparable to one era of "stagflation" back in the late 70's), as well as the sour retail market amidst some big name closures and cutbacks this year. It's not likely to break tradition; meaning droves of people at the malls, especially with some retailers teetering on extinction, Walmart and Best Buy will predictably continue to lure the most bargain hunters long before, into and after the sun wakes.

The electronic age of the 2000s exploded with the "must-haves"; LCD TVs, MP3 players, all-in-one cellular gadgetry, an impossible-to-find video game console, GPS devices -- more distractions, more things people will fill their closets with and toss out before Black Friday 2009. And you know what to expect: the annual Walmart trample, the midnight tents, foaming mouthed zombies, and lines in below freezing late November temps (while asleep in my warm slumber) and newsstories of caffeine-maniacal early morning shoppers who picked up a radical deal.

Should you go, have fun shoppers and bundle up, maybe consider body armor. If you're not going or waiting it out until afternoon (like me) and you choose to stay home cozy at wee hours of morning, get a load of what consumers were saving their cents on back in good old '78 at our favorite defunct retailer Caldor: toys for the little buckaroos, portable black-and-white TVs, wood-trimmed "stereo" FM radios, power tools, hot $5 LPs (Steely Dan Greatest Hits, anyone?!) and more.

"The Big Holiday"; Caldor advertisements that ran on in the November 23 (above) and November 24, 1978 (below) issue of The Hartford Courant ("Black" Friday 1978).

Lights Out For Circuit City?

2008-11-10T23:00:00.001-05:00

I'd first like to apologize to my readers for a long delay in updates around here. I've recently begun experimenting with other ideas here and abroad while being generally busy and unable to travel much while the retail world shows continual slowdown. As you know, The Caldor Rainbow is dedicated to mostly that of on-site reporting and photography in the realms of focuses over the past couple years. Just to let you know, even when updates are slow, I read all your e-mails (even ones the spam blocker throws aside), page comments and appreciate input on all of our pages.

News that piqued my interest as of late was that of what our fellows at Labelscar (and most of the retail sphere are) bringing about -- the impending downfall and drudge of big box electronics retailer, Circuit City -- who seems to be just another but one of the big namers to soon engulf in darkness. Thus far, the 2008 year has been rough for the retailers with a year full of turmoil -- from a troubling economy in part due to rising essential costs that have been squeezing everyone (gas; which has remarkably fallen to two and a quarter as I write this). It's not all the economy though, on the upside, its competitor Best Buy has been doing quite well. Other fellow electronic-centric retailers like CompUSA, which pulled out of many markets, became decimated to just 23 stores and as an online outlet.

Last week, The Consumerist broke the news of Circuit City closing of 155 stores nationwide; with only one store, in Orange, closing in Connecticut. The Constitution State held the fewest hit with closings with one of the ten surviving stores -- evidence now suggests soon may follow in the near future. The company's far-reaching ones on the Westcoast like Arizona and California got whacked while some other (smaller) markets held onto its share.

Just today, Circuit City announced its falling into the quicksand of retailing; Chapter 11 in addition will cut 700 jobs. Few retailers ever find solace from the doom, and even when they do, it never extinguishes the possibility of failure like late retailer Bradlees, who fell shortly after its own recovery.

Critics said this moment was bound to come -- not because its category rival Best Buy has been outselling and marketing the second-tier electronics retailer but because of a much ballyhooed, controversy whereby the company axed 3,400 "overpaid employees" in early 2007. Editorially, this inept move from former company CEO Phillip Shoonover seems to have delivered the company's karmatic blow.

Self-proclaimed consumer warrior and radio personality Clark Howard discussed and addressed the Circuit City issue more eloquently than I could have on his November 4th show (link directs to free MP3/podcast download). Clark would naturally have you stray from "extended store warranties" anyway but now more than ever, we urge our readers caution.

To be frank, I've never really shared a customer bond with Circuit City as with other retail stores in past and present, and have preferred Best Buy (though I have plenty issues with their company policies, employees) but pop in there every now and then and am often surprised at their odds and ends and discounts. When the company made that fate-breaking, despicable move to fire its experienced, loyal employees (and thinking it would be a good idea to do so), my demeanor of their company model has been nothing less than of dour and disdain.

For more on Circuit City, check out the Consumerist's "Death Watch" timeline.

As with all retailers, I hate to see failure even when a company makes a grave error as it did with CEO Shoonover. Furthermore, will you miss Circuit City should they go? Where did they go wrong? Share your thoughts.

Title image: Trumbull, Conn taken by The Caldor Rainbow.

Vacant Bradlees In Hazlet Remains

2008-08-07T23:30:00.001-04:00

It's not easy for Jersey residents to forget the eight-year defunct, Connecticut-originated Bradlees discount department store chain -- especially when they're reminded of its history as Two Guys or just seeing the sites upon passing to work or in everyday travels -- like one in Hazlet, New Jersey.

Located on the Poole Avenue-Route 36 split, the withered, cracked pavement, red-shingled topped plaza sits as its done for almost eight years and counting. Anchored by Bradlees, the late New London, Conn.-originated discounter, is one of five remains of the late chain in New Jersey which max out any other state where Bradlees entered.

The semi-boarded up, wasteland plaza along the much traveled arteries sits in the back (and front) yard(s) and for many locals is serves many travelers as a peaceful rest stop where few venture.

A scarred "Bradlees" logo is burned onto the white-painted brick husk with a nearby, seemingly active looking road sign. Above is a cavity of sign placement, once shared by co-tenant Foodtown, a local grocery chain who moved out shortly after Bradlees collapse. Since, the eyesore plaza has faced many difficult years attracting enthusiastic tenants, its value and property declined began before neighboring tenant Foodtown closed up in April 2002, a year and a half following Bradlees closure, citing the plaza's landlord being unreasonable to strike a deal to renew its lease in the half-vacant lot.

A couple weeks back, The Caldor Rainbow took a rather costly jaunt down to the retail-saturated New Jersey to capture one of the state's many leftover, vacant Bradlees sites. Well I for one didn't expect it to cost $8 to cross a traffic-congested George Washington Bridge (amongst other "penalties" for missing exits, toll booths... I digress).

Besides Hazlet, a slew of other remaining sites exist: Toms River, Woodbury and Bordentown, specifically leave their vacancies behind with largely unclaimed territory. Other sites recently vacant have found new futures, like one in Ventnor City, which recently became a subdivision of two smaller retailers and ones in Turnersville and Stratford, both formerly Jefferson Ward, a fellow fallen Jersey-heavy discount chain Bradlees also swallowed upon its expansion in the early 80's. Both have found new tenants in mixed fields, one a black-painted closeout chain and the latter a medical facility, still donning the recognizable white-and-red tones.

Though much speculation has gone around about the future of the site, it ultimately remains unknown. Anyone who might know more about the history of the site, shine some light on it by dropping a comment.

Find out more about Bradlees, specifically on our extensive spotlight in our hometown of Connecticut or our other recent session in New City, New York.

Just a minor announcement folks, I will be away from August 7th through August 15th. In my absence, enjoy the complete gallery of photos taken of the vacant Bradlees site in Hazlet, New Jersey and others you might've missed on our Flickr.

A Look Back At "Pavilions at" Buckland Hills

2008-07-30T11:15:00.001-04:00

One of our readers, Joseph Rifkin, sent me an email with a few attached images one of Connecticut's newer shopping malls: Buckland Hills. Curious about the history of the nearing 20 year old mall, he brought light to some "vintage" images that certainly bring back some memories of a mall I frequented aplenty.

THE ORIGINAL TENT-LIKE CANOPY MALL ENTRANCE (IMAGE: FUSCO CORP.)

"The Pavilions at Buckland Hills" as it was originally known by opened in March 1990, and has since renamed to "The Shoppes at Buckland Hills" following an extensive decorative renovation shortly after the mall's tenth year, largely in retaliation to a fledgling outdoor center (who stuffs more fluff words than usual to boost its cache) built on the South Windsor line which later threatened its precurosy to a "faux-main streetscape" trend in the neo-mall landscape to which it later joined in image with a post-millennial remodel.

A TYPICAL VIEW OF THE ORIGINAL "PAVILIONS" ERA BUCKLAND HILLS MALL (IMAGE: FUSCO CORP.)

A VIEW FROM "THE SHOPPES" ERA, AFTER THE RENOVATION

Many might not know the full history of what's now one the dominant aerial malls that has been tagged for its crippling and devastating of many surrounding centers including one rotting away ghost town plaza on the other end of town, East Brook Mall in Willimantic, Enfield Square in Enfield and even Auburn Mall in Auburn, Mass. right up on I-90, and shortly over the Connecticut line (sorry, I blame the awful I-90 access and annoying Pike tolls to skim the surface of this mall's troubles).

After the development and opening of Crystal Mall in Waterford in 1984, one year later talk rose of another mammoth mall project and pseudonymed "Winchester Mall", proposed on the (South) Windsor and Manchester lines, on a plot of endless farm land on the outskirts of the towns. The folks turned it down, holding it up for years, until it was given the green light in the late 80's. At this time, the closest thing to what was soon to become a new mall was the Caldor-anchored "Burr Corner" plaza, constructed in the mid-1960's, polar to the once thriving outdoor Manchester Parkade near the center of town.

By the early 90's, The two-level Winchester Mall project bloomed (no, exploded) into The Pavillions at Buckland Hills.

How the fates have turned -- in just ten years the "Buckland Hills", comprable to farmland as far as the eye can see has become what's known as the explosion of Americana emporimania, squashing the town's slogan "A City of Village Charm". Soon after the advent of the two-level toppler to the surrounding malls, plaza after plaza popped up around it, including the big blue monster Walmart, who sprung up with its first, albeit humbly-sized Connecticut location in 1993 (which is coincidentally slated to close up soon and move down the street for, you guessed it, a larger complex).

While I still frequent Buckland Hills today, I've watched it grow and change throughout the years and it doesn't share the same zeal as it did back then despite it being more grandiose than ever. Anchors including G. Fox eventually became Filene's a few short years later (then Macy's), and SEARS and JCPenney are still there (exteriorly unchanged, of course). Steiger's, D&L are but memories while Dick's Sporting Goods opened one of its premiere outlets at Buckland, additionally was one of the first to have remodeled drastically from an original wood-floor clad, cramped albeit two-level interior.

The overall temperature of the mall was ho-hum darker shades of blue and monochromes, often attracted unsavory crowds at night (got a few stories to back that up), but the offerings were different from what Westfarms had.

'The Pavilions' couldn't capture a 90's mall any better than it did.

Today's upscale image has done it over well cosmetically, and has taken a sharp turn from what it once was especially in its later years adopting a rattier image. In spite of its original design provincialism, Buckland Hills was considerably the fun mall compared to Westfarms.

Distinctively, its developers made it top of the line for a 90's trendy center: a food court, alien to many malls around this time with all the quick-bite junk food trimmings like Panda Express, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Sbarro, and more mid-range stores instead of Westfarms somewhat highbrow offerings. Time-Out videogame arcade couped up in the rear of the food court, which centered itself around my childhood experiences here especially with it being a selling point for my mom dragging me here originally.

Buckland Hills, the more community-based mall on steroids, had its charm and challenged shoppers to all new destination.

Today the arcade, Panda Express and Sbarro "wall" have gone the way of the dodo, completely demolished for a carousel, the food court has been rearranged (Burger King took over McDonald's space) but still has an exorbitant amount of unused seating, and the decor has gone much classier. Some of the offerings have dipped into the "discount" and ordinary realms, gaps are evident from fallen retailers which thrived into the 1990's -- KB Toys having closed up last year, Suncoast now taken over by the always exciting indie Cambridge, Mass.-based Newbury Comics and its first Connecticut shop, and a furniture store operating out of a years departed Sam Goody and recently a hole left by The Disney Store -- whose been with the mall since the very beginning no more.

These shots are property of the mall's original contractor, Fusco Corporation. We're not sure how far they date back to but they mine as well be dated 1990. Also check out this shopping bag from Fox N Allen's collection. The mall once had kiosks which sold these custom logo-printed handlebags for a quarter (or two?) -- I used to have a ton of these.

If you've got any memories (or better yet, photos) shopping here in the 90's, perhaps ones that have eluded my recollection, share them with us!

See also: Labelscar's piece on The Buckland Hills (disclaimer: author Damas' visited the mall "in progress" of final touches on the remodel).

There Will Be Bulletins

2008-07-27T14:40:00.000-04:00

Greetings, readers. I share with you on this weekend a few points of somewhat long overdue news around the towns and in regards to the website itself.

Firstly, we are currently working on polishing the site. Due to an absence earlier this year, we've realized some of the pages have gone by the wayside in terms of corrections. Additionally, we aim to fix those and other things. Will we improve our insipid decor? Probably not. Until then, we would still encourage you to look into our past entries.

And now, some news.

Avon, Route 44 former "The Pie Plate" location to Become Car Wash Site

AVON -- The once long vacant blight on Route 44, originally home to long defunct local Connecticut restaurant chain The Pie Plate, on outskirts the of the former Caldor, now Walmart plaza, was demolished earlier this year and is soon on its way to becoming a car wash. The Caldor Rainbow was there last July for what we didn't know was to be our last glance of the site, which had sat vacant for over ten years as the property slowly dwindled.

It's a shame really, apart from a friend of mine whose mother painted the mural inside the sunroom portion of the restaurant to my brother becoming wickedly ill after an afternoon meal, we will miss what's understandably last vestige of a beloved, bygone Connecticut eatery who, despite cafeteria-grade cuisine had memorable pies, given their namesake and groovy signage and yellows and browns I will never forget inside the once Westfarms mall location.

Route 44 "Munson's" Demolished for "Best Buy," Renovated Munson's strip mall
WEST SIMSBURY -- Bolton-based gourmet candy and chocolate retailer Munson's has gotten a full revamp of their distinctly-shaped Route 44 property, in West Simsbury outside the Hoffman's Auto dealership. The brown-clad, cylindrical-shaped, shingled-roof showroom was purchased by Munson's in addition to their Simsbury Drake Hill Mall location once apart of Hoffman's property in the late 1980's. The site was razed earlier this year for electronics juggernaut Best Buy, who celebrates its first property on the mighty strip sharing the space with a strip-mall styled location for Munson's.

Construction which began late 2007, has been completed (and farewell to that gem of a road sign pictured to the right, complete with shingled hut roof).

Thanks For 18 Years: Westfarms "Footbeats" Closes

W. HARTFORD -- A rapidly transforming Westfarms Mall on the West Hartford-Farmington line will see another long-time tenant leave in place for classier clientele. Footbeats, a children's-based shoe retailer has closed its Westfarms location after 18 years of service, leaving nearby Westfield Meriden, Enfield Square mall and Waterbury Brass Mill Center locations to remain.

Many children who grew up in the 90's will remember buying their insect-print, slip-on loafers and Keds' stock there will now have to explore other options as the Taubman-owned mall pushes out yet another veteran tenant for its target of luring upper-scale tenants.

The Return of Bristol Ocean State Job Lot: "TJ Maxx" Relocates to former "Job Lot," accompanies rumored "Borders Books" at Bristol Plaza

BRISTOL -- Well, folks, Ocean State Job Lot, the Bristol chapter lives to reign another day.

That's right, New England's favorite retail roach is coming back to Bristol and back to Bristol Plaza location. This time, it will be moving across the way in what's currently space for TJ Maxx, who took over the property when clothier D&L (Davidson & Leventhal) declared bankruptcy in 1993.

D&L "PROTOTYPE," MAY 1965 (Photo courtesy: The Hartford Courant).

FORMER D&L, TJ MAXX DURING 2006 REMODEL, MAY 2006.

FORMER D&L, TJ MAXX AFTER REMODEL, 2007. SOON TO BECOME NEW 'JOB LOT' SPACE IN LATE '08.

D&L, who opened its doors in a 1965 prototype location, saw its facade completely renovated in 2006 when after a 12-year stretch, TJ Maxx renovated the once crumbling, space-aging building. Job Lot, who rarely puts the bucks into remodeling repossessed sites, will have the work done for it as it moves into the old building this Fall 2008.

Late last year, we reported Job Lot's planned closure as it failed to renew its lease on what originally had been the property of a decades old Stop & Shop before they moved into a former Bradlees location in 2003, on the opposite side of the plaza. The former Stop & Shop/Job Lot has been renovated in uniform with the current TJ Maxx to accompany a subdivision: a relocated TJ Maxx and mystery anchor.

Rumors continue to persist Borders Books has eyed the site, but nothing is etched in stone.

Oh and about the mall, while it may be gone, the property is still fenced-off, and in limbo.

-----------------------------------

Stay focused for at least one last juicy article before we depart for an August vacation.

Dunkin' Donuts: Store Number One

2008-07-21T14:15:00.000-04:00

The Caldor Rainbow visits the first "Dunkin' Donuts" shop in Quincy, Massachusetts.

After all these years, the first shop is still intact, located at 543 Southern Artery and Brackett Street, next to the Super Stop & Shop plaza.

What began as William Rosenberg's "Open Kettle" in 1948, a coffee house restaurant quickly became "Dunkin' Donuts" in May 1950 and a few short years later as a chain operation in 1955. By 1963, the chain had 100 established "restaurants" across the U.S., today they have over 5,769 shops.

While the humble building has likely been expanded, renovated in-and-out through a few design eras, the foundation of the first store ever remains right here after 68 years in the birthplace of Dunkin' Donuts -- Quincy, Massachusetts.

The building itself is largely inconspicuous, with its 1990's prune-and-orange, ridged-plate facade look, sits snugly on a cramped corner. The millions of motorists who pass by may not even realize its history in a sea of 14 other locations for Quincy alone. The building beside it, now a service garage contains a once conformed brown-shingled look is painted over darker shades from an earlier look the chain once (and still, leftover) donned.

Everywhere you look, there's no wonder why "America Runs on Dunkin'"...

A chain that has expanded rapidly in just short decade has won big over the past years with an aggressive and wildly appealing join-us-or-die-trying marketing campaign that has reached outside the realm of coffee drinkers. What was once dad's coffee 'n doughnut lounge and smoke shop is no more.

While rival avant-garde Seattle-based coffee-and-crumpet chain Starbucks is closing 600 locations, the franchise-based Dunkin' Donuts continues to grow in size and appeal -- not closing but often relocating and remodeling. With the northeast flooded in brewed coffee, the spill is trickling into markets where the chain was once a scant entity like Florida and lesser served parts of the Mid-West.

If you don't believe us Northeasterns, check your town on the corporate page store locator for all eight to ten plus locations in your area whether they be in gas stations, supermarkets or just on the corner.

AN AGE-OLD, SHINGLED-ROOF BRIGHTON LOCATION LOSES ITS UNIQUE 1957 SIGN ON APRIL 3, 2008 -- FOUR DAYS AFTER OUR ARRIVAL.

Back in March, The Caldor Rainbow made a pilgrimage to a bygone landmark in another Boston suburb Brighton for a shop whose authentic, vintage 1957 neon road sign had stood for decades but had faced recent rumors of being replaced. Taken down just four days after our visit for a modern, plexiglas one, corporate oversight cited the 51-year old sign had deteriorated beyond suitability.

Word has it the franchise owner of the North Beacon & Market St. location still has it in storage.

If you'd like to see what the Quincy store looked like in its heyday, find out here.

The 'C' And The 'O'

2008-07-18T01:30:00.001-04:00

JIM PRESENTS HIS MOST PRIZED SALVAGE FROM THE NEW BRITAIN CALDOR: The 'C' and 'O' spells CALDOR.

Back in March, we presented a slew of wondrous photographs from the personal collection of a former Caldor employee, Jim. Jim or "Jimmy," was a long-time employee at the late New Britain location who often took photographs (that's right, film, ladies and gents) of the store in-and-out over the course of a decade plus.

Following a story (which seems like history now) that ran in our local newspaper, The Hartford Courant, Jim had contacted me via email about a girth of photos and memorabilia he carried on with him throughout the years as a Caldor employee.

These "time capsules" are one of my proudest offerings for the site seeing as my inspiration for was built upon the late rainbow-icon discount store Caldor, but specifically the bygone location on Farmington Avenue in New Britain. One of my goals with the site when I began, was to do whatever I could to find tangable evidence of this very store and others.

Because of Jim's personal photos, he's helped visually remember the store in ways I myself had not due to often spotty details of memory and its fallacies.

On Jim's final day of work, he recounted to me how it was one of the most horrifying days of his career at the New Britain Caldor -- as parts of the plexiglas lettering came falling down from the withering, old stucco and rockface facade that seemed cutting-edge back in 1972 and as the chain's 21st store for the 21st Anniversary.

They, like most of the store's remains in 1999 went to the landfill. Except for a few morsels Jim has kept them snugly in his garage for all those years: the 'C' and the 'O', wonderfully preserved in their burnt-orange goodness.

NEW BRITAIN CALDOR; SEPTEMBER 1991: AFTER CLOSURE ON A COOL NIGHT WITH IT'S LETTERING SHINING BRIGHT.

This sign, another iteration of the well-known "rainbow" motif, was the second one used on this store, likely replaced from the original one sometime during the 1980's.

All photos are the respective property of Jim and were given permission to use on The Caldor Rainbow only. As with all of Jim's photos, do not reproduce or share on any other website.

Kmart Re-Introduces Umpteenth 'Store Remodels'

2008-07-15T14:35:00.000-04:00

The corporates at Kmart have seen the wave of the future -- all around it. From the designer-chich, hip Target to a sun-shinier, new "Walmart," who recently unearthed what's been identified as a "sunburst" logo, it's time for the decades sinking department discounter to step up and show some competitive edge -- this time it could be for real.

Kmart Store Remodel: Promises including Wider Aisles (!) will accompany the umpteenth concept

(Re)introducing "Kmart Store Remodels," a little tab on their webpage which promises customers an all-new shopping experience with various neo-lifestyle amenities to assure its customer base they can still be cool and hip. All-new and Kmart? Its hard to believe, especially with the reputation the chain has dragged along today across the nation with many of its notoriously yesteryear-looking stores disorganized, somewhat dilapidated, cosmetically challenged and decoratively dated by decades plus. Some stores even suffer with various unappealing and often reminiscent odors of diseased retailers still lurking down the aisles.

As Donald Fagen of Steely Dan said in "The Last Mall"; "roll your cart back up the aisle!"

Say hello to the in of internet cafes (out with darkened Little Caesar's corners), brighter colors (lots of red but will they keep the olive green, brown and tan linoleum tiles?), an expanded Craftsman section (which will likely take over the vacated Martha Stewart acreage) and possibly the biggest surprise of them all: the return of the auto center -- with Sears nameplate attached.

This could mean, soon, you won't have to stare at the eyesore, abandoned garage yards otherwise used to stockpile disused gondolas, garden equipment at the sides of your Kmart stores anymore thanks to Sears...

Attention Kmart Shoppers, this ain't the first time you've seen this.

If you didn't know better, or had a "Sears Essentials/Grand" unrolled in your town to mask over a distressed, underperforming Kmart store in the last couple years since the infamous merger, you're going to see what's looking like a glorified Sears-Kmart discount store concept -- all over again.

Since over the course of the 90's, Kmart has been searching grand for the perfect image ever since they unveiled their iconic red-and-green "K mart" face in the early 60's. They've tried so hard since, in fact, they suffer from an identity crisis with today's generation. Unable to settle with anything firmly distinct beyond the somewhat flopped, tacky "Big K" movement, the company has struggled more than any other major discounter since with concepts to move its look towards a confident look for the chain. After over a decade, the chain has attempted to dump the Big K moniker despite the storefront logos, move back to the classic "kmart" (all lowercase), and wants nothing more than simplicity -- like its ever-expanding rivals Walmart and Target, who've spun Kmart off its once domineering position since.

The "Store Remodel" tab which lurks hidden on bottom end of the page

So which stores will be getting the treatment? Kmart's page has a list, seemingly ensuring at least one store per state will be getting the facelift. Apparently, only the highest profile stores will see the changes up front, and the only one in Connecticut granted this premium treatment: Southbury.

The two-level Southbury store, located at the town's I-84 exit will be the lone ranger to get the grade-up treatment -- leaving the remainders in the state who could much use the remodel to its advantage.

The Southbury store, which is the furthest advanced store in Connecticut in contrast (just to be fair) to the nearby towns Waterbury, whose early 1970's canopy look dates it beyond a monochrome paint job but not nearly to that of an age-old Straits Turnpike, Watertown location which retains its original 1976 red-and-green logo still plastered onto the old Grants building it replaced oh so many years ago. Apart from its marvelous time traveled look that might otherwise appeal to retail history enthusiasts or make your grandma feel at ease, the company will be favoring stores that clearly have bold futures instead of the ones that really need it.

With deep financial pressures hard to escape in the face of the merged Kmart-Sears, a very troubled spending economy with many prominent chains purging this year alone, the parent sees the need to make or break. Sears itself isn't peachy either but instead of closing locations or initiating a kaput of the entire Kmart label all together as urged by 'financial experts,' having their shot at reviving a faltering company in twilight -- is in the works. for yet another round.

For more pictures of Connecticut's Kmart stores, look towards our "Kmart Collection" premium photo gallery set on Flickr.

If you haven't, you really need to see Pleasant Family Shopping and their various segments on Kmart with full-color vintage photography.

Toys "R" Us Comes To North Haven, Leaves Hamden

2008-06-17T17:00:00.001-04:00

Hey kids! Toys "R" Us is coming to a town near you -- if you live in/around North Haven.

NORTH HAVEN, C.T. -- That's right, the iconic giraffe-toned mega toy retailer is planning a new Toys "R" Us-Babies "R" Us combo at the forthcoming North Haven Commons shopping center along the fledgling Universal Drive shopping district adjacent the I-91 corridor to I-95.

Developer Ripco, whose crafted the siteplan for the under construction North Haven Commons also includes a few new entrants including Best Buy, Petco, and an unleased parcel as major anchors amongst others.

Toys "R" Us-Babies "R" Us in North Haven will be the chain's newest in over ten years for Connecticut and the first newly-built since one built from a relocated Waterbury location in 1997, at the Brass Mill Commons. Both stores shared the peak of the company's image; Waterbury was the state's first "Concept 2000" and North Haven will be the first combination store crafted in the company's bolder image.

In accordance with the company's plan, many existing Toys "R" Us stores, most of which who haven't received any significant remodels in over 15+ years, have since undergone a campaign to reformat under the guise of CEO Storch and his fresh marketing campaign with hopes to rebound the once dominant toy retailer to suit a branding combination following the success of the chain's sister Babies "R" Us brand.

TOYS "R" US IN AUBURN, MASS. FEATURING NEW COMPANY IMAGE AND NEW "R" LOGO

Some stores which have already reformatted into the hybrid type which includes Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores under one roof, including one "left behind" location we once planned to visit in York, PA (but got there too late), Salisbury, MD and Auburn, MA (pictured above).

Other long-time stores as well as new ones currently up for the transformation include a veteran location in Manchester, NH, which is currently enduring its third remodel since its 1982 opening into a hybrid location.

The Caldor Rainbow has since swooped up a couple locations in Ohio; one wonderfully preserved store in Boardman-Youngstown and a white-clad repaint in St. Clairsville, both still largely time-warped, still shadowing the chain's iconic look from the 80's with brown ripple-roofs and multi-colored striped exteriors like one we've tirelessly promoted here in the past in Clay, N.Y.

Though no stores have made the current generation remodel in Connecticut, changes are expected to make their play inevitably. The market has been golden for the chain in our state, who saw little to no closures since the chain entered the Connecticut market. Apart from a bygone East Haven location, a relocated Waterbury one and one such in Westport, which closed earlier this year, will likely rebound with the coming of the new North Haven store -- with the possibility of a 12-year old Hamden location getting the ax.

The Hamden Mart, which houses the county's other Toys "R" Us came about in 1996 when Stop & Shop moved out of the plaza. Rumors persist the chain's strategy includes a future with the North Haven store making the forefront, leaving the the Dixwell Ave. location to not renew its lease.

Toys "R" Us currently has 9 locations in Connecticut, Babies "R" Us has 5 all standalone locations making the North Haven store a first in the state as well as becoming the state's tenth location, replacing the late Westport store.

If you haven't already, please check out our in-depth case study of classic stores and Pleasant Family Shopping for an incredible full-color shot of an early 1970s shot of the beloved rainbow-striped glee the chain is classically known for.

New City 'Bradlees' Last Remaining Vacancy in New York

2008-05-31T00:30:00.004-04:00

"Coming Soon -- A Complete Renovation and Modernization of this Property"

...greeted The Caldor Rainbow upon its recent visitation to one of New York's earliest Bradlees sites in New City (not New York City), which has remained vacant for over seven years since the chain's closure.

NEW CITY, N.Y. -- With half the ghostly "Bradlees" building side logo in tatters, peaking behind florishing trees from the road, the elderly and dilapidated "Mini City" plaza site on the North Main Street-Cavalry Road split apparently has a plan for the future. A nearly forty-year, former Stop & Shop Companies relic hopes to seek new tenants and a new life after its neigh decade of vacancy and ages of age.

Bradlees, the New London, Conn. discount department store chain quickly expanded under the banner of the Stop & Shop Companies in the early 60's with a progressive expansion plan shortly after, opening one of its first New York state outlets in New City back in the mid-1960's, apart of a "Mini-City" with Bradlees, Stop & Shop and Medi-Mart. Sharing success for many years, the plaza fell on hard times when the bond ended in the early 1990's, but even deeper as the decade went on.

Bradlees shared a good level of success in the state of New York, with its earliest sites in Poughkeepsie and New City with one of its last vacant sites in southern-tier Elmira-Horseheads formerly anchoring at the Arnot Mall.

Today, the New City site is only half-diseased. still hanging in there as a well-known town blight.

A former Bradlees, sitting silently, boarded-up against a caramel-toned brick and signature early rockface facade since the liquidations in early 2001 following the chain's December 2000 closure. The encompassing "Mini-City" site, now a mere ghost of its original self is a lot now used for vacationing truckers, breaking construction workers at the outparcel, nearby McDonald's, and patronage to an outdated Walgreens on the far-side of the plaza. Its largest tenants sit rotting away in addition to the long-fallen discounter including a neighboring, long departed Stop & Shop which has become home to a future supermarket before its label-scarred vacancy.

News last year came about with Stop & Shop purchasing the lot to build a new store -- but almost one year later, nothing has happened. Town talk has hopes to build an entirely refaced plaza, complete with landscaping and total facade renovation.

New City "Mini City": Bradlees, a vacant former Stop & Shop and Walgreens

The Mini-City site, like many others built around this time, began in the mid-1960's under the banner of the Stop & Shop Companies: with (left-to-right) Bradlees, Stop & Shop and Medi-Mart. With Bradlees lasting until the final days in 2001, Stop & Shop had left earlier following the divorce of 'The Companies,' while Medi-Mart was sold off to Walgreens in the late 80's.

Nearly forty-years later, the fate is still blurred, but not without hope to start anew.

Enjoy our pictures on a beauitful late May afternoon. It may be some of the last shots you see here of Bradlees in New City, thus ending the dead discounter Bradlees' saga in New York as this site edges closer to being revitalized. Luckilly, we were able to avoid a line of questioning when my trusty sidekick picked me up upon the sudden sighting of a local police patrol (bottom right corner of the header photo)!

Currently, there are still a handful of remaining Bradlees in New Jersey including ones in Bordentown, Woodbury, Hazlet and Toms River. The Caldor Rainbow seeks to bring you those updates as the Summer months move along.

For more on The Stop & Shop Companies and "Mini City" sites including outstanding full-color vintage photos of Bradlees in its youth, we urge you to view the excellent Pleasant Family Shopping site, who provides many valuable visuals from their respective eras.

For more info on Bradlees in Connecticut, please visit our Premium Store Locator.

UPDATE: Site entirely demolished.

Our State of Affairs

2008-05-02T15:30:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to give all of my readers a window our state of affairs here at The Caldor Rainbow.

If ever we fade into the black like our friend Keith Milford over at Malls of America (who mysteriously hasn't updated the site in almost a year), we'll be sure to go out with a generous farewell.

That won't be happening anytime soon.

Even if the updates aren't as frequent, I have no plans to abandon the site despite the last few months of radio silence.

Allow me to address a few things as of late. Being busy with life myself, it's unifyingly obvious our retail circle is undoubtedly in a slowdown with us included. My reasons might not stray beyond our affiliates: fuel and living costs have risen dramatically over the past month causing a drought in travel and with it new content. We've also run dry of content to focus on locally. We assure you we've got some plans for site updates, which will hopefully resume in the next months with windows of time visible to take such ventures.

We're still oriented in our goal and the site's past content and success is a testament to that. We will bring stories of interest to you, the readers, if you'll just stick with us through sticky times.

Furthering, the site is still alive if not regularly updated and has been quite a ride thus far -- for me and hopefully for you all as well. In these past years, I like to think we've covered a lot, lived up to the goals, and brought forth quality content for you. We'd like to continue that, so please stay tuned.

We'll also please direct you to look towards our Flickr, where updates have become easier for myself.

This is a good time to hear you. The site is ever-evolving as it's been from day one -- willing to be flexible and experimental in our content. Is there something you would like to see on The Caldor Rainbow? If so, with any other comments, please let us know.

Tour of a Caldor

2008-03-12T12:44:00.008-04:00

We've got more photographs, following in our saga of recapturing the late Caldor of New Britain, Connecticut all courtesy of Jim.

Over the last week, we've shown you a series of exterior shots of the "swept wing" frontage store, now Jim has submitted a series of shots, most of which were taken after the chain shuttered and cleared out the store in mid-1999, giving us a glimpse into what the store looked like in its last days. If you haven't seen the previous posts, you can do so here and here.

July 4, 1990: Dick Tracy Merchandise on a no-frills endcap display, stand fans behind them on "Super Buy" for $37.99!

August 1989: Big red "SALE" and Caldor Low Price! cache

July 1989: A cluttered mess of a store.

According to Jim, the store was remodeled once, in 1988 and never again. This stage sought to end color-coded departments moving onto a red-orange racing-striped motif and a largely white look, but not without brown liners of the floor and faux-wooden poles. The gaps in between the stripes on the back walls formerly held department names. Here's a slew of photos taken after the store closed up, presumably mid-1999, though not disclosed exactly by Jim.

Mid-1999, post closing: Far-left end, facing the back of the store. This was once home to gifts, furniture, domestics and shoe departments -- now empty and void of fixtures.

Mid-1999, post closing: A haunting view of the shuttered store standing at the front gates, looking to the left where checkout counters once where. Yes, those are faux-wooden poles!

Mid-1999, post closing: Another photo, looking to the left-end of the store. Scars below show where shelving once was. If you looked to your immediate left, you'd see the customer service desk, which was located next to the entrance gates.

Mid-1999, post closing: The jewelry/photography departments.

And lastly here's Jim, who submitted all of these wonderful photos. He wished to be pictured here looking sharp in his shirt-and-burnt-orange/brownish-tie Caldor garb in May 1992, which was just one of the uniforms warn over the years. He is still hoping to unearth a portrait of himself in what he refers to as his "shirt/smock/jacket." His photo was taken at the customer service desk, which looked like it contained wood paneling and an unmistakably giant cash register (which had sweet orange digital numbers).

Caldor; New Britain: Summer 1990

2008-03-10T23:12:00.003-04:00

Here's another gem for all of you to enjoy: a genuine color photograph of the Caldor in New Britain, Connecticut along Farmington Avenue from July (or August) 1990, according to Jim who sent this one in.

It comes with a caption as well, which he wrote up himself, describing the scene: "Caldors having a clearance on clothing items in the middle of July. It lasted a week."

Doesn't it look wonderful? People shopping on the front sidewalk for discounted clothing on those circular racks we all know under a lusterless sky -- but not without the infinite earthly shower of the rainbow up above -- like a black cat floating in blue sky! Apparently, the store wasn't entirely concerned about the merchandise enough to keep it indoors, away from thieves, and possibly a storm (imagine today's retailers doing this!).

Now in full, vivid color, you can see just how much weathering detriment plagued the stucco-frenzied building aside the once classy looking, environmentally unfriendly tin can automobiles your moms and pops drove!

This comes direct from our contact and former longtime Caldor employee Jim, who supplied us with a few other photos, two of which were his own, from his personal collection. If you haven't seen the others, do so.

Jim will continue to search for more, so stay tuned!

Vintage Caldor; New Britain, Connecticut

2008-03-08T19:55:00.008-05:00

Caldor; New Britain, Connecticut. Fall 1991.

If there's one thing we had hoped for following our appearance in the media recently, it's the expansion of scope The Caldor Rainbow reaches -- to all realms, specifically outside the internet. While the net has allowed us to grasp our audience and resources, many valuable readers may not be entirely accustomed or second-nature to the internet and all that lurks within. As with the passing of time, most of the best objects to unearth come in the form of physical rather than digital, before technology made it so easy to mass produce. These gems, with the help of this very technology, can now be preserved and showcased to the world.

That's when one of our newfound readers, Jim, contacted us. Jim, among many others who saw our print article sought us out and decided to share stories and memorabilia, some of which have participated on various topics here at The Caldor Rainbow.

Jim worked at the New Britain store for almost 15 years; from June 24, 1985 until the final, sorrowful day: March 15, 1999, which he describes as a day he will not forgot. Jim, enthused about Caldor, has taken many photos over the ages, now stowed away -- many of which of his late, great store and others around the state has sent us a sampling of these amazing photos of one such long-gone Caldor store in New Britain, Connecticut.

And who knows, seeing as this was the store I came to as a young'n, Jim and I probably met in passing at more than one time.

CALDOR; NEW BRITAIN, CONN., CIRCA LATE 1970's -- REVEALS AN ADDITIONAL ENTRANCE ON THE FAR-RIGHT WHICH WAS LATER SEALED DUE TO HIGH THEFT. Photo courtesy: New Britain Herald.

Caldor opened its New Britain location on Farmington Avenue in celebration of the 21st Anniversary; the 21st store on November 16, 1972. The bizarre, stucco-wall-to-wall 84,000 square foot bunker was well recognized as one of the most unusual looking retail complexes featuring well-known, geometric design traits: a "swept wing" or parallelogram-slanted facades over the triangular entrances as well as the unveiling of the eternal "rainbow" company emblem.

Today, it lives on as the site of Wal-Mart, a succeeding retailer who snatched up many former Caldor locations across the state.

NEW BRITAIN CALDOR ROAD SIGN, AND ONE WHICH STAYED THIS WAY UNTIL THE VERY END.

Stores modeled after this one later opened in Southington and West Hartford-Elmwood among others in 1973. Sadly, the West Hartford-Elmwood store, which was the last one remaining, was celebrated with our recent Hartford Courant story, has since been dismantled, soon to become home to a Price-Rite supermarket.

Towards the end of the chain's life, slipping to financial quicksand, many stores built during the rapid expansion years of the 1970s never quite received their upgrades and renovations like other stores. In this case, the sad, neglected New Britain store was just one of a few in the central Connecticut region which doned the earthy rainbow-eras up until March 1999 -- complete with a cracked roadside sign and withering, falling shards of stucco.

And if that's not bad enough, Jim kept the giant "C" and "O" of the former building signage -- after they came crashing down. A sonic symbol of The End of Caldor.

We greatly appreciate Jim's photos: the title and road sign photos were both taken Fall 1991, from Jim's personal collection as the other, from The New Britain Herald is from the late 1970's, roughly a few years after the store opened. And my, look how the facade is already showing weathering damage, even worse by the 90's! Also notice how they changed the building-side lettering -- but not much else over the years.

Enjoy the photos, we hope to share more in the near future. In the meantime, go check out our premium Connecticut store locator.

Bradlees Store Locator PLUS

2008-03-04T15:20:00.006-05:00

Back in February 2007, we launched our Bradlees Store Locator, which attempted to detail every Bradlees store in Connecticut from the first one in New London in 1958 up until the final 17 locations upon the December 26, 2000 announcement whereby the chain ceased operations.

Back in early 2007, our resources were limited to an ad unearthed by a board member of the Ames Fan Club. Since, we've expanded our research and have tracked down every store that ever existed in Connecticut and even cleared up some unconfirmed and/or short-lived locations. Now, one year later, we have fixed the errors, added opening dates to most stores, included some photographs, and added a host of information on each site.

The Caldor Rainbow presents the Bradlees Store Locator PLUS. And now, a brief history of Bradlees *cue the lights*.

Bradlees Department Stores began in New London, Connecticut in 1958 as a "suburban self-service department store" as cited in their earliest advertisements. The once coastal tourist attraction quickly rose to fame in 1961 when they became recognized by Stop & Shop as "One of The Stop & Shop Companies" and began to expand. The Companies now consisted of Stop & Shop supermarket, Bradlees department store and later Medi-Mart pharmacy/drug store, and Perkins Tobacco.

In its earliest years bond with Stop & Shop, Bradlees shared a food/grocery brand as "Stop & Shop-Bradlees Foods" with some locations becoming an extension of Stop & Shop before some locations were morphed or relocated into becoming full-fledged department stores that later became known as.

Along with the brand, many of the earliest "food" brand Bradlees stores were located in Bristol, East Haven, Milford, Norwalk (two locations; Connecticut Ave and West Avenue), New Britain, Torrington, Stamford, West Haven and Westport existed as food retailers beyond the ceasing of the foods brand while others did not or relocated. The "food" brand was later discontinued, by the late 1960's, whereby stores would simply become Bradlees stores, most of which already contained neighboring Stop & Shop markets.

As part of a short-lived series, some Bradlees stores were surnamed "Family Centers" in the later 1960's, later dropping the name upon later built stores.

Their earliest Connecticut stores apart the original established New London location was Derby, Bristol, Milford, Hamden and soon after a short-lived West Hartford-Bishop's Corner store. At closing in 2000, Bradlees only retained two of these early, original locations: Bristol and Hamden.

The store itself was a typical department discount-themed store trafficking in essentials, clothing (softlines), hardware, home furnishings and decor, electronics, toys, grocery and more. Like other retailers in its time, stores also featured snack bars or eateries at the front of most stores trends of including in-house eateries and restaurants within stores like Grant's Bradford House Today trends call for franchise operations, unlike the once exclusive bonds retailers once had like K-Mart and its bankrupt bond with Little Caesar's, Wal-Mart; with Subway and Target; with wide offerings such as Taco Bell-Pizza Hut Express and/or Starbucks today.

In their prime, the store within the family of Stop & Shop shared great success during the 1970's throughout the late 1980's having the ability to expand beyond Connecticut and into neighboring states and soon a bulk of the Northeast retail market including a heavy presence in New Jersey and Massachusetts. Stores would also later trickle into Pennsylvania, Maine, Rhode Island with a handful in New York and New Hampshire as well.

Bradlees, coupled with Stop & Shop, quickly emerged as a store with one-stop-shop mini-mall enterprises. Thriving with competitive edge across the consumer spectrum, having many of their locations built aside Stop & Shop locations; conveniently aiding from the proximity of frequent supermarket traffic influx. Many locations even featured hybrid meshed concepts were shoppers could cross over via interior and intermingle into neighboring stores territories a la Wal-Mart Supercenter of today with as many as three of its store brands; Bradlees, Stop & Shop and Medi-Mart across one strip.

These expansion and opportunist years of the peaking early 1980s enabled the chain to occupy a few fallen rival discounters including Two Guys; a famed New Jersey super discounter of the 1970's, King's, which had collapsed during the early 80s, Jefferson Ward; a like discounter based in New Jersey and Woolco; a discount, youth-oriented arm of the Woolworth chain who also had many locations in places where Bradlees would soon compete.

Bradlees ended up taking over two of the three fallen Two Guys locations in Connecticut in New London (at New London Mall) and Newington in early 1982. Both locations would soon see the ends of the expansion, both closing after the mid-1990's shift.

A NOW DEMOLISHED BRADLEES AT "THE DOCK" IN STRATFORD WAS THE LAST REMAINING VACANCY OUTSIDE THE HARTFORD AREA, NOW HOME TO BJs WHOLESALE CLUB

But for many New Englanders and outer regions, the direct contender for Bradlees rule was none other than fellow rising discounter, Caldor, who are very comparable in looks, offerings, and location sprawl. Caldor also rose quickly and demanded the retail market throughout the 1970's, expanding rapidly in a fierce duel with the rival discounter.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, critics noted that Bradlees struggled financially and declined in image in opposition to rival discounter chains which were rising quickly. One such was Ames, who had swallowed up the Framingham, Mass.-based Zayre in 1988, inheriting a bevy of prime landscape but also a detriment of debt it had soon endured in 1990. Most empirically, was Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, who began entering the Northeast market, having its first Connecticut store to break ground in Manchester in 1993, turf were Bradlees had been since 1982.

Like even their most brazen rivals, Bradlees' struggle increased by the early 1990s and shortly after when Stop & Shop dealt the blow to the once cradled company by initiating the first divorce of the companies brand. The company's departure began with the phaze out of Medi-Mart, when in May 1986, Stop & Shop sold it off to the rapidly expanding Walgreens.

Medi-Mart, the pharmacy-based subsidiary of Stop & Shop more or less has since become apart of Walgreens but not without keeping the heritage within today's Stop & Shop with an integrated portion of their supermarkets today dedicated to pharmaceutical and drug store conveniences, sans the name. In May 1992, Stop & Shop announced the selling of Bradlees, thereby becoming detached from its almost 30-year bond with Stop & Shop to focus on its own operation.

Following the divorce, Bradlees, now as a publicly-traded company, changed their outlook for survival. By 1992, Bradlees had 29 locations to deal with, a number throughout the 1990's would see steady decline shuttering starting old, New Britain on Slater Road and new stores, Simsbury, at The late Farmington Valley Mall.

A ROAD SIGN STILL UP GREETS FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE IN MANCHESTER

Despite their continual reports of success, Bradlees, was falling behind in trend and vanity of their stores displayed that with outdated decor and crumbling exterior models -- most of which predated decades old, without significant remodeling efforts. Attempting to repel, keeping prices competitive also meant improving the cosmetics of their store and layouts. Bradlees already had the benefit of owning much prime real estate, like Caldor, with over 30 locations in Connecticut which reduced cancerously over the course of the 1990's.

Like many rivaling chains, Bradlees undoubtedly borrowed much from the playbook of its up-and-coming rivals to be at the top of the edge again. Mirroring the obvious Caldor, who entered the 1990s with a revitalized image and store model to suit it, Bradlees also, in the later 90s, contended by looking towards Wal-Mart and Ames, who recently and overzealously conducted themselves following the acquisition of an indebted Zayre and further sprawling beyond the Northeast and into outer territory, all of which who were fierce competition. This sought to leave many aging stores behind, which of course hurt the company's image.

As a result, they began to brighten up the darker, outdated colors of their store's interiors, adopt catchy slogans this side of Ames but solely ran things as tight as their finances deemed. Unfortunately, many of these long-needed cosmetic enhancements, including an unwillingness to update their 70's-centric logo, ended up coming too late or never for older stores, some of which were, like aching rival Caldor, severly outdated until the last months known well today for neglecting exterior renovations of some decades old existing locations. The company also misstepped in that; like Caldor, attempted to build newer stores throughout the 1990s, using marketing techniques to mask their appearent woes (much like Kmart is exercising today).

A LONG ABANDONED BRADLEES IN MANCHESTER AT THE COMPLETELY VACATED BROAD STREET-SIDE, MANCHESTER PARKADE

On June 24, 1995, Bradlees entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Only months later would rival Caldor enter the same challenge. As a result, the chain strategically shuttered a series of underperforming in 1996, with some trickling years forthcoming.

After a pressure-filled decade, were stores slowly darkened, something went right for Bradlees who miraculously emerged from Chapter 11 in 1999, becoming free of burden which usually sees no recovery to its past retail victims, one such lifelong competitor Caldor falling within the same year. Sadly, the celebratory fanfare or prospect to start anew ended only one year later when the staggering retailer methodically, after the millennial holiday season of 2000; announced they were closing up for good.

Within months, Bradlees shuttered all remaining 105 locations across six states.

On December 26, 2006, Bradlees, as it's been known for half of the 20th century, was soon no more -- swallowed into a black hole of retail history.

But always remembered. We at the Caldor Rainbow recognize the significance and appeal Bradlees had on its customers which is why we are proud to preserve Bradlees memory in our premium store locator.

A LONG VACANT BRADLEES IN THE PARKVILLE SECTION OF HARTFORD STILL STANDS

Bradlees left an impression on us Northeasterners. Many people miss the store's charm compared to today's empirical Wal-Mart. So much that it ranks up there with beloved departed department stores of past like rival, Caldor, who's charm died around the swing of the millennium. Arguably, Bradlees wasn't quite as pinnacle as Caldor, not as gaudy as Ames, but had a likability that today's discounter seem to be devoid of (excluding the slick Target, who's hung in there for decades and going stronger than ever). Maybe it was their iconic, forever groovy logo or their non-uniform building styles, or maybe the smell of salty popcorn upon walking into a store.

The Caldor Rainbow holds no malice towards today's discounters: may the fittest survive.

WHAT BECAME OF FORMER STORES?

Wondering what became of your local and elsewhere Bradlees?

A RECYCLED, FORMER BRADLEES IN EAST HARTFORD NOW HOME TO BURLINGTON COAT FACTORY

The change in the market has taken care and recycled many former locations, but that doesn't mean they're completely gone. Some, in fact, still exist as ghosts in their newer tenants -- if you can find them.

Because of Bradlees earliest bond with Stop & Shop, it's not unusual to find former Bradlees sites evolved into full-fledged, expanded Super Stop & Shop stores. Some former stores have also been subdivided or partitioned -- when the original building is split to accommodate lower volume retailers thus more occupants per square foot. Specialty retailers who deal in smaller volume have done this like TJ Maxx, Staples and even furniture stores, have done this in accordance to fit inside or make the once big box scale more versatile and suitable for more retailers.

Many other entire sites have either been partially or completely demolished and overhauled -- mainly those rebuilt for Wal-Mart, Kohl's, and even those to the scale of Home Depot and Lowe's. There's also still a handful of vacant sites with uncertain futures.

Here's a list we've compiled of all known former Bradlees locations across the state of Connecticut. We've decided to focus solely on Connecticut although there could be locations remaining in surrounding states where stores were once positioned around the Northeast. To keep the list accurate, regular updates and submitted or suggested corrections are welcomed.

COMPLETE QUICK LIST of FORMER CONNECTICUT LOCATIONS (INCLUDES FOOD STORES)

AVON-SIMSBURY (M) became Bob's Stores/redeveloped Simsbury Commons
BRIDGEPORT became subdivided into AJ Wright, Modell's and Sleepy's
BRISTOL (F) became expanded Super Stop & Shop
CROMWELL became expanded Super Stop & Shop
DANBURY became Wal-Mart
DERBY became Shop-Rite
EAST HARTFORD (M) became subdivided into Burlington Coat Factory and Aaron's Rental
EAST HAVEN (F) became Carmax
ENFIELD/THOMPSONVILLE became Lia Hyundai of Enfield
ENFIELD (King St.) became Bernie's Corporate Offices
ENFIELD (Hazard Ave.) became subdivided into Linen's & Things, Michaels, and Office Depot
FAIRFIELD (F) became expanded Super Stop & Shop
GROTON (Long Hill Rd.) became subdivided into TJ Maxx, Goodwill Super Store
GROTON (Route 12) became Kohl's
GUILFORD became Wal-Mart
HAMDEN (940 Dixwell Ave.) (F) became Dollar Deals, Jane Beauty Supply
HAMDEN (2300 Dixwell Ave.) became Wal-Mart
HARTFORD currently VACANT
MANCHESTER currently VACANT
MERIDEN became Burlington Coat Factory
MIDDLETOWN (E. Main St.) became Marshalls
MIDDLETOWN (S. Main St.) became Biosystems Inc.
MILFORD (F) became Stop & Shop, then redeveloped mall; Sears
NEWINGTON became Wal-Mart
NEW BRITAIN (Stanley St. & E. Main) (F) became ?
NEW BRITAIN (Slater Rd.) currently Webster Bank Corporate Training Center
NEW LONDON (South Frontage Rd.) (T) became Burlington Coat Factory
NEW LONDON (New London Mall) (M) became reconstructed New London Mall
NEW MILFORD became Wal-Mart
NORWALK (Connecticut Avenue) (F) became Wal-Mart
NORWALK (West Avenue) (F) became ?
ORANGE became Kohl's
SHELTON subdivided into Bed, Bath & Beyond and Hawley Lane Shoes
STAMFORD (F) became Shop-Rite Super Grade A
STRATFORD became BJ's Wholesale Club
TORRINGTON (F) (T) became TJ Maxx
WEST HARTFORD (T) currently Whole Foods Market
WEST HAVEN (F) became Walgreens
WESTPORT (F) became ?
WETHERSFIELD became subdivided into AJ Wright and EbLens
WATERBURY (Chase Ave.) became Target
WATERBURY (Reidville Dr.) became subdivided into Sealy Sleep Center and Raymour & Flanigan Furniture

VACANT STORES AS OF FEBRUARY 2007: 2

(F) ORIGINALLY FEATURED/WAS "BRADLEES FOODS"
(M) LOCATED INSIDE MALL
(T) TWO-LEVEL LOCATION

DETAIL LIST of FORMER CONNECTICUT LOCATIONS

Remaining 17 Connecticut locations as of Fall 1998 which remained until 2000, courtesy of the late Bradlees.com website.

All 17 final stores listed as "CLOSED" on December 26, 2000 actually closed months later, per liquidation.

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AVON-SIMSBURY
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Farmington Valley Mall
850 Bushy Hill Road

OPENED : September 23, 1982
CLOSED : April 1992

CURRENTLY : Bob's Stores

HISTORY : W.T. Grant / Grants (1972-1976), King's (1976-1982), Bradlees (1982-1992), vacant (1992-1994), Bob's Stores (1994-present)

NOTES : Closed April 1992, citing sluggish sales (and likely a cut due to Stop & Shop Companies divorce). Stop & Shop was later rebuilt and the Bradlees portion was partially demolished for Bob's Stores.

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BRIDGEPORT
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156 Boston Avenue
Route US-1

OPENED : 1975
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : subdivided into AJ Wright, Modell's and Sleepy's

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BRISTOL
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Bristol Plaza
603 Farmington Avenue
Route US-6

OPENED : November 2, 1960
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : relocated, expanded Super Stop & Shop

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CROMWELL
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197 West Street

OPENED : November 3, 1983
CLOSED : ?

CURRENTLY : newly-rebuilt Super Stop & Shop

NOTES : Originally neighbored Stop & Shop, eventually became Super Stop & Shop.

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DANBURY
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Berkshire Shopping Center
69 Newtown Road

OPENED : 1962

CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : Wal-Mart

NOTES : Featured nearby Super Stop & Shop location, now occupied by Marshalls. Was only partially demolished for Wal-Mart. Former Stop & Shop contains original Bradlees logo label scar.

VIEW : SiteRide Property Snapshots

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DERBY
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Valley Shopping Center
49 Pershing Drive
Route CT-334

OPENED : (In or before) 1961
CLOSED : February 1996

CURRENTLY : Shop-Rite

NOTES : Store targeted for closure in February 1996 as part of bankruptcy reorganization.

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EAST HARTFORD
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Charter Oak Mall (became Super Stop & Shop/Burlington Coat Factory/Plaza)
640 Silver Lane

OPENED : March 21, 1976
CLOSED : February 1996

CURRENTLY : subdivided into Burlington Coat Factory and Aaron's Rental

NOTES : Was once apart of the now demalled Charter Oak Mall. Was reportedly a very troubled store built on "sinking land" throughout it's life, later years.

Contained exterior and interior/mall entrances.

Store was remodeled and completed by August 1979 adding energy conservative lighting, widened aisles, luggage and optical departments.

Store targeted for closure in February 1996 as part of bankruptcy reorganization.

VIEW : our profile on The Charter Oak Mall.

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EAST HAVEN
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121 Frontage Road / Connecticut Turnpike
I-95 South; Exit 51

OPENED : 1960s
CLOSED : February 1996

CURRENTLY : Carmax

Notes: Originally contained neighboring Stop & Shop, later occupied by Toys 'R' Us in former Stop & Shop location. Bradlees closed in 1996 wave of store closures. A notorious location; many reports of vandalism and even built on "sinking" land. Entire site demolished and bolstered for Carmax in 2005.

Store targeted for closure in February 1996 as part of bankruptcy reorganization. Was vacant from 1996-2005.

VIEW : Unknown authored photo of vacant East Haven location

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ENFIELD / THOMPSONVILLE
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483 Enfield Street
Route US-5

OPENED : 1960s?
CLOSED : January 1970

CURRENTLY : Lia Hyundai of Enfield

NOTES : Store closed in January 1970, reopened at Enfield (King Street) in March 1970. Medi-Mart took over former Bradlees, located next to Stop & Shop. Was eventually redeveloped for Lia Hyundai, a car dealership lot. This was the first location of Bradlees in Enfield.

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ENFIELD
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274 King Street
Route US-5 & Interstate 91

OPENED : March 1970
CLOSED : Unknown

CURRENTLY : Bernie's Corporate Headquarters (?)

NOTES : Relocated from Thompsonville location at 483 Enfield Street. Year closed unknown. Was originally listed as 274 King Street. Did it become farmland? Was listed as Route 5 & I-91 in advertisement store locator but address does not match with Bernie's listed at 1559 King St.

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ENFIELD
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Enfield Suburban Mall (now Enfield Commons)
25 Hazard Avenue
Route CT-190

OPENED : ?
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : subdivided into Linen's & Things, Michaels, and Office Depot

NOTES : Was the third and final location for Bradlees in Enfield.

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FAIRFIELD
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Tunxis Hill Shopping Center (became Super Stop & Shop-Bradlees-Walgreens/Plaza)
776 Villa Avenue & US-1 split

OPENED : 1960s?
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : expanded Super Stop & Shop

NOTES : Originally featured Bradlees Foods location.

VIEW : SiteRide Property Snapshots

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GROTON
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810 Long Hill Road

OPENED : 1960s
CLOSED : 1986

CURRENTLY : subdivided into TJ Maxx and Goodwill Super Store

NOTES : Was also listed at "670 Long Hill Road." Later relocated to Route 12.

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GROTON
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Groton Square
Route 12

OPENED : 1987
CLOSED : February 1998

CURRENTLY : Kohl's

NOTES : Was relocated from original Long Hill Road location. 20-Year Lease Signed by Kohl's; Opened on April 6, 2001.

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GUILFORD
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Shoreline Plaza
900 Boston Post Road

OPENED : 1983
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : Wal-Mart

NOTES : Was possibly a former King's

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HAMDEN
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940 Dixwell Avenue

OPENED : 1960s
CLOSED : ?

CURRENTLY : Dollar Deals, Jane Beauty Supply

NOTES : Was Bradlees Foods

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HAMDEN
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Hamden Mart
2300 Dixwell Avenue

OPENED : (In or before) 1961
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

BECAME : Wal-Mart

NOTES: Plaza facade theme of former store in later years still exists.

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HARTFORD
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1250 Park Street & Laurel Street

OPENED : November 5, 1968
CLOSED : December 26, 2007

CURRENTLY : VACANT, possible plans for future site “Pope Commons”

NOTES : Location was used for Mega Liquidation Sale; a closeout-style bazaar featured for a limited time only in late 2006. Building is still vacant, up for lease. Large banner on far-left end claims future redevelopment "Pope Commons" in works.

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MANCHESTER
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Manchester Parkade
West Middle Turnpike & Broad Street

OPENED : April 22, 1982
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : VACANT

NOTES : Was originally King's from 1966-1982, became Bradlees, opened on April 22, 1982.

VIEW : Flickr Set: "Manchester Parkade (June 6, 2007)," Update photo taken on December 20, 2007 by The Caldor Rainbow.

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MERIDEN
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Townline Square
410 South Broad Street
Route US-5

OPENED : June 1988
CLOSED : August 1996

CURRENTLY : subdivided into Burlington Coat Factory and Michael's Arts & Crafts

NOTES : Was located on the Meriden-Wallingford line. Store targeted for closure in August 1996.

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MIDDLETOWN
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South Main Street

OPENED : September 1965
CLOSED : 1992

CURRENTLY : Biosystems Inc.

NOTES : This was the original Bradlees store which was relocated to a nearby plaza on East Main Street in 1993. Currently Biosystems Inc. headquarters.

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MIDDLETOWN
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East Main Street

OPENED : 1993
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : subdivided into Marshalls, Bob’s Stores and Dollar Tree

NOTES : Relocated from original South Main Street location. Was vacant from 2001-2004.

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MILFORD
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Connecticut Post Shopping Center (became Connecticut Post Mall, renamed/currently Westfield Connecticut Post)

OPENED : (In or before) 1961
CLOSED : ?
CURRENTLY : redeveloped Mall, Sears

NOTES : Was originally a Bradlees Foods. Became Stop & Shop, then/currently Sears. Was apart of Milford Mall, closed before mall enclosure in 1977.

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NEWINGTON
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Berlin Turnpike & Deming Road

OPENED : August 1982
CLOSED : August 1996

CURRENTLY : Wal-Mart

NOTES : Store closed in 1997, Wal-Mart opened in 2001. Originally a Two Guys; Bradlees would takeover Two Guys location and open by August 1982.

Vestige of older plaza still exist in the form of Staples and outparcel Webster Bank. Co-existed with original Wethersfield location, also on the Berlin Turnpike.

Store targeted for closure in August 1996.

VIEW : Photo of vacant Newington location, from Newington Assessor Database

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NEW MILFORD
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Dodd Road
Route US-7

OPENED : 1980s
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : Wal-Mart

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NEW BRITAIN
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Stanley Plaza
Slater Road & Hillhurst Avenue

OPENED : August 2, 1966
CLOSED : 1992

CURRENTLY : currently Webster Bank Coporate Training Center

HISTORY : Bradlees (1966-1992), Price Club (1992-1994), Nestle Chocolate Distribution Center, Wal-Mart (1997-2002)

NOTES : Still shadows Wal-Mart in design. Entire plaza is now security gated-off to public access under current ownership. Area is/was reportedly laden with crime.

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NEW BRITAIN
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East Main Street & Stanley Street

OPENED : ?
CLOSED : ?

NOTES : Was Bradlees Foods location.

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NEW LONDON
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New London Shopping Center
268 Bridge Approach / South Frontage Road
Interstate 95, Exit 86

OPENED : 1958
CLOSED : 1982

CURRENTLY : Burlington Coat Factory

NOTES : The first Bradlees store, built in 1958.

Later relocated to New London Mall in 1982, occupied fallen Two Guys formerly at New London Mall. Was a known two-level location, still contains multiple levels of store space.

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NEW LONDON
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New London Mall
North Frontage Road

OPENED : April 1982
CLOSED : February 1998

CURRENTLY : redeveloped New London Mall

NOTES : Relocated to New London Mall from original North Frontage Road location directly across I-95. Was formerly/originally Two Guys.

Declaration of closure cited in December 1997 whereby the chain closed four other "underperforming" stores. Mall was partially demolished in 1998 for New London Mall reconstruction. Former Bradlees was converted into mall space.

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NORWALK
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West Street

OPENED : ?
CLOSED : ?

CURRENTLY : ?

NOTES : Was a Bradlees Foods location.

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NORWALK
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680 Connecticut Avenue
Rotue US-1

OPENED : ?
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : Wal-Mart

NOTES : Originally a Stop & Shop Companies plaza. A dated Stop & Shop pulled out towards the end of this store's life.

VIEW : SiteRide Property Snapshots

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ORANGE
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250 Bull Hill Lane
Route US-1

OPENED : 1960s
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : Kohl's

NOTES : Was vacant from 2001-2005. 20-year lease signed by Kohl's in 2005.

VIEW : SiteRide Property Snapshots

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SHELTON
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862 Bridgeport Avenue

OPENED : 1982
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : subdivided into Bed, Bath & Beyond and Hawley Lane Shoes

NOTES : Hawley Lane Shoes moved into subdivided space in 2004. Formerly at Hawley Lane Mall (Trumbull).

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STAMFORD
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Elm Street

OPENED : ?
CLOSED : ?

CURRENTLY : Shop-Rite Super Grade A

NOTES : Shop-Rite listed at "200 Shippan Avenue."

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STRATFORD
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The Dock
955 Ferry Boulevard

OPENED : 1971
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : BJ's Wholesale Club

NOTES : Was vacant from 2001-2007. Store had two separate entrances; one frontal and one far-left/side entrance.

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TORRINGTON
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Torrington Plaza
77 South Main Street

OPENED : August 11, 1963, reopened on April 2, 1967
CLOSED : 1993?

CURRENTLY : TJ Maxx

NOTES : Store burned down in 1966, but reopened in 1967. Was a two-level store.

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WATERBURY
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Waterbury Plaza (also known as Super Stop & Shop-Bradlees/Plaza, currently Super Stop & Shop-Target/Plaza)
300 Chase Avenue

OPENED : November 1962
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : Target

NOTES : Was the 8th Connecticut store. Was vacant from 2001-2005; Super Stop & Shop-Bradlees road sign at the corner of Chase Ave. & Wigwam St. remained until mid-2006, through construction site for Target. Super Stop & Shop was located in a gap over in the nearby plaza (possibly moved in 1980s or 1990s).

Target opened on October 8, 2006.

VIEW : Stop & Shop-Bradlees road sign, since removed Summer 2006.

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WATERBURY
----------------------------------------
410 Reidville Drive & Scott Road

OPENED : 1960s
CLOSED : December 26, 2000

CURRENTLY : subdivided into Sealy Sleep Center and Raymour & Flanigan Furniture

NOTES : Like other Waterbury location, featured neighboring Super Stop & Shop location. Was the only city in Connecticut to feature 2 simultaneous locations.

VIEW : Photo, year unknown from Waterbury Assessor Database.

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WEST HARTFORD
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Crossroads Plaza
Bishop's Corner
340 North Main Street

OPENED : August 8, 1967
CLOSED : January 6, 1973

CURRENTLY : Whole Foods Market

HISTORY : Value House (1973-?), Service Merchandise (?-1998), Wild Oats Market, currently/rebranded as Whole Foods Market

NOTES : Bradlees store closing was cited by company’s need for each store to pull own weight (underperformed?). Was a two-level location. Location behind/around back was a basement and former "showroom" for Bradlees later used as storage by future parcels, The Value House and Service Merchandise.

VIEW : Photo from The Hartford Courant, article dated August 6, 1967.

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WEST HAVEN
----------------------------------------
394 Campbell Avenue

OPENED : 1960s
CLOSED : ?

CURRENTLY : Walgreens

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WESTPORT
----------------------------------------
Boston Post Road

OPENED : 1960s
CLOSED : ?

CURRENTLY : ?

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WETHERSFIELD
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Mini-City (currently Jordan Lane Shopping Center)
Berlin Turnpike & Jordan Lane

OPENED : May 14, 1968
CLOSED : Unknown

CURRENTLY : subdivided into AJ Wright and EbLens

NOTES : Opened along with Stop & Shop. Rockface walls from original architecture still evident within plaza. Location remained open simultaneously with Newington location, also on the Berlin Turnpike.

-----------------------------------------------

We will also be working on completing quick lists of former stores and their status today in all other states Bradlees was a participant. Currently, we are aware of numerous vacancies in neighboring states and hope to bring you quality image galleries of those, mostly in New Jersey, in the near future. Below is a quick list of stores we know about, still vacant. Please alert us if you think we've missed any.

NEW JERSEY (6) : STRATFORD (former Jefferson Ward), HAMILTON (former Caldor), , HAZLET, WOODBURY (former Jefferson Ward), TOMS RIVER, BORDENTOWN (former Jefferson Ward)
MASSACHUSETTS (1) : FOXBOROUGH

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Ames Fan Club / Message Board "Bradlees" Topic

Premium Galleries on Flickr
Bradlees (vacant) at The Manchester Parkade
Bradlees (now demolished) at The Dock; Stratford, Conn.
Bradlees (vacant) at Foxborough Plaza; Foxboro, Mass.
Bradlees (vacant, since demolished) at Mini City; New City, NY
Bradlees (vacant) in Hazlet, NJ

Please report errors, issue corrections, clarifications or expansions to help us secure the most accurate database available. Leave a comment or send an email to XISMZERO@yahoo.com.

All text entry has been written by Nicholas M. DiMaio and is therefore rightful property of The Caldor Rainbow.

Vestige of Norwalk Kmart "Hanging" In There

2008-02-26T23:25:00.000-05:00

Does anyone remember a Kmart at 330 Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk?

"There's always something there to remind me."

At least that's what the U.K. new-wave group Naked Eyes said in 1983, earning their chart topper which was likely once available on cassette at this long fallen former Kmart site on the Route 1 strip in Norwalk.

A plaza whose since lured a few tenants to occupy what was once home to a Fairfield-area Kmart, partitioned within the ailing vestige of Kmart's shadow -- with nothing but one of their signature mid-70's-era rooflines hanging above a dark sidewalk, sandwiched between future occupants TJ Maxx and Best Buy.

Upon an investigation, we had discovered the site at 330 Connecticut Avenue, which also goes by the name of "Norwalk Plaza," was in fact once anchored by Kmart entirely -- but not for too long. A heritage has apparently never left the plaza.

Here's where it gets stranger.

Best Buy, who succeeded now internet-banished, New York-based Nobody Beats The Wiz, or known in later years as simply "The Wiz" (which will share eternal fame on the count of many a Seinfeld re-run) removed only a couple of the "roof plys" on the right end to accommodate remodeling for the Best Buy store, a task The Wiz neglected.

Both retailers were negligent in removing the entire facade, including Best Buy who only sought to remove less than half of it.

A Kmart "roof ply," representing each segment on the overall roof facade which began rolling out in 1975 until 1980s iterations of the chain's look.

Beneath the forgotten scaffold roof, which just hangs there, is a walled off, former tight-squeeze entrance/ways and showroom windows many discount department stores were well known for before the advent of mega-sized vestibules (to possibly accommodate mega people, mega items) and sliding doors. Upon visiting a Kmart these days, you'll be notice the doorways and the rich, chime of age old motors working too hard to open the swinging doors as you squeeze yourself and your cart through to get inside the store.

The entire site is nothing short of an oddity today, serving no purpose, largely unquestioned by the many patrons of the plaza today. There's even an interesting elderly "Fire Lane" sign.

As seen in this earlier set of photos, likely taken during the later 1990's, by the ever-resourceful property management outfit SiteRide, one can see the once signature five-ply roof scaffold comparatively bogged down to just the three it retains today. Why not just take the whole thing down?

The world may never know.

But you may know. Perhaps someone might be able to fill us in on when the Kmart opened, when it closed and how long it was closed for. It obviously was not successful, believed to have been over 15+ years within vacancy.

Currently, there are a good handful of vacant, original Kmart stores left behind in recent years' waves of closings and other retail use which include Orange, Manchester and East Haven. A former site in Derby was recently cleared away for an incoming Lowe's Home Improvement. Norwalk further bolsters the fact, adding yet another chapter of shame in that the New Haven-Fairfield market is not a good one for the Kresge Company.

Beginning of The End of The Bristol Centre Mall, Job Lot Saga

2008-02-25T14:30:00.001-05:00

The Bristol Centre Mall is finally coming down. No really. It is (or has begun to).

A couple weeks ago, The City of Bristol got its act together and finally threw the ball through the mall -- at Bristol Centre.

The first knock in the wall dealt with everything that gave the City a headache for over a year plus -- beginning on the far-right end where a stubborn Job Lot held the mall's impending destruction up for years. But it was not without complete and total silliness on the part of an involved Mayor Art Ward himself reenacting some "Rocky" (we're not sure why) masquerading, in a height of melodrama, the first pockmark was made. We did not make it there on that day (though in hindsight, and for rare, live downtown Bristol comic value, we wish we had).

So roughly 30 degrees warmer and beneath wonderful, lush blue skies of one late February afternoon in which one would, if not for the chills of Winter, find contrails galore above, we stopped by and took some snowcapped pictures of the partially wrecked mall, which has officially begun in its demolition phase -- striking hard on The City's most difficult angle of the mall or the plot formerly held by fleabag retailer Ocean State Job Lot, which attempted to stop the presses, and the world's spinning, held it up in courts for over a year plus.

Job Lot snubs final day customers on January 20, ceasing operations days earlier than originally predicted -- empirically does entire City of Bristol, seagulls a great service.

With this glaring news for the Rhode Island-based cockroach cabinet (no really, we like Job Lot) another former Job Lot in town is getting the axe and grind after it ceased operations late January at the very same time -- and the future tenant who may remain unknown is getting to work on ripping down an ages old, former Super Stop & Shop facade.

Dedicated Bristol Plaza seagulls unimpressed with demolition efforts, vacancy remains almost comparable to when Job Lot was actually in business at the former Route 6 site.

Seagulls hoping future tenant keeps unwanted motorists off their parking lot/basking territory.

Bristol, which had two Job Lots this time one year ago now has none and currently has no plans to reopen (or repossess a faltering, old retail complex) a location within town. Rumors persist of TJX Companies TJ Maxx, located across the plaza in the space once held by D&L, and its desire to migrate to the space formerly held by Job Lot and mostly Stop & Shop since 1960 until 2002.

You can read all about what happened on the ground breaking ceremony here, but you can view our wonderful photo gallery on Flickr. We expect more "progress" on The City's future when the weather patterns become more steady but until then, we'll provide regular, sporadic updates regarding the slow departure of the mall which has ways to go.

As for the future of the site? Could be used again for retail...

Thanks for memories, Bristol! Here's to hoping we can find another former supermarket to inhabit/inhibit elsewhere!

After the mall is destroyed, perhaps The City might get working on the level of obnoxious stop 'n go traffic lights on the North Main (and 6) strips, maybe consider more flashing yellows after 11PM?

If you missed it under our ramblings, here's the photo gallery. All photos were taken February 24, 2008.

Bradlees: Evolution of Logos

2008-02-24T21:45:00.000-05:00

Here's a history unearthed of many logos used by the late Bradlees department store throughout its life. As with many retailers in the days of print-dominant media, retailers would display and mainstream their week's sales and specials through the monochromes of newspapers.

After an experimental decade, Bradlees finally settled on a destined iconic, groovy logo far beyond the limits of groove's allowance (which is almost precisely the year disco refused to leave, becoming a subculture). As it turns out, the 1970s-centric logo we all knew would become the company's image all the way up until the dark day of defeat. Kind of told a story about the retailer who endured troubled times in the final decade of its life.

Upon looking through these, you'll find throughout the 1960's, the company began to craft a style they has branded as iconic: notably an arrow within the 'B'. It was then, in 1973 they had realized they had their own sleek, modern alternative to Caldor's "hip" rainbow motif.

1960: Before "Stop & Shop"

November 1960: Bristol Plaza; Bristol, Conn.

December 1960

1960-1961

1962

1962

"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968

"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968

"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968

"Mini-Pricing" Years: 1965-1968

1969

1970-1973

1973-1992

1979

1979-1992

Stay tuned for the relaunching of the Bradlees Store Locator and related Bradlees updates in the near future. If you've not already, be sure to explore our findings of former Bradlees locations including our newest find in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Caldor Rainbow meets The Hartford Courant

2008-02-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

And we're sharing the same page as The Spice Girls.

The Caldor Rainbow has made its first media appearance on Monday February 18. 2008 in the Life section, courtesy of The Hartford Courant.

We would like to welcome newcomers to the site -- we hope you'll participate, contribute and make our site more content rich and relevant. Explore our backlogs on the sidebar (yes, I know it's not entirely user-friendly), and our many original photos on Flickr.

We would like to thank Courant reporter Daniela Altimari; who originally approached us last year about doing a story, Carolyn Moreau; for her online video segment, and Shana Sureck for the "album cover" photographs.

Additionally, our true thanks goes to our retail enthusiasts circle which includes Chris Fontaine, of Ames Fan Club, Daniel "d_fife" Fife (an abundant poster at the Ames Fan Club forums) whose compelled us to take distant road trips, Jason Damas (Caldor) and Ross Schendel (Prange Way) of Labelscar, Keith Milford of Malls of America (still alive, Keith?) and of course the pioneers Pete Blackbird and Brian Florence at Dead Malls Dot Com, who I like to think inspired many of us to keep our eyes on dying retail from the start. Without you guys, I might not have been here sharing similar passions.

Golden thanks is reserved for family; my mother Rose, my father Nick, and my brother Michael whose driven us places and Renee Morrisett, who insists upon coming along for every one of the missions.

If you just stumbled across the site, you can read all about it on The Courant's online mirror, or go grab a copy of the print edition at your local newsstand/supermarket (where we are proudly displayed next to The Spice Girls).

If you've got questions or comments, you can drop us an e-mail at XISMZERO@yahoo.com.

Last Remaining Vacant Bradlees Found In Foxborough

2008-02-14T14:00:00.006-05:00

Thanks to some research by us, with great help to Microsoft Live Maps, we've confirmed a lone, surviving former Bradlees department store nestled within Foxborough, Massachusetts -- which is also the last vestige of a completely in-tact, vacant Bradlees within the state.

For some time now, we've been fascinated at the marvel that is Live Search Maps apart of Virtual Earth here at the Caldor Rainbow. When we began using the program created by Microsoft last year, there weren't many advancements in Microsoft's satellite imagery program that hadn't already raised eyebrows since Google's own Satellite feature.

BRADLEES AT 30 COMMERCIAL STREET; FOXBORO, MASS AS SEEN ON MICROSOFT LIVE MAPS

But now, we see many states are now apart of the most impressive feature the program sanctions: Birdseye Imagery.

Because of these impressive steps, we're now able to make researching far outside our scope more convenient. While not absolute and often times uncertain, our range of visual research has been extended to further investigate sites we don't always have local watchdogs to scope out.

As we've trumpeted before, the New London, Conn.-based Bradlees department store chain was beloved among northeasterners before it shuttered all remaining locations in early 2001 following a day-after-Christmas 2000 announcement of ceasing to continue business after a half of decade of retailing. In its later years, Bradlees housed it's corporate affairs within Braintree, Mass., roughly ten miles outside the state's capital of Boston.

In 2001, Bradlees left a hefty 33 vacant properties within Massachusetts as opposed to only 17 in its neighboring, origin state of Connecticut. By 2008, all but one property has been swallowed by today retailers which have included Wal-Mart, Kohl's and Burlington Coat Factory -- but not Foxboro.

While taking almost ten years to almost fully secure new homes for the former holes left by Bradlees, the question remains: Why doesn't anyone want the empty Foxboro location at 30 Commercial Street?

About a mile off Interstate 95, along (MA) Route 140, the secluded Foxboro Bradlees sits vacantly beside a somewhat dried up, islandic Foxborough Plaza, anchored by the bargain bazaar Ocean State Job Lot, a handful of smaller stores and an outparcel Papa Gino's restaurant.

Bradlees opened its Foxboro location at the height of its expansive years on April 22, 1982 and made it all the way to the chain's finish line in 2000. It has since been banking of eight years of vacancy.

The store is a true relic apart being brown-draped, with brown-and-caramel toned counters and a rarer white-faced logo, escaping the typical red used by the chain throughout the 1970s until the end. With inexplicable recent Stop & Shop bags seen at the checkouts, we suspect the husk was recently used by the former parent for limited use/training facility despite the plexiglas Bradlees logo still up there.

The Caldor Rainbow took the trip in early January (on a surprisingly balmy afternoon for early Winter), so we hope maybe some of our southeastern Mass'ers can tell us more about Foxborough Plaza, and maybe a little more background on what was here before Bradlees took over. There's a label scar of sorts, but it's largely indecipherable so we're hoping you can help.

UPDATE: April 2009. Believed to have originally been a King's, became Bradlees 1982. Lease was purchased by Stop & Shop in 2001.

You can see the entire gallery of photos taken on January 8, 2008 on our Flickr.

West Hartford-Elmwood 'Swept Wing' Caldor Dismantled

2008-01-06T11:15:00.000-05:00

What's going on over at 983 New Britain Avenue in the Elmwood section of West Hartford?

Reader Jude of the Caldor Rainbow and local resident who runs a site of her own, "Scenic Root" swung by the oddly-sloped facade building of fallen retailer Caldor at the former "Piper Brook" area to notice it surprisingly being dismantled and felt compelled to inform us.

Chances are, if you're local, you've seen or remembered having shopped the now time-warped, weather-damaged, pockmarked stucco-nightmare which has been hailed as a infamous town blight and a continual haunt to residents in a plaza whose pavement is akin to shattered glass -- and shattered [dollar] dreams.

Surrounded by those signature yellow cranes, the building is apparently finally being "taken down," piece-by parallelogram-piece.

The Caldor Rainbow has taken a trip to the gravesite this Sunday morning, and brings you these pictures -- the final images of Connecticut's final memory trip to the golden age of Caldor expansion.

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Locals have questioned for years about the usage of the site, who hasn't seen much success after Ames left it vacant in 2003. An area of much distress, includes the dual-tenanted plaza. A dollar-centric "Dollar Dreams;" a neighboring the vacant husk continued operation out of an equally crippled store space held by Waldbaum's and before it, Stop 'n Save. Then in late 2007, word came about of a phantom supermarket chain hoping to dominate the long distressed space, and it might happen soon enough.

Late last year, we suggested if someone didn't rip it down, it might fall down given the hazardous, withering condition it has suffered and endured since before and after the end days of late retailer Caldor, who crafted the iconic, yet equally bizarre "swept wing" look that became synonymous with the then rising retailer in 1972.

A typical Star's spot advertising questionable "Around The Clock" business, shown in The Hartford Courant in November 1972.

Before Caldor took it over, renovating it extensively, the site hadn't much long-endured success when it was Star's Family Fair and a Popular Supermarket, which opened in September 1962. In it's later years, Star's Discount, who practiced business unusually was oddly open around the clock only in Elmwood, offered just about every odd and end. When it closed the Elmwood location in the early 1970's, retailer Caldor snatched up the space and had decades of success until the chain closed up.

Star's Discount, who later became known as Nu-Star's, had two other regularly operated locations apart the closed 24-hour Elmwood location in Wallingford and Torrington. The chain closed up for good in the late 1990's.

WEST HARTFORD-ELMWOOD as it looked, pictured on MAY 30, 2006.

On November 2, 1972, the Caldor Corporation crafted what's referred to as the "swept wing" facade look on its proud 21st Anniversary, 21st chainwide store on Farmington Avenue in New Britain. The company then unveiled the ever-reminiscent rainbow-motif to go along with the angled facade look spawning an experimental and certainly distinct look for the ever-popular department retail chain.

Others like it spread to this West Hartford-Elmwood location as well as Southington in 1973. All but this lonely location has been snatched up by Wal-Mart in 2000.

When Caldor met its chainwide closure in 1999, the building was quickly swept up by the overzealous Ames, who met ends with its expansion ills in 2003 when they announced their own chainwide closure. Despite the building's enormous volume, a good percentage unused by Ames' needs, the building's deteriorating state wasn't much a concern for the acquisition.

With the site at 983 New Britain Avenue coming down, there's only one former Caldor left in Connecticut in Groton, which is currently under use by the Pfizer Corporation (you can find details on that one here and here).

We honor the former site as a window into the distant past -- the rich heritage of Caldor. Ever since the early days of 2008, the building served as a floodgate for memories long beyond what it was built for. We'll certainly miss it, but hope the site sees prosperity in the near future.

If you haven't already, please review our premium Caldor Store Locator and our report on the now late site at 983 New Britain Avenue.

UPDATE / FEBRUARY 5, 2008. The former Caldor site will become a PriceRite discount supermarket. Existing land which includes demolition of the vacant, outparcel Piper Brook Restaurant will be "a new building that would house either a retailer or a bank." Also, wondering what happened to the "swept wings?" Appearently, they were "...knocked down... because it was a safety hazard." Read more on The Hartford Courant.

Westfield 'Meriden Square' CVS Closes After 36+ Years

2008-01-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

Well folks, January is the most dead time of the new year. Like any new year, and winter itself, among the post-Christmas exhale it's a season of closures, a time to loosen the ol' belt for some companies.

Upon walking into a long-time tenant of the mall for a couple of towering $.99 cans of Arizonas, a simple sheet of computer paper said it all in a modest font/size sign at the gate. Thanking patrons for years of service, the chain urges its veteran customers to seek out the newer, other stand-alone stores in Meriden; on East and West Main Streets.

CVS inside the Westfield Meriden shopping mall, formerly known as Meriden Square, will have it's last day of sale on Sunday, January 6.

CVS OPENS AT MERIDEN SQUARE; OCTOBER 1971
(Photo: Hartford Courant)

CVS, a leading national drugstore chain based out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island opened its mall-side CVS store in 1971 in conjunction with the opening of the Meriden Square, a premiere enclosed shopping mall at the edge of Meriden, Connecticut whose since changed its name and size since by the Westfield Group. Back then, the chain was more humbly known by its real identity "Consumer Value Stores," but most widely known by its acronym, CVS.

Having survived a trio of decades plus in action inside Meriden's premiere mall, CVS retained itself as the mall's eldest tenant. By today's standard, its last remodel, which pre-dates back to its 1980's-rich facade of striped grays and reds shows in-and-out. Its indoor features are rapidly deteriorating and distressed, including rotting, falling-down ceiling boards in a bunkered, cramped setting apart recently replaced aisle signage.

The chain now has three locations in Meriden; two on East Main Street, and one on West Main, excluding the soon-to-be-closed mall location.

CVS, like many other chains including its rivals, want their own stores on their their own sites.

Stores that are larger, brighter, and located at bustling junctions are what they're after these days and polar what company strategy sought no more than ten years prior. CVS, like its counter Walgreens and two lessers Rite Aid and Brooks Pharmacy, have begun to thrive post-millennial, beginning a takeover of the long coming pharmacy chains including Eckerd, having many locations rebranded into Rite Aid stores. Other ghosts of past include Genovese and Heartland Drug; both of which faded by the mid-90's.

Keeping their competitive edge in these times with the mammoth Walgreens, whose been popping brand-new locations up left and right, CVS hopes to phase out many of its aging locations within strip and indoor malls for these new-aged, XL/big box-styled stores that are far from what most CVS stores have historically been about.

CVS at WESTFIELD MERIDEN on SEPTEMBER 1, 2006.

Part of the move seeks out diminishing these smaller, indoor mall locations -- especially when the chain has since aimed to place two to three stores per town. Unlike the voluptuous, clean and vital looking locations down the road from the aging mall site, the Meriden Square CVS hadn't ever a pharmacy, like most mall-side stores which is now and evermore a staple in the CVS chain's marketing campaign, which seeks to promote a friendly, knowledgeable staff of pharmacists (to remedy, if you will, recent controversy surrounding the uncertainty of distributed medicine at shops).

CVS continues to operate various locations within major shopping malls in the state including Danbury Fair Mall, Crystal Mall and The Shoppes at Buckland Hills. Stores in Enfield Square and Westfarms Mall may be long gone and there's no word if any of the aforementioned will be closed soon along with Meriden and Trumbull (at Westfield Trumbull).

Yours truly worked as a CVS employee and could tell you of another dire, dire store in Unionville, Conn...

UPDATE (1-5-08): Westfield Trumbull store closing (are we detecting a trend?).
UPDATE (1-6-08): Recent photos added, title image replaced.

All newspaper advertisements courtesy Hartford Courant. All original/on-site photos by The Caldor Rainbow.

Westport Toys 'R' Us To Close End of January

2007-12-29T16:25:00.000-05:00

Toys 'R' Us in Westport, Connecticut will be closing on January 31, 2008.

One of our readers and Connecticut resident, George Ligouri, drove up to the Route 1 strip mall location along Post Road East in Westport upon a late December day and was baffled upon finding "20-40% store closing" signage which greeted him upon a unsuspecting lunch break. Store associates informed just one of many sad, long-time customers of the store's month-to-live, citing its terminal stage.

Remaining stock that won't be sold off in the various markdowns will likely be exported to sister stores. Closure cites no other reason than what appears to have been a struggling, underperforming store.

The Westport store which opened in 1992, succeeded a fallen Child World, a once rival toy retailer who dominated the market long before Toys 'R' Us stole the thunder throughout the 1980's, expanding rapidly into the 1990's with its own large selection of high-quality brand-name toys and games.

Child World declared its closure in 1992, selling off most of its assets and locations, some of which in many states became future sites of Toys 'R' Us shortly after.

The Caldor Rainbow believes the company had planned to shutter the Westport store months prior the post-Holiday shopping season announcement, springing the news on December 26 and after a season of frenzied Christmas shopping -- an otherwise popular time to announce store closures without hindering the shopping season.

Uncertainy in unsafe toys and recalls have lead (pardon the pun) the defeat of toy sales this year apart trends dictating a sad, sorry end to strictly-based toy retailers. Fellow toy retailer K-B Toys is believed to also be at its wit's end, which had plans shutter a bulk of the company's stores months before the holiday shopping foray.

The Westport store, which followed in a hardship of being within a misplaced setting, distant from a major shopping mall, countered conventional company strategy of placing stores within thriving near-mall markets. Apart the company's own woes, to which it has been suffering for a good decade, the Westport store hadn't an adjacent Babies 'R' Us, which is otherwise the company's profiteer these days.

There's been no word on any other stores slated to join in closure. The Norwalk location, also no neighbor to any malls and located along US-1, continue to remain open along the state's other 7 locations in West Hartford, Waterford, Waterbury, Danbury, Manchester, Milford, Newington and Hamden.

Historically, the Toys 'R' Us chain has had a successful run in Connecticut, with most stores kept well in accordance with remodeling efforts. Having only ever closed one store, East Haven and one relocated in Waterbury, the company prides Connecticut as a continually healthy market for the company.

East Haven, doomed from the start, operated out of a former Stop & Shop, marred by its troublesome, "sinking" land was eventually forced to close in 2002. The late East Haven store was reportedly one of the company's most notoriously troubled locations for its being located along the often hectic Frontage Road. The location has since been razed and bolstered for a CarMax used car emporium in 2006.

Waterbury, which was home to the state's first store opening in 1980, closed its longtime original Wolcott Street location in 1998 at the fallout of the Naugatuck Valley Mall and relocated following the opening of the new Brass Mill Center, relocating to the Brass Mill Commons strip plaza, adjacent the new mall. Waterbury, aside being the state's premiere location, was rewarded with the state's first "Concept 2000" model, which prompted many others around it soon follow.

Will more closings ensue? Following a mass closure which saw an end to 87 stores statewide in January 2006, the company has been keeping its remaining 586 U.S. locations vital since. Connecticut was one of the rare, few states that hadn't suffered any closures.

The company's CEO, Jerry Storch hopes to revive a staggering company. You saw some of what's in store for Toys 'R' Us following a new marketing campaign unveiled this past Fall/Autumn, but Storch has a plan beyond ads and an aspiration to bond Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us stores (like the former Toys 'R' Us and Kids 'R' Us joining) into one and like a few already displayed in Auburn, Mass. and Johnson City, N.Y. You can read up on that recent story on ABCNews.com.

De-Malls of Connecticut Chronicle: Charter Oak Mall

2007-12-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

The Caldor Rainbow presents...

The De-Malls of Connecticut Chronicle featuring the late Charter Oak Mall in East Hartford.

In this segment, we'd like to explore malls that once were, and are no more or have been dramatically reformatted for today's landscape.

Charter Oak Mall; East Hartford
940 Silver Lane

Opened on April 12, 1976 (Bradlees opened on March 15, Stop & Shop, Medi-Mart opened on April 12)
Dimensions: 200,000 sq. ft. enclosed/sidewalk mall
Original Anchors: Bradlees, Stop & Shop, Medi-Mart
Current Anchors: Aaron's, Burlington Coat Factory, Super Stop & Shop, Big Lots
Known Today As: Super Stop & Shop-Burlington Coat Factory Plaza

Opened on April 12, 1976, the Charter Oak Mall was a roughly 200,000 square foot small enclosed shopping mall in East Hartford, shortly off Interstate 84 as well as (then) I-86, along the town's shopping district and direct artery into Manchester, Silver Lane. Anchored within the boundary of a typical strip-style complex, flanked by Stop & Shop Companies on each end beginning from left-to-right; Bradlees department store, Stop & Shop supermarket, and Medi-Mart drug store (within Stop & Shop). Shortly after opening, a four-screen Showcase Cinemas, which had currently existed, became recognized as apart of the mall's left-end as a supplemental outparcel.

Today, Showcase Cinemas, which has managed its conquest to more than triple its space into 14-screens since its original 4 at opening, is entirely closed as of 2006 as is still standing vacant.

In 1976, the mall featured the usual array of mixed chains, local and nationally known, from Radio Shack, Fayva (shoes), Sackett's Hallmark and even the Massachusetts-based Papa Gino's Restaurant, all of which today are no more. Shortly after a contest of restaurants attempted to move in including Red Lobster, which was much ballyhooed citing traffic overflow in local papers and across the way Denny's, who had their restaurant on the outskirts of the mall property, near Silver Lane which has since become occupied by office space.

Today, the Charter Oak Mall is no more. Locals know it well as the Charter Oak Mall, but its property owners have dropped the name altogether, simply identifiable through the plaza's anchors.

Retrospectively, it's hard to throw the blame on its two original anchors fleeing for the failure of the mall. When the state decided to seal up access from I-84/86 via Forbes Street, mainline access became crippled. Regardless, strong anchorage of Bradlees and Stop & Shop kept patronage and parking spaces filled -- for most of its life even those who've vanished since the 70's: Medi-Mart, an heir appearent akin to today's successful Walgreens (once a competitor to Stop & Shop's drugstore-pharmacy branch, later sold to them), is inherently integrated into today's Super Stop & Shops as Walgreens succeeds the former Red Lobster space near Silver Lane today.

Bradlees, a discounter who needs no jog in memory remembering from their prime ages of the 70s and 80s into their 2000 collapse, had a difficult time finding a new anchor after its early closure in the mid-1990s, eventually urged Burlington Coat Factory to move up the street from its former placement along Silver Lane.

A good idea of what Bradlees looked like at the Charter Oak Mall upon its March 15, 1976 opening

As any one who's studied the landscape of smaller malls existing today will know the current day rarity of the dying breed of shopping center. The faddist indoor mall of the 1960's-1970's have largely demalled in many markets, eclipsed by regional mammoths and big box-power centers that have replaced them in today's retail landscape. If the concepts haven't swung into opportunist discount arrangements, keeping their mold like East Brook Mall in Willimantic, Hawley Lane Mall in Trumbull they've converted them into outdoor centers like New London Mall, or like in East Hartford's case, they've been decimated into mere strip plazas or entirely vacant power centers like the neighboring town's Manchester Parkade.

While the vestigial land is largely held together by a thrice remodeled, triumphant Super Stop & Shop, the supermarket chain eventually took over most of the formerly, withering enclosed mall portion containing the once small handful of shops and restaurants, leaving its original placement to succeeding closeout discount anchor Big Lots on the far-right end, while the fallen Bradlees on the far-left of the mall is now headed by a subdivided building: Aaron's (Rents) and Burlington Coat Factory. Remaining strip store space is held by smaller shops, including Dollar Tree.

The year-plus loss and inability to fulfill the landspace of the Showcase Cinema to a neighboring Manchester complex caused its parent company to shutter the age-old East Hartford adjacent mall location in mid-2006 setting harder times against the continual sponging sprawl of the Buckland Hills-Manchester area, which continues to devastate both towns' historic districts of forgotten retail, including a once centerpiece Manchester Parkade.

Vestiges of a Ghost Mall
Looking closer, the ghost of the mall still exist. Apart from the architecture being roughly the same for both former anchor spots, upon entering the mall from Silver Lane, one can find a truck sign for "Mall Delivery." On the building's far-right end side, aside the original Stop & Shop (currently Big Lots), is a small Bradlees label scar hiding under the wall's paint. Most noteworthy, visibly off the interstate is a vintage Stop & Shop trailer, doning the 1970's logo, which seems to be immobile, and is a staple artifact on the site hearkening back to the former mall days.

A genuine Bradlees label scar on the far-right building side of Big Lots

"Mall Delivery" sign, visible from the Silver Lane entrance

Got anything on the Charter Oak Mall? Send us an e-mail or leave a comment about your experiences. Make sure you head over to Dead Malls and read Jim Sawhill's testimony on the late mall, a Connecticut local who seems to have a solid recollection.

All newspaper advertisements courtesy of The Hartford Courant. All digital images property of The Caldor Rainbow.

As Advertised Special! ~Wintry Mix Snowbound Edition '07~

2007-12-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

Roll your carts back down the aisle! At this time, The Caldor Rainbow has a few pieces of news to divulge.

We're encountering nor'easter-style snowfall at this moment which includes rapidly falling snow and coarse-grade flakage resulting in whiteout conditions and cancellations galore. Here at the Caldor Rainbow, we appreciate and observe the wonderful happening (unless you have to transport in it)/ Especially, we like snow shortly before Christmas as its festive and cheery but not so much afterward. At that point, it's just terminal frost.

The Caldor Rainbow makes some old-fashioned circa-1995 corrections via MSPaint on a very fallable WikiPedia entry on Caldor.

We're in the process of doing clean-up on some older pages to make us all the better, better than other certain pages who borrow our images and sanction lots of shoddy misinformation. This includes some of our mall entries but most importantly in lieu of our Caldor Store Locator, we're going back -- that's right folks turning that clock back by correcting and expanding information on our previous Bradlees profile to make it tighter, firmer and more accurate. Stay tuned for the grand reopening of our Bradlees Profile and Store Locator.

Other pages that have faced modifications: the East Brook Mall page has had information added including original newspaper advertisements, factual errors corrected and even unearthing the original logo the mall had. The Caldor Rainbow has not yet revisited East Brook Mall since we did the entry last December 2006, but we hope you'll digest some of the new additions.

While we won't make light of every page modification, check back on some pages as they are often corrected or updated for accuracy. As always, keep the comments and feedback flowing on in.

We've heard word on the status of the currently languishing, vacant Bristol Centre Mall, and the plans for it to demolished which will be taking place any day now. Steve Collins, a blogger for the Bristol Press claims it has "no more than one month to live." Last month, we reported the closure of the mall's anchoring support and mirrored a story about The City hoping to raze the site by around this time so we're keeping a look out. We will be there in full force to document the dismantling with pictures even if it means your humble correspondent will have to freeze his hands off capturing this important event.

Daniel Fife, a fervent Toys "R" Us explorer and retail enthusiast has discovered yet another time-warped Toys "R" Us store, which against its originality has faced an egregious, disgraceful and lazy white paint job over the once colorful rainbow palette. This time, the store is in Saint Clairsville, Ohio. Since there's no satellite or birdseye imagery (a wonderful tool, thanks to Microsoft), only Dan could've found it by driving intense mileage. Go see what else he's found on The Ames Fan Club forums.

In time, everyone have a festive holiday and Merry Christmas!

EDIT (12/17/2007): Steve Collins blog report "Mall has no more than a month to live" added.