# Chain places I miss **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 31, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721 "2021-07-31T19:44:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/141 "2021-08-02T16:50:54Z")
Rexall Drug Stores. They had an awesome lunch counter. The one in Plymouth (Wisconsin) charbroiled their burgers and served them on a Fuzzy the Baker hard roll. They would cut a half-inch thick slab off a square pound of butter and have it on the inner top half of the bun so it melted into the burger while you ate it. Insanely good! And their malts and shakes were made with old fashioned appliances, not the goopy cum machines places use now. They would cut fresh fries from raw potatoes with something that looked like Roncos Vegimatic. Absolutely celestial! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/142 "2021-08-02T17:03:58Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > There isn’t a Hardee’s near me anymore, I get a craving for a Frisco Burger once a week and it’s an hour trip to get one. Sour dough is awesome. There is a Dairy Queen in Plymouth about 45-60 minutes away from me in Milwaukee. They still charbroil their burgers and serve them on a hard roll. Not what you’d expect from a fast food drive thru. Every now and then we’ll drive there to eat. Live a little. Life is short. Taking a brief road trip for good eats is worth your time. So what if it’s a fast food place? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/143 "2021-08-02T17:28:19Z")
Canada had Woolco’s instead of Woolworths. Probably they had different menus, but the lemon cheesecake was amazingly good. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/144 "2021-08-02T17:29:04Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > There is a Dairy Queen in Plymouth about 45-60 minutes away from me in Milwaukee. They still charbroil their burgers and serve them on a hard roll. Heh, I rolled thru there a few weeks ago. I still prefer Randalls on the west side of Sheboygan though, for their steakburgers on a Sheboygan hard roll plus custard. But that DQ does cater to local tastes! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/145 "2021-08-02T17:44:43Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Canada had Woolco’s instead of Woolworths. Probably they had different menus, but the lemon cheesecake was amazingly good. Woolco and Woolworth co-existed in the US as well. Wikipedia says that Woolco was a discount department store, while Woolworth was apparently a five-and-dime store. I’m not totally clear on the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/146 "2021-08-02T17:47:45Z")
The lemon cheesecake was so good that I still occasionally make it despite the store having been gone for thirty years. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/147 "2021-08-02T17:55:39Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Wikipedia says that Woolco was a discount department store, while Woolworth was apparently a five-and-dime store. I’m not totally clear on the difference. I think that five-and-dime stores (a.k.a. variety stores) tended to be smaller, with more limited ranges of merchandise. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/148 "2021-08-02T17:57:27Z")
That suggests the Woolco stores would have been larger than the Woolworth stores. I don’t think I’m old enough to remember the difference. I vaguely remember a Woolco store in a town next to the one where I grew up but don’t remember any Woolworth store in the area. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/149 "2021-08-02T18:05:08Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > Wikipedia says that Woolco was a discount department store, while Woolworth was apparently a five-and-dime store. I’m not totally clear on the difference. > > I think that five-and-dime stores (a.k.a. variety stores) tended to be smaller, with more limited ranges of merchandise. No – the Woolco near us was a HUGE store, easily bigger than any F.W. Woolworth’s I ever saw. The building still exists today, but is broken into nine smaller stores, one of which is a Best Buy ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/150 "2021-08-02T18:05:46Z")
Our Woolcos were the size of a smaller Walmart and were (I believe) actually bought out by them when they expanded to Canada. Their selection and relative pricing was like a Walmart or Target store as well. I think Toronto had Woolworths, but not sure about smaller Canadian towns. England used to have Woolworths too, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/151 "2021-08-02T18:12:25Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > England used to have Woolworths too, IIRC. You do RC. > **[Woolworths Group (United Kingdom)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolworths_Group_(United_Kingdom))** > > Woolworth (officially Woolworths Group PLC) was a listed British company that owned the High Street retail chain Woolworths. It also owned other companies such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK, and book and resource distributor Bertram Books. > The Woolworths store chain was the main enterprise of the group. Originally a division of the American F. W. Woolworth Company until its sale in the early 1980s, it had more than 800 stores in the UK prior to closure. Woolworths sold man... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/152 "2021-08-02T18:12:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > No – the Woolco near us was a HUGE store, easily bigger than any F.W. Woolworth’s I ever saw. I think we’re saying the same thing: discount department stores (like Woolco, and Kmart) were bigger than their five-and-dime predecessors (Woolworth’s, Kresge). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/153 "2021-08-02T18:20:23Z")
All this talk about department/discount stores has reminded me of [Caldor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldor), [Ben Franklin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Franklin_(company)), and [TG&Y](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TG%26Y). I never ate there but the top floor of [the Caldor (now a Sears) in Seven Corners](https://goo.gl/maps/c1wSMuog8cJA9uxb9) was a [Nathan’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan%27s_Famous) outlet. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/154 "2021-08-02T18:26:10Z")
I grew up in Connecticut, which is where Caldor was based. My parents regularly shopped there, along with Alexander’s Department Store and Service Merchandise (a catalog retailer). ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/155 "2021-08-02T18:27:27Z")
I miss the days when you could walk into Radio Shack and buy a stylus for your turntable, or find any kind of audio/video adapter made. Now those kind of electronics items must be purchased on line and you have to wait for them. That’s not progress. Another store of that type I miss was Lafayette Electronics. Very similar to Radio Shack in that they both published these big thick electronics catalogs in which you could find anything electronic, no matter how obscure. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/156 "2021-08-02T18:28:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Woolco and Woolworth co-existed in the US as well. Wikipedia says that Woolco was a discount department store, while Woolworth was apparently a five-and-dime store. I’m not totally clear on the difference. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That suggests the Woolco stores would have been larger than the Woolworth stores. Woolworth was like Dollar General today… but five & dime prices, not dollars. Might have a sit-down lunch counter with sandwiches, hot dogs, soda fountain stuff. Woolco was more like a Target or K-Mart… bi-i-i-ig spread-out store with larger items in addition to the stuff you’d find at Woolworth. Like bicycles or camping stuff. Woolco had a takeout counter at the front of the store (kind of like they have at Costco) with truly yummy decadent stuff-- like deep-fried crispy bean-filled burritos. I think Kresge five & dime stores were to K-Mart what Woolworth five & dime stores were to Woolco. Now I want a disgustingly wonderful deep-fried burrito… ETA- yeah, this: > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I think we’re saying the same thing: discount department stores (like Woolco, and Kmart) were bigger than their five-and-dime predecessors (Woolworth’s, Kresge). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/157 "2021-08-02T18:29:22Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > All this talk about department/discount stores has reminded me of [Caldor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caldor), [Ben Franklin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Franklin_(company)), and [TG&Y](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TG%26Y). Ah, yes. I miss the Ben Franklin’s we had in my home town’s downtown. It actually said “5 and 10 cents” on the store. It must have gone up in the 1950s, judging from the style. It had several different departments for such a small store, and lasted until the 1980s. It was briefly a flea market, then got remodeled into a Hispanic supermarket. The thing that I remember about it was that it was so _quiet_. They had no store music playing. There still are stores called “Ben Franklin” around, but they seem to be more crafts and hobby places than the small-department-store thing I went to. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/158 "2021-08-02T18:32:06Z")
Shoneys - their breakfast buffet was incredible. They all closed in Arkansas in the late 90’s. Western Sizzlin- steaks were pretty good for the reasonable price. Their buffet was good too. The best ones were in small towns. Locally run by people you knew and enjoyed seeing. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/159 "2021-08-02T18:40:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > There still are stores called “Ben Franklin” around, but they seem to be more crafts and hobby places than the small-department-store thing I went to. It looks like some Ben Franklins are still five-and-dimes, while others (maybe most) are craft supply stores. It also looks like a company called HouseMart recently bought the Ben Franklin brands, based on this fairly thin page you see when you go to [BenFranklinStores.com](http://BenFranklinStores.com): [http://www.benfranklinstores.com](http://www.benfranklinstores.com) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721/160 "2021-08-02T19:23:48Z")
That reminds me - Sizzler. Mediocre steaks, but their chicken was good and the salad/soup/dessert bar bordered on awesome. The one next to my work site had a hot bacon dressing that was eventually banned in California, since it would give people 3 booths away clogged arteries. Good times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chain-places-i-miss/947721.md?page=9)