concise & precise
This piece is a continuation on our series keeping tabs on classic retail chains as they, unfortunately, fade into the rear view. This list is solely for full-line Sears stores, which as of now are the only ones that still exist. The owner operated Sears Hometown Stores have all shut down. As we noted in … Continue reading How Many Sears Stores Are Left?
Post last updated February 28, 2024. According to JCPenney's official website, there are "more than 650" remaining locations. We started this list when the company announced a list of 154 stores closing on June 6, 2020 in the wake of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May 2020. (This was revised and is now 152 … Continue reading How many JCPenney stores are left?
Starbucks Smoothie Rollout: Vivanno In 2008, I worked as a barista at Starbucks. It was an exciting era for expansion. Around this time, they were just rolling out food in their stores along with another innovation, low calorie real fruit smoothies. Unfortunately for fans of the product, they are no longer an option. I continued … Continue reading What happened to Starbucks smoothies? The history of smoothies at Starbucks
Another year has reached its end, and the barren remains of Sears pushes on. We have repeatedly documented the state of Sears around the holiday season (2019, 2021, 2022) and each year it seems the stores become more empty. With 13 stores remaining (with even the strange twist of two reopening this year), it is … Continue reading Sears at Christmas in 2023
Where are the remaining Suncoast stores? The remaining three Suncoast locations are in: Beaumont, Texas Beavercreek, Ohio Jacksonville, North Carolina, What is the history of Suncoast Motion Picture Company? Suncoast launched in 1986 as Paramount Pictures, a partnership between the movie studio and Musicland. At this time, purchasing VHS tapes to own was a relatively … Continue reading What happened to Suncoast Motion Picture Company? Are there any Suncoast locations left?
Brostocks has reported extensively on the demise of Sears, particularly over the last few years since Sears Holdings declared bankruptcy in 2018. Since Sears reemerged under the new Transformco company, it dabbled briefly with smaller format Sears Home & Life stores that opened in 2019 which eventually all closed by 2023. Transformco reacquired, out of … Continue reading A Strange Twist: Is Sears actually reopening stores in 2023?
The Westwood Kmart, located at 700 Broadway in Westwood, New Jersey in the northern part of the state opened in the Fall of 1982. The early 80’s was a bit of a heyday for Kmart as they were the second largest retailer in the United States with once around 2,400 stores, second only to Sears. … Continue reading Kmart, Westwood Plaza, Westwood, New Jersey (one of three in lower 48 USA)
Update: This store closed permanently on May 28, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbWGHP4t7PU A video with some footage of our April 2021 visit to Sears in Greensboro, NC. This piece is the second in our series from visiting various remaining open Sears locations across the United States. We started with Frederick, Maryland and now we go south. The … Continue reading Sears, Friendly Center, Greensboro, North Carolina.
History of Radio Industry The radio industry traces its origins to the early 20th century as the first form of electronic communication. In the 1920’s, companies banded together to urge the government to regulate the industry to establish order in who accesses each frequency. This led to the establishment of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). … Continue reading The Radio Industry in 2023: What’s happening and what lies ahead for the earliest form of electronic communication?
History of Kings Family Restaurants Kings Family Restaurants traces its origins back to 1967 when it began as Kings Country Shoppes in North Versailles, Pennsylvania. The name was eventually changed to Kings Family Restaurant and by the 1970's founder Hartley King had six locations and by the 1980's it was up to 21 locations. By … Continue reading How many Kings Family Restaurants are left?
