We’re back on brand.
Beacon Journal readers continue to reminisce about some of the corporate chains that are no longer with us in Northeast Ohio.
Most of the companies have gone defunct or moved out of the region.
If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember them.
Here are more brands that people miss in the Akron-Canton area.
Radio Shack, Olson’s and Allied
Macedonia resident Les Berman, a subscriber since 1977, remembers the glory years of tinkering.
“As an electronics bug, I miss the Four Horsemen of the Electronics Apocalypse: Radio Shack, Olson Electronics, Allied Electronics (eventually taken over by Radio Shack), and Lafayette Radio Electronics,” he wrote.
“All of these sold bits and pieces of electronics hardware (resistors, transistors, etc); electronics tools (like soldering irons); and entertainment items like scanners, radios, stereos, phonographs, and amateur radios like CB sets.
“I don’t recall a Lafayette in the area but I had the other three around me growing up in Lyndhurst. Olson’s was on Mayfield Road near SOM Center, and I still have the multimeter in its original box that I bought 60-plus years ago. Still works! Allied was in a shopping center at Richmond and Wilson Mills, and Radio Shack was in almost every strip center and shopping mall.
“Radio Shack had a gimmick of a card for a free battery every month to get you in the store. Occasionally they ran an ad, usually during holidays, for a free 5-cell flashlight. People would come in the store with the flashlight coupon and five battery cards, not buy anything, and give the store a loss every time. No wonder they went bankrupt.”
Curtis Mathes and Casey’s
Don’t touch that dial. Raymon Patterson also has electronics on his mind.
“While Tokyo Shapiro had the audiophiles covered, Curtis Mathes was your high-end TV source,” he recalled. “Where else could you get a 25-inch color television in a wood console that weighed as much as a refrigerator, and when you turned it on, the living room temperature went up 10 degrees? If memory serves, I believe they had a location on West Avenue in Tallmadge.”
The Texas company entered the TV market in the late 1950s, flourished in the 1960s and 1970s and filed for Chapter 11 in 1982. Crest Home Centers operated 10 Curtis Mathes stores in Northeast Ohio, including a location at Midway Plaza on the Akron-Tallmadge line from 1979 to 1988.
As a second suggestion, Patterson nominated Casey’s Family Restaurants, a Northeast Ohio chain that operated in the 1970s and 1980s.
“I believe the owner was Richard Casey,” he recalled. “It had a great salad bar, and the Friday night all-you-can-eat perch was great! After they shuttered a few locations, they tried a rebrand by the name of BJ Eatagins, but that wasn’t to last long.”
Richard T. Casey, a former Cleveland police officer, owned 25 Casey’s restaurants, including locations in Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Tallmadge, Kent, Streetsboro and Massillon. Many were in former L&K and Perkins locations. The parent company filed for Chapter 11 in 1985.
Miracle Mart, Gray Drugs and O’Neils
“I loved your article on defunct Northeast Ohio restaurants and retailers that should be brought back,” Tim Shannon wrote. “Here is some nostalgia bait of my own:
“Miracle Mart: Even more than S.S. Kresge (before they became Kmart) and Gold Circle, these folks had a bit of everything and really excellent prices.
“Ray’s Circus of Values: I’m not sure if this was a chain, or if the store at Akron Square was a standalone, but this place did salvage freight before Marc’s or Ollies and made every visit a treasure hunt.
“Gray Drugs: I fondly remember starting my comic book collection on their spinner rack. I also picked up used jukebox 45 RPM records there for cheap!
“O’Neil’s: No trip down memory lane is complete without mentioning the downtown department store staple, which evolved Pokémon-style to May Company, then to Kaufmann’s and eventually Macy’s. Good Friday meant going with our grandparents to see the Christmas windows at Polsky’s and O’Neil’s, then sitting at the lunch counter at Scott’s 5&10 (or Woolworth) over hot chocolate with Grandpa while Mom and Grandma shopped.”
Kmart, Woolworth and Gold Circle
Juanita Livingston: “When I read your article on missed brands, I was surprised that no one mentioned Kmart and Value City department stores. Both stores had almost everything that you could want, and the prices were reasonable. The parking lots were always full, so I don’t know why they closed. Oh, well, they probably wouldn’t be the same if they came back.”
J.T. Vawter: “I miss Kmart, Woolworth and Montgomery Ward because they were affordable. Kmart carried nice men’s wear, including Oxford cloth button-down shirts and dress pants (for work or church). I still have them.”
Kelly J. Ratliff: “Gold Circle. I worked there for 10 years and helped open two of the stores and was a cashier trainer for them. It was my favorite job to this day. I met some great people there. I truly miss the Dollar Days they had twice a year.”
Stan Olesky: “Lujan’s drive-ins were unbeatable. The quality of the food, The experience of ‘tooling’ through the lot on a Friday night after a high school game on a Friday night. It was just the best.”
Two quick lists
Here’s a lightning round of memories.
Paul and Lisa Jurkowski: “Fashion Bug, Lentines Music, Red Barn, Gold Circle, TCBY (The Country’s Best Yogurt), Twin Valu, Radio Shack and HomeTown Buffet.”
Mindy and Gary Aleman: “Egg Castle, Red Barn, Audio Warehouse, Biff’s and Gold Circle.”
Click, Giant Tiger and Red Barn
And finally we have Joan Gipson, who offered a list that included Buster Brown, Sizzler, Radio Shack, Isaly’s, Twin Valu, Gold Circle, Woolworth, Zayre, O’Neil’s, Polsky’s and Kresge.
But she expounded on a few favorites.
“Click. I remember Click on Wedgewood Drive being built when I was in grade school and my sister was in junior high in Ellet. The store was massive compared to the Eastgate Shopping Center strip mall and ripped away most of its business with its huge selections and multiple choices. There were few other places around who had the selections in one store at the time.
“I recall you could purchase items on layaway, which was amazing for a kid. One dollar would hold your favorite LP record while you made payments on it. I bought many fan magazines from their rack. I used to get ‘moved along’ when I would spend a lot of time standing at the rack and reading about my favorite celebrity of the moment.
“Giant Tiger. That was a blast from the past. It was on East Market Street where the Dollar Tree sits today just down from the Hilbish Avenue intersection. It was a department store with no significant special features beside the fact that that was where we did a lot of our shopping before the malls were built.
“I remember it mostly because of the one time my father took me shopping. Without my knowledge, he bought the one item I stopped to look at. I remember telling him how cute it was. Later that day, my birthday, I opened a gift to find that item. Turns out my mom made him take me shopping for my birthday. It was a little ceramic kitten. I will never forget that.
“Red Barn. ‘When the hungries hit, when the hungries hit … hit the Red Barn.’ They had dancing chicken legs in their TV ad. We loved going there for chicken. Today you can still see the old Red Barn buildings with their unique barn shape around Akron and Barberton. When you were a kid, that was a treat.”
Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Readers miss Miracle Mart, Radio Shack and Click | Local history
Reporting by Mark J. Price, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Mark J. Price, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
