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W'happen?

Edgy MD Apr 27 2019 08:42 AM

The thread where we explore the marginalization or outright disappearance of brands that were once ubiquitous. W'happen to TOSS'D, the lunchtime supersalad restaurant that folks used to line up on the sidewalk for in America's downtowns in the middle of a typical workday?

Fman99 Apr 27 2019 02:06 PM Re: W'happen?

Edgy MD wrote: The thread where we explore the marginalization or outright disappearance of brands that were once ubiquitous. W'happen to TOSS'D, the lunchtime supersalad restaurant that folks used to line up on the sidewalk for in America's downtowns in the middle of a typical workday? That sounds made up to me.

Edgy MD Apr 27 2019 03:40 PM Re: W'happen?

Really? It was totally a thing. You'd order all the shit you want in your salad — and then the preparer would dump it all on a huge cutting board and chop the shit out of it with this giant scimitar-like blade, pour it all in a takeout container and it'd be like a pound of salad after the dressing was all tossed in. It's the only time you'd ever get sick from over-eating salad. People loved it on K Street in DC. It felt a little exploitative to me — watching this immigrant counter worker swinging this double-handled blade for your entertainment, trying pulverize your lettuce, avocado, Bermuda onion, cheese, waltnuts, eye of newt, and what-have-you into little particles so it can all be stuffed into your takeout bowl. I'm looking it up now and the item is apparently called a mezzaluna knife. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71N8oaiGQLL._SX425_.jpg> Occasionally I flash back on brands that were ubiquitous to the point of saturation in the nineties that are gone or disappearing today: JCrew, Pottery Barn, Filene's, The LTD, Banana Republic, Saturn ... Even Victoria's Secret is on the rocks. Old Navy has been saving The Gap's ass for years. Brick and mortar will kill you. OK, I'll give you a more recent disappearance: W'happen to Lululemon? We had a high-profile murder at a Lululemon store in suburban DC. Did that just kill half the chain?

kcmets Apr 27 2019 03:51 PM Re: W'happen?

When I was a kid there was a Chock Full o'Nuts on every other block in Manhattan. Fountain Coke, frank with sauerkraut and fries. Heavenly. If you're old enough, you'll see what I did there.

MFS62 Apr 27 2019 03:54 PM Re: W'happen?

=kcmets post_id=8376 time=1556401873 user_id=53] If you're old enough, you'll see what I did there.

Yep. Heavenly.

They were usually across the street from a Nedicks.

Later

Johnny Lunchbucket Apr 27 2019 04:28 PM Re: W'happen?

Lululemon is still kicking spandexed ass. They not only realized "asthleisure" as a thing they realized Moms and other gym chix were very conscious about the brand of butthugging pants they wore to the gym and the best way to indicate that is to have the most expensive ones. That's how to succeed in today's retail world. Now they are realizing that guys want expensive stretchy clothing they can get sweaty too. They also market the stuff to guys by advertising it won't crush their nads when they work out. There are still some salad joints around like Sweetgreen but I think the things winning work-lunch today are AI commissaries that Uber Eats orderers don't realize aren't really restaurants.

kcmets Apr 27 2019 06:19 PM Re: W'happen?

Remember Nedicks too, of course.

Edgy MD Apr 27 2019 07:34 PM Re: W'happen?

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Lululemon is still kicking spandexed ass. Yeah, I guess theirs was more of a strategic retreat that worked. Stick to the high-$$ clientele and stop wasting rent trying to reach the plebes. I remember the CEO also got whistled for saying out loud that it was part of their model to actively discourage over-weight shoppers. Nedicks got squeezed out by the exponential expansion of fast food rivals in the eighties. Somebody with Krispy Kreme in his eyes tried to re-launch them as a retro-brand the early 21st century, opening up a few locations around New York, but I think they drowned in the post-9/11 slump. W'happen to the Warner Brothers Studio Store? Remember that brief period where everybody (except people you actually knew) had tee-shirts with Bugs Bunny dressed as a New York Jet, or Tasmanian Devil as baggy-pantsed rapper, or the all-important exclusive on Space Jam gear? What happened there?

MFS62 Apr 27 2019 07:48 PM Re: W'happen?

Edgy MD wrote: Remember that brief period where everybody (except people you actually knew) had tee-shirts with Bugs Bunny dressed as a New York Jet, or Tasmanian Devil as baggy-pantsed rapper, What happened there? The Tasmanian Devil put on a Jets shirt and was immediately drafted by Jim Kensil. Then it all fell apart. Later

Johnny Lunchbucket Apr 27 2019 07:50 PM Re: W'happen?

Warner Bros killed Bugs Bunny, mainly by turning him into a character who ever even hang out with Michael Jordan. Ironically they had a brief revival of a smartass cartoon but it was Animaniacs. They're all but vanished too

Double Switch Apr 27 2019 11:13 PM Re: W'happen?

The only thing that comes to mind is The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Swirling around in the dregs of my brain I recall a song about ripping off the A & P ... but I was known to imbibe in weed back in the day and now... those days are blended into a pleasant blur. Oh, there also was a grocery chain called Piggly Wiggly but that may still exist in other parts of the country.

RealityChuck Apr 28 2019 10:51 AM Re: W'happen?

The loss of Ebinger's bakery was a dark day for human civilization. No one has ever been able to replicate their chocolate blackout cake. The main grocery when I was growing up on eastern LI was Bohack's, now long gone. And when I was a kid, the Automat was wonderful. More recently, Friendly's has been dying out. There used to be about eight within a reasonable drive (including one within walking distance -- we last went there when Hurricane Irene hit and we were out of power). Now there's just one. Though the reason for the decline is pretty clear: people don't splurge on big desserts, and their menu was pretty blah. I did eat at Nedicks a lot; I took a summer course in the city and had a burger there on my way back most every day. I remember the Chock Full O' Nuts, but don't think I went there -- though my mother bought their coffee, and their pound cake was delicious.

Frayed Knot Apr 28 2019 11:01 AM Re: W'happen?

Count me among those who never heard of TOSS'D Spic 'N Span was, along with maybe Mr. Clean, THE prominent cleaning product of my youth, almost to the point where it was a generic name for such stuff. 'Something spilled here, got any Spin 'N Span?' Can't tell you now, though, when the last time I heard of them, from them, or saw a product on supermarket shelves. Not sure if they even still exist.

dgwphotography Apr 28 2019 03:22 PM Re: W'happen?

Two places that employed me in my youth, Waldbaums and Lechmere, now long gone.

Double Switch Apr 28 2019 04:06 PM Re: W'happen?

Frayed Knot wrote: Count me among those who never heard of TOSS'D I also had to look up TOSS'D. There is one in my city's downtown fi-di in a major building. I'm sure it serves the masses of occupants in that structure and the surrounding blocks. I have not worked in downtown for years so was blissfully unaware. Have recalled a more recent demise that's still a WIP: Sears and J C Penney (aka Jacques Penay) are disappearing pretty steadily in liquidation. More of those old "brick & mortars" that did not recognize the future. Funny, in a way, since they were catalog stores long before online ubiquity. Oh, and Monkey Wards. I don't know if I like what this thread is doing to me, recalling dead stuff.

G-Fafif Apr 28 2019 04:39 PM Re: W'happen?

En route to Long Island Foodtown locations morphing into Stop & Shop, at least one in my area was an Edwards. I had never heard of them before or after. The nearby Waldbaum's that became a Stop & Shop I still think of as Waldbaum's. And, come to think of it, w'happen to all those places a kid could buy a poster?

Lefty Specialist Apr 28 2019 05:01 PM Re: W'happen?

Double Switch wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: Count me among those who never heard of TOSS'D I also had to look up TOSS'D. There is one in my city's downtown fi-di in a major building. I'm sure it serves the masses of occupants in that structure and the surrounding blocks. I have not worked in downtown for years so was blissfully unaware. Have recalled a more recent demise that's still a WIP: Sears and J C Penney (aka Jacques Penay) are disappearing pretty steadily in liquidation. More of those old "brick & mortars" that did not recognize the future. Funny, in a way, since they were catalog stores long before online ubiquity. Oh, and Monkey Wards. I don't know if I like what this thread is doing to me, recalling dead stuff. There's a Chop't on Spring Street in Soho. Seems to be doing fine, and they do the same things with salads. Aquafresh toothpaste seems to be harder to find these days. Not as hard as Ipana, though. Pathmark went under when A & P did.

Edgy MD Apr 28 2019 09:20 PM Re: W'happen?

Double Switch wrote: I don't know if I like what this thread is doing to me, recalling dead stuff. Well, the idea is also to report on the current state of a brand that a poster recalled before your post, and then broach a new subject. >>> Hey, what happened to Howard Johnson's? >>> >>> The last of the hotels were bought out by Wyndham. Some were re-branded entirely, but many retained the name, co-branded as Howard Johnson by Wyndham. They're actually doing alright (albeit on a smaller scale) in the "extended stay lodge" niche. The restaurant is almost gone like the dodo, however, with the last one currently operating in Lake George, New York. Now you tell me — what happened to LA Gear? That way, it becomes an answer/ask thread.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 28 2019 10:25 PM Re: W'happen?

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: There are still some salad joints around like Sweetgreen but I think the things winning work-lunch today are AI commissaries that Uber Eats orderers don't realize aren't really restaurants. AI commissaries? Examples, please? Because I don't know what the hell you're talking about here. Just like I never heard of a Toss'd either. Now Waldbaum's, I know. Reminds me of when I thanked you for posting about an older moved in the movie forum. Because, to tell you the truth, I don't know what the hell's going on with the current movies, either. Maybe if I read Marvel comics as a kid. I swear, for the first coupl'a months of Black Panther's release, i thought that movie was about that militant political group that was formed in the late 60's. Bobby Seale and all that stuff. When I watch the Oscars, I don't who the hell anybody is in the audience anymore except for that DiCaprio kid and maybe two or three others. I keep on looking for Gene Hackman and Faye Dunaway ferchrissakes.

Double Switch Apr 28 2019 10:28 PM Re: W'happen?

Ah. OK, so that's the format. Thanks for clearing that up. I guess I'm a drop out since I have never heard of LA Gear. That's what I get for being a recluse who shops mostly online. Au revoir.

Double Switch Apr 28 2019 10:30 PM Re: W'happen?

Edgy MD wrote: Double Switch wrote: I don't know if I like what this thread is doing to me, recalling dead stuff. Well, the idea is also to report on the current state of a brand that a poster recalled before your post, and then broach a new subject. >>> Hey, what happened to Howard Johnson's? >>> >>> The last of the hotels were bought out by Wyndham. Some were re-branded entirely, but many retained the name, co-branded as Howard Johnson by Wyndham. They're actually doing alright (albeit on a smaller scale) in the "extended stay lodge" niche. The restaurant is almost gone like the dodo, however, with the last one currently operating in Lake George, New York. Now you tell me — what happened to LA Gear? That way, it becomes an answer/ask thread. Ah. OK, so that's the format. Thanks for clearing that up. I guess I'm a drop out since I have never heard of LA Gear. That's what I get for being a recluse who shops mostly online. Au revoir.

Willets Point Apr 28 2019 10:33 PM Re: W'happen?

What happened to Pete's Wicked Ale? It was one of the standbys when microbreweries became a thing in the 1990s, but fell off the face of the earth when microbrews were rebranded as craft beer and rich, hipster assholes decided that super-bitter IPAs would be the only beer brewed ever.

41Forever Apr 29 2019 04:27 AM Re: W'happen?

Double Switch wrote: The only thing that comes to mind is The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Swirling around in the dregs of my brain I recall a song about ripping off the A & P ... but I was known to imbibe in weed back in the day and now... those days are blended into a pleasant blur. Oh, there also was a grocery chain called Piggly Wiggly but that may still exist in other parts of the country. A&P also immortalized in the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping." ..."A&P has provided me With the world's smallest turkey..."

Ceetar Apr 29 2019 07:42 AM Re: W'happen?

Willets Point wrote: What happened to Pete's Wicked Ale? It was one of the standbys when microbreweries became a thing in the 1990s, but fell off the face of the earth when microbrews were rebranded as craft beer and rich, hipster assholes decided that super-bitter IPAs would be the only beer brewed ever. Gone in 2011, says Google. I could give you pages and pages on this, and I'm pretty sure there are books, but basically the craft beer movement is generally thought of in two waves. Pete's was part of that first wave, of which most didn't survive. The ones that did are those huge regional/national ones you've heard of, Sam Adams, Anchor, Bell's, Sierra Nevada, etc. also no one really seems to give brown ales enough love. That first wave though, was a lot more about slapping you in the face with actual flavor and just being difference. They sorta died out. Maybe initially there was a large rich/hipster asshole and super bitter/pine shade to it all, but that's long gone. There are literally so many breweries that you can ignore ones that seem too much like that too. It's a lot more local community driven in many places. IPA still dominates, but there are dozens of styles of IPA. and the hipsters are all drinking no-bitter 'IPAs' with heavy fruit notes and lactose these days. Or fruited Gose that literally have fruit in the can and basically need to be treated and refrigerated like milk. (and this infuriates 'traditional' brewers, which is also a nice bonus. Whatever happened to custom-built playgrounds? Everywhere it's just pre-fab snap together plastic stuff.

Willets Point Apr 29 2019 08:17 AM Re: W'happen?

It just seems like the past decade or so that when I go to the liqour store that 90% of the beers are IPAs which is not my favorite style. I'd be happy to have more brown ales, cask ales, stouts, wheat beers, Belgian styles, et al to try. A recent episode of one of my favorite podcast 99% Invisible talks about playgrounds: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/play-mountain/ The standardization of playgrounds, as you might expect, is largely due to the fear of injury and the lawsuits that may ensue. Here's a video of what a playground safety inspector has to do: [YOUTUBE]BEensyRYcF8[/YOUTUBE]

Johnny Lunchbucket Apr 29 2019 08:18 AM Re: W'happen?

A&P also immortalized in BREAKING AWAY; it's the job for the sons of the quarrymen, but its an even worse employer than the quarry. Pathmark, A&P Waldbaums, SuperFresh and Food Emporium all wiped out in the 2015 bankruptcy but the brand names and intellectual property still belong to people and their owners are applying them to own stores. The acquirer of the Pathmark brand was a Foodtown operator who just this month opened the first "new" Pathmark (in an old Pathmark site in Brooklyn). They re-did it with the authentic old-school Pathmark decor (checkerboard department designs etc). Key Food now controls Food Emporium and Super Fresh names. The buyer of the A&P + Waldbaum's name is trying to license it or sell it to someone else: http://aptea.com/

Willets Point Apr 29 2019 08:22 AM Re: W'happen?

When I was a kid, the A&P was our local supermarket in Connecticut and when I visited my grandparents in Coal Country of Pennsylvania, they shopped at Acme. So I did a bit of a double take when I passed through Connecticut recently and saw that my old A&P is now an Acme.

RealityChuck Apr 29 2019 10:11 AM Re: W'happen?

When I first moved to my current home, there were six supermarkets within a reasonable distance of my house: Shop Rite (I was right behind it), Grand Union (a two-minute walk), Price Chopper, A&P, and Albany Public Market. Albany Public Market closed and became a Grand Union. The nearby Grand Union closed. The chain closed both stores in the early 80s. The A&P closed. Shop Rite left the area. It was replaced by a Great American, which left the area. It was then replaced by a Super Shop and Save, which changed its name to Hannaford. Shop Rite re-entered the area a few years ago. Price Chopper is still around. They fought Hannaford tooth and nail. For instance, Hannaford took out a lease on an old Kmart. Price Chopper then went to Kmart and subleased the building from them, saying they wanted to create a new type of store "Buy the Case" with only case items. For years, they would send checks to the mall management, who refused to cash them, arguing they had rented the space to Hannaford. Eventually Hannaford gave up. Price Chopper never opened a "Buy the Case" story anywhere. I live right next to a couple of small shopping malls and moved in in 1979. Only one store (a bank) is in the same location it was in back then (and they demolished the wing of the mall that led to it. A second business (an optician) has been there all that time, but moved its location over 30 years ago.

Lefty Specialist Apr 30 2019 06:49 AM Re: W'happen?

Remember when grocery stores had their own brands of beer? http://oi65.tinypic.com/4lhwts.jpg>

MFS62 Apr 30 2019 07:01 AM Re: W'happen?

Maybe the reason most of those supermarkets aren't around any more is because they had their own brands of beer. Later

Johnny Lunchbucket Apr 30 2019 12:31 PM Re: W'happen?

All thats old is new again though. A&P rode dominance in vertical integration (8 o'clock coffee, Ann Page, etc) to be the dominant food retailer of the first half of the century before the brands took over. This thread reminds us their fate... When was the last time you had Maxwell House? ... Now the stores getting all the growth are again doing it with their own stuff including the Trader Joe's who contract with Brewers for their own beer. PS I'm writing this in Bryant Park. There's a Chopt restaurant right next door to the Mets clubhouse on 42nd.

Edgy MD May 01 2019 07:57 AM Re: W'happen?

What's old is new again. Even in this thread. Remember, when you answer a question, ask another. W'happen to Orion Pictures?

Centerfield May 01 2019 12:13 PM Re: W'happen?

Wow. I actually know this one. It was formed by a few former partners at my firm. Bankruptcy, then eventually sold to MGM.

Edgy MD May 01 2019 12:21 PM Re: W'happen?

They seemed to disappear at the top of their game. Like THE ADDAMS FAMILY was a number one smash while the studio was swimming in debt. Your board, Center.