SkinGriz

I was taking off my boots and noticed the protective leather cap over the mock toe was coming delaminated.
This was done by a new to me shoe guy.

5+ years ago I used an excellent shoe guy in Los Alamitos. I don’t think he’s in business anymore.
Going into his shop back in the day there were tons of dance shoes that it looks like the customers forgot about after the wild hair left them.

Another business I’m bummed about closing is Spiffys on Mary’s Corner. I-5 and WA-12.
They got bullied into shutting down over the Rona.
I’ve been through twice with the kids giving mom a break and they were EXCELLENT with the kids.
Anyplace that makes the kids feel special I try to patronize.

ahsposo 

Two words:

Camera Stores

CliffordK

Video Stores?

ahsposo 

Yeah, online porn killed them and "men's magazines" and those special theaters...

Local newspapers are withering, too.

CliffordK

COVID has taken a bite out of a few local businesses.

A local independent "discount" auto parts store had been around for eons. I think it was owner run, and the owners had just gotten old before COVID, and it was easiest to just close the doors.

Same thing with an independent tire shop.

No doubt cobblers have struggled over the years with cheap disposable shoes. But, a few remain. Time for a web search.

indyfabz

My favorite butcher closed shop several years ago. He was old and his siblings were co-owners of the building and wanted to sell. He made his own sausages that were terrific. Unique. Things like venison and wild boar. And he had the best rabbits.

genec

Actually, my two favorite camera stores are still open, still doing well. Oh sure, they don't sell chemicals and paper like the old days, but they have embraced the digital front and now offer rental service for high end equipment. They moved with the times. (is Kodak still around?)

They offer printing services now and of course, still carry film and still sell film cameras...

Remember film? Just a small glimpse at what is still available. Hey, even B&W. And yes, they still have darkroom chemicals.

DiabloScott

I always figured those shoe repair shops were fronts for prostitution or drug money laundering or something. I went to a place like that with a pair of my wife's sandals that my dog chewed up and they couldn't fix them.

Few aromas can bring me back to my high school days like stopbath.

genec

Oh those days of rolling film in a dark bag... such fond memories.

Hondo Gravel

The porn shop at the edge of a cornfield in the middle of nowhere Dude let me borrow your car I need to get some beer aka don’t want your vehicle spotted at that place lol. I always see Bubba’s truck at that xxx place with no windows.

Juan Foote

Hell, bike shops. I miss bike shops being common around town.

I miss paintball stores and fields.

I miss audio video (component) stores that were niche and didn't also have washers and fridges.

There used to be this tremendous fondue place in town that we would go every now and again. They closed a few years ago due to development desires of the landowner. The place had been open for decades and the owner was a pretty old dude himself. There was some brief talk about reopening somewhere but it never came to fruition. Dante's Down the Hatch. They had this sort of kitschy pirate ship vibe, had a pool/grotto thing with actual gators in it at one point. All of the tables were a big barrel for the seat and the barrel lid for the table, so to speak. The lighting was dim, they played great jazz and also had pretty regular live acts. The bar was full of things call and up, no well nastiness. It was a super cool spot. The way they had it laid out even if they were slammed it always felt private.

skidder

Where's the 'Los Alamitos' you mention? There's one here in Southern California but its no where near any place called Mary's Corner (is that in Washington state?). Your profile say's you're in CN (Canada?).

Siu Blue Wind

Fish stores. (Aquarium shops)

downtube42

On a positive note, waterbed stores are a thing of the past. They were the cell phone stores of the 80's - 3:1 employee to customer ratio.

tyrion

Bookstores: Cody's in Berkeley, Stacy's in SF - I thought they'd survive, but they didn't.

Kat12

Have had a few favorite places close over the years... often restaurants. (Then sets in the guilt that you didn't go more often, etc.) One closed due to health problems of the owner (which in itself is sad). Another inexplicably-- suddenly with signs in the windows saying something like "closed for the foreseeable future" suggesting it was temporary but of course never reopened. Actually, there were two restaurants I enjoyed that closed in that manner. A pub in the same plaza that closed because the plaza was being torn down soon, Another restaurant that didn't close but changed format and was then less enjoyable-- what used to be an affordable down-home-family style restaurant with a good house-made veggie burger became a sports bar with new staff, new menu items, and new prices; tried it once and never needed to go again. Another favorite closed not long before the pandemic, not sure why as by then I wasn't going out to eat much (too expensive) so wasn't there often enough to know ahead of time. Most of these places had various memories and nostalgia associated (and, for a few, convenience as there aren't {m}any like them to replace).

I'm sure there are other businesses I'm not thinking of. And in some ways, even places that may not have been "special" to me still might have a bittersweet nostalgia of just "remember when this place was here" or perhaps has been replaced in the building with something not at all meaningful to me ("I remember when this was a grocery store we used sometimes but now it's an H&R Block" or something).


Dunno... but if that's what "my" shoe place does, they also do a nice job on my shoes...

Darth Lefty 

Slot car tracks

jon c. 

My LBS just closed. I knew was inevitable. They were once in an older warehouse section of town between a rail yard and the university. Then developers tore most everything down to build "college town" student apartment complexes. The bike shop and the used book store next to it were the only old buildings left on the street. Then the bookstore was destroyed by fire. They bike shop held on for another year but then threw in the towel. One of the original owners had already retired and his partner was getting to that point so there will be no new location. They were the only place in town that to my mind still looked like a bike shop should.

genec

Good old fashion hardware store... With nails and screws in bins and you bought by weight, not by blister pack.

skidder

Radio Shack and other stores that sold electronic parts and kits. There's still one independent store near me, it does a lot of internet sales but still has a small front retail sales room where the 'average joe' can walk in and get parts s/he needs for a repair/replacement/new build electronic project. And the retail sales area is a lovely undecorated mess where you can discover all sorts of things you never knew you needed.

Juan Foote

Good one.
I worked in a reef/aquaria shop for several years and have to say it was among my favorite jobs. Much like being a marine biologist without all the schooling.

GhostRider62

Bike shops, old hardware stores, french bakery, cafes, restaurants, auto repair shops, my favorite barbershop, and an old butcher. All except one was the victim of the lockdowns. Very sad if you ask me.

ahsposo 

There's all this ex-big box or dead ass mall retail space out there.

I also realize the last couple of years ground level retail and entertainment business climate has been "challenging". I also realize that online gaming satisfies a some of the need we have to socially compete.

Having said that, I think that people will soon be wanting to go out for that sort of entertainment again. There's a mall nearby that I can see the old Sears store turned into a ice skating rink downstairs and a electric go-kart track upstairs. There are other empty large spaces that could make amazing slot car venues. They could redesign the Food Court and upgrade the selections to going to the Mall to eat a destination again.

There's a movement in art for "immersive art" experiences that seem to be pretty cool too.

There's a lot of practical problems in transforming that space from selling merchandise to entertainment, it would be expensive for one.

TakingMyTime

I couldn't even begin to list all the places that I wish were still open. Being as old as I am and basically living in the same area for my entire life I've seen places exchange hands multiple times. Some of them you knew weren't going to last. But then there's always that handful of places where you were greeted with a smile as you entered and you knew the guy behind the counter had a vested interest in making sure your experience there was a great one.

Kat12

Oh. That reminds me of one. The "army surplus" store in the town I grew up in. It was one of those places with stuff piled all over the shelves, it had this certain smell, you got the feeling the stuff there was actual army surplus, not all new "army surplus" style stuff like you see these days. The store moved and wasn't quite the same after that (I think it was the cleanup involved; disappointing), and then closed (I think the owner retired).

Oh, and a local bakery I liked. Closed during pandemic, yes, but another one closed due to health of the owner (I think age-related more than covid-related).