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Did you shop at businesses that don’t exist anymore? Do you miss them? How about Montgomery Wards? I liked Wards for most things better than Sears. Monkey Wards was less expensive and sold better quality stuff overall with the exception of Craftsman Tools which you had to buy at Sears. Craftsman Tools had a lifetime warranty. I wonder if anyone ever returned a tool at Sears to get another one? Actually, I know folks that did. Of course, Montgomery Wards became famous when the Chairman of the company, Sewell Avery, was physically removed by troops under an order by FDR when he refused to settle a strike with his workers in 1944. This historical event is used today by the alt.right types as an example of the tyranny of the deep state.
One of the places I’d go that doesn’t exist anymore was Sambo’s diner. It went belly up due to competition after it experienced a mortal wound. Sambo’s saw a sudden drop-off in business when the name of the restaurant got tagged as being racist. That wasn’t actually true regarding how the business got its name, but it was the meme that stuck and one which Sambo’s simply couldn’t overcome.
Sambo’s was created in Santa Barbara, CA the very year I was born...1957. The Sambo’s name was created from a bit of each name of the two founders Sam Battistone and Newell F. Bohnett. That was OK until folks thought the name came from the “Little Black Sambo” book which was racist.
Little Black Sambo 1938
I do remember Sambo’s defending its name as not being racist but that only made it worse. It seemed like they were defending their racist name somehow which didn’t work.
stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/...
It sure didn’t help that Sambo’s did try to take advantage of the Little Black Sambo book’s infamy by using the tiger schtick but with a young boy from India instead of a black boy from Africa. There actually are versions of the book that did show a boy from India. Just a really bad move on the part of the diner. So Sambo’s sold themselves in piecemeal to other restaurant chains as much as they could. Denny’s took over some. Baker’s Square acquired most of the rest. Sambo’s went bankrupt in 1981.
Verdict: Sambo’s had better food than Denny’s and was less expensive as well. Workers at Sambos were paid more than those at Denny’s and the atmosphere was superior for those working there compared to Denny’s. Manager’s got a whopping 20% of sales thus motivating them to do better. Other employees were allowed to bid on the remaining profit which kept them happy as well.
Remember Chess King? It was a very trendy clothing store in the 1980’s found in malls all over the country. They were called Chess King in the West. In other parts of the country, they went by different names including Merry-Go-Round, Dejaiz, Cignal. I only knew Chess King which, for some reason, was always sandwiched between Spencer’s Gifts and Hickory Farms sausage company in the mall. It sold seriously overpriced clothing to teenagers. Hey, did you ever want to buy a $70 rayon shirt with a paisley pattern from a teenager making minimum wage? Me neither. It went bankrupt in 1994.
Everyone I know went to Blockbuster Videos because everyone I know had a VCR machine prior to DVD machines prior to streaming. Blockbuster was huge and drove most ma-and-pa video stores out of business. Then they went extinct because technology changed. Actually, Blockbuster Video still exists but barely. You can still find them in Alaska.
That’s more than enough. Do you miss any businesses that went belly up?
What do you want to talk about today?
Post your own topics and news in the comment thread
Our CUA team is here to provide support and guidance to new and existing volunteer leaders of each regional and state group, helping them with recruiting, organizing and executing social and action events. We invite you to join in this effort to build our community. There are many ways to pitch in. If there isn't a group to join near you, please start one.
View Interactive Map of Daily Kos Communities in a full screen mode. The orange pinpoints are the location of each organized group of Daily Kos readers. If you'd like to join a group, click on a point and a box will pop up showing contact links. If you'd like to start a group, kosmail navajo for instructions.
Comment if you have events that would be of interest to the readers of Daily Kos in your city or state?
navajo maintains this event list. Kosmail her if you have any diaries about your event or if you have changes or additions to events listed below.
Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018 at 10:30 AM
The Smith East Village, 55 3rd Ave. between 10th and 11th Street
More details here
RSVPS
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1. kathny, organizer (kosmail her to connect)
2. peregrine kate, guest of honor
3. joanbrooker
4. sidnora
5. gchaucer2
6. jeremybloom
7. belinda ridgewood
8.
9.
10.
11.
MAYBEES :
kathny
Denise Oliver Velez
Avilyn
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Save the Date: Saturday, March 10th in San Francisco, 1:00 PM at the Beach Chalet, 1000 Great Hwy, San Francisco
RSVPS
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1. navajo, organizer (kosmail her to connect)**
2. (joanbrooker canceled! Thinking about having get together anyway)
3. tbirchard
4. Lorikeet
5. remembrance**
6. TLO**
7. Glen The Plumber**
8. jck**
9. side pocket**
10. kimoconnor
11. maggiejean**
12. jotter
13. aha aha
14.
15.
16. MAX ALLOWED HEADCOUNT. RSVP SOON! (I was able to increase res size!)
MAYBEES :
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**confirmed, even after joanbrooker canceled. Sweet!
Netroots Nation 2018
Puerto Rico Kos !
January 29, 2018 - Puerto Rico—L-R: Chris Reeves (Daily Kos Community Outreach Organizer), local relief workers and a documentarian and Kelly Macias (Daily Kos Editorial Staff Writer) in the long-sleeved black top, newpioneer aka Chef Bobby in purple and his partner.
Thanks for pulling this together, Chris! Great, great job!
January 27, 2018—Seattle— L-R: Ptressel, Bleeding Blue, DoingBusinessAs, Momomia, EagleofFreedom and Kay3295
dunnjen and peregrine kate marching in Ypsilanti, MI for the Women's March 2018
smileycreek and mimi2three marching in Sacramento, CA
Colorado: Monday Evenings, Michigan: Thursday evenings, North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern, Missouri: Wednesday Evenings, Kansas: Monday Evenings
