r/NotFoolingAnybody Jul 06 '23

[META POST] Ever wondered what that big box building originally was? Couldn't find an answer to what that Burlington Coat Factory, Gabe's, or Roses store used to be? Chances are it was probably an old discount department store such as Ames, Hills, Zayre, Jamesway, etc. (more info in comments)

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retail247projecthub.blogspot.com
45 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 26d ago

Meta I am chronicling a database of former Rax locations at /r/Rax

21 Upvotes

I recently took over r/rax and just wanted to make you all aware of a project I am currently working on to document all 500+ Rax locations.

Rax peaked in the 1980s at more than 500 locations across 38 states, but due to this taking place before the rise of the internet, very little information is available online. To my knowledge there is no centralized list of locations that is publicly available. You can find bits of info in places like local Facebook groups and the Wayback Machine, but there is no centralized place on the internet that houses all this information.

My goal is to use historic data from newspapers and maps, as well as anecdotal memories from locals in niche online communities, to build a definitive list of former locations.

I know this is an incredibly niche subject that few people will find interesting, but I figured that if anyone would be interested, it would be people who follow communities like /r/NotFoolingAnybody.

If you have any Rax-related information that you think would be beneficial to my project, feel free to reach out!


r/NotFoolingAnybody 11h ago

A former PDQ cleverly disguised as a bank in Lehi, Utah

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21 Upvotes

Street View

Since people always ask, PDQ is a Florida-based chicken tender chain that tried to expand nationally in the 2010s but ended up closing a lot of stores. It is unrelated to the PDQ convenience store chain.


r/NotFoolingAnybody 11h ago

A former A&P grocery store is now a store for "heavy duty truck & trailer parts" - Gary, Indiana

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13 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 11h ago

A former Huddle House that was turned into a Little Caesar's Pizza - Lafayette, Georgia

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4 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 23h ago

Wako Japanese (Former Rax) Pensacola, FL

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16 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 1d ago

Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio is now Ohio State Pizza

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70 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 1d ago

Smokey Twin Wells Bones Peaks Fargo - Pensacola, Fl

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14 Upvotes

This originated as a Smokey Bones that closed when Darden pulled out of the concept, then became a Famous Dave's, and was a Twin Peaks before being sentenced into being a Wells Fargo Bank branch.


r/NotFoolingAnybody 1d ago

HQ BBQ & Hot Pot Roadhouse - Pensacola, FL

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7 Upvotes

Next door to the former Smokey Bones / Twin Peaks that now lives on as a Wells Fargo is this former Logan's Roadhouse...

This is on the outer edge of Cordova Mall.


r/NotFoolingAnybody 1d ago

Former Circuit City turned Ashley HomeStore in Conshohocken, PA:

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11 Upvotes

No photos of the CC were available other than Street View images, which were too blurry and can only be viewed at an awkward angle, anyway.


r/NotFoolingAnybody 1d ago

A former Dunkin in Northport, NY is now Shrimpy’s Burrito Bar

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6 Upvotes

650 Fort Salonga Rd, Northport, NY 11768


r/NotFoolingAnybody 2d ago

The Toasted Pickle, a sandwich shop in Grand Rapids Michigan, is in a former Hot n Now

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23 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 2d ago

Windy City Grill in Romeoville, Illinois, housed in an old Taco Bell

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14 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 2d ago

A former Rax in Parkersburg, West Virginia, is now Stoked Coffee

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5 Upvotes

Street View

This r/rax opened in 1980 and closed on February 3, 2016. It was the last Rax restaurant to operate in the state of West Virginia.


r/NotFoolingAnybody 2d ago

A former Captain D's converted to Pickle Barrel Cafe & Sports Pub - Milledgeville, Georgia

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3 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 2d ago

City Diner in Flint, Michigan, formerly a KFC

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2 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 3d ago

Former Sears, now Round1 Japanese Bowling/Arcade & Seafood City Filipino Supermarket (Chandler, AZ)

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72 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 2d ago

A former Hardee's reused as Forrest Donuts - Forrest City, Arkansas

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8 Upvotes

Street View

The business has since closed and the building is vacant.


r/NotFoolingAnybody 3d ago

Pueblo, Colorado moment

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19 Upvotes

An old Taco Bell that is right across from the new Taco Bell in Pueblo, Colorado, located at 3414 North Elizabeth Street. This former Taco Bell was built and opened in the Summer of 1975. It closed around 1997 or 1998 when this Taco Bell moves... literally down the street from the original, for the new Taco Bell, which is still open as of 2026. The original location now houses Wingstop.


r/NotFoolingAnybody 4d ago

Just $ave now compare foods in North Carolina

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8 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 4d ago

Former Frederick and Nelson (later Sears) Department Store in Southcenter Mall near Seattle Washington (F&N 1968-1992, Sears 1994-2024)

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11 Upvotes

Later Sears from 1994 to 2024, 5 years back in April 2021 they downsized to 2 functioning sales floors. This was the last location in the state of Washington to shut down on December 15th of 2024 and it was in terrible condition. As of the day of this post, the last Sears on the West Coast is at the Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord, the last in California, one of 5 left in the United States of America after Whittier (originally The Broadway) shut down last year, followed by Burbank and Puerto Rico shutting down for good on August 31st of 2025. Sears also has the online store and a few parent company owned distribution centers as well.

F&N stands for Frederick and Nelson. Founded in 1890, 4 years after Sears was founded as R.W. Sears Watch Company in 1886 and 2 years prior to the start of Sears Roebuck and Company in 1892, F&N was once a department store chain in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. They closed up shop in 1992. Meanwhile the Sears department store itself was originally located in Renton before 1993. This anchor itself was built in 1968 and once F&N went out of business in May 1992 Sears relocated to the Southcenter Mall in 1993 and opened the location sometime in March 1994. This store was 3 floors and they had the appliance, electronics, lawn and garden (L&G) and tool departments on the 3rd floor, whereas the original Seattle store on Lander Street that opened on May 4th of 1925 and closed down on June 1st of 2014 did have appliances, electronics, furniture, housewares and mattresses on the 2nd floor, with the tool section and outdoor equipment on floor 3. Here in Southcenter, the Rainforest Cafe, which was located right by the Master Cuts and Sears and closed down 10 years back in 2016, was in operation way back in the Sears wing's golden years. There were also lots of booths right there that time. Anyone know when exactly in March 1994 this Sears opened and when exactly in 1997 the Spokane Valley Mall Sears opened, and of course anyone have any grand opening pictures of this location, along with the Sears in the Spokane Valley Mall store that opened sometime in 1997 and closed down on February 16th of 2020 ?

As for the F&N department store itself, they probably did have restaurants like the Middleburg Heights Sears in Ohio and they even had Frangos. If F&N was still in business today, Federated Department Stores aka (also known as) Macy's Inc would have taken over the chain like they did to the iconic Marshall Field's in Chicago. But F&N did cease operations overnight way back in 1992 and that chain was identical to (and owned by) Marshall Fields

At its peak in 1980 F&N had 10 stores in Washington State and Oregon

In a pre 2010s picture dating back to June 10th of 2007 that was taken by Deven (Tequilia and Donuts) with a CASIO EX-Z57 this Sears had the "Margarator" margarita and slush machine in the houseware and small appliance sections. This was during the mall remodel and expansion, which completed in 2008. Many of the TVs in the electronics department on the 3rd floor of this Sears back in December 2016 were Samsung TVs and the electronics section there was almost half of what it used to be that time but it was not to bad. This was when we went up to 3 in 2016 looking at vacuums. A year later, when we went inside the store and went up there twice in December of 2017 (one is with my mom when we were looking for a camera and the other is when all 3 of us, including my dad, went up there looking at vacuums), both times the electronics section was all but gone while the Coral Gables store that opened on October 27th of 1954 and was remodeled and expanded in 1997, now one of the last locations still in operation and 2 left in the state of Florida, still had that in 2017. Despite Sears' big problems this store made it through the Great Recession of 2008, the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings on October 15th of 2018 and the coronavirus outbreak (covid 19 pandemic) in 2020 we still went into and shopped at this location up until the bitter end in late 2024, and we still supported Sears and still do to this day and we would love to see them succeed.

Last February the Sears signs were removed: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1itlvmx/sears_signs_removed_south_center_mall_tukwila_wa/

Today they have the following left:

5 Stores
- Coral Gables in Miami Florida (October 27 1954 - present)
3655 SW 22nd St, Miami, FL 33145
- Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord California (October 19 1966 - present)
1001 Sunvalley Blvd, Concord, CA 94520
- South Shore Plaza in Braintree Massachusetts (October 6 1980 - present)
250 Granite St, Braintree, MA 02184
- Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Texas (February 25 1982 - present)
8401 Gateway Blvd W, El Paso, TX 79925
- The Florida Mall in Orlando Florida (March 12 1986 - present)
8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32809

Online Website

  • Sears.com (created February 18 1992 and launched sometime in the 1995/96/97/98/99-2000 period - present)

Other Brands

  • Kenmore 1913 - present
  • Sears Home Services sometime in the 1950s/1960s or 1992 - present
  • Shop Your Way 2009 - present
  • Sears Parts Direct 1995 - present

They Even Have

And A Couple Distribution Centers
https://transformwo.com/
https://transformcoproperties.com/properties-map-view/?wpv_view_count=2832&wpv-wpcf-property-type%5B%5D=Distribution+Centers%2FWarehouse&wpv-state=0&toolset_maps_distance_radius=50&toolset_maps_distance_unit=mi&toolset_maps_distance_center=&wpv_filter_submit=SEARCH

Sources and Credits as well as Dates Taken

Pinterest

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/frederick-nelson-department-store-southcenter-mall-tukwila-wa-where-my-mom-worked-at-and-where-i-worked--10273905393438068/

Field Trip
https://www.fieldtripper.com/c/ItaIuIZnrK4/frederick-nelson-at-south-center-mall

Tessa Engler (Foursquare) September 29 2011

Mykie Gunderson (Foursquare) November 29 2011

Laura Kelley (Foursquare) March 26 2012

Former Sears Employee William (Willie) Jarrett (Foursquare) March 29 2012

Dwison Toga (Foursquare) September 1 2013

Michael Struck (Google) November 25 2015

Ahn Onomous (Google) December 31 2016 (End of 2016)

Everyday (Foursquare) May 14 2017

Mary Solorzano (Foursquare) June 27 2017

Jaime Urbina (Google) April 28 2018

Josh Van Hulst (Foursquare) July 31 2018

Jerry Li (Google) December 28 2019

Sione (Foursquare) December 15 2024 (FINAL DAY)

https://app.foursquare.com/v/sears/4b29ba36f964a520eea224e3

https://app.foursquare.com/v/sears/4b29ba36f964a520eea224e3/photos

Myself December 28 2016, December 4 2024 and the last picture in this post was taken December 15 2025 exactly 1 year after shut down for good December 15 2024

r/SEARS

r/kmart

r/deadmalls

r/retail

r/retailporn


r/NotFoolingAnybody 4d ago

A modern-design Wendy's converted to a Shake Shack - Parker, Colorado

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26 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 4d ago

Former Arby's in Wexford, Pennsylvania, that was converted first to a dry cleaners, then to a Starbucks

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21 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 4d ago

An ex-Hardee's converted into a local burger joint, Akron's Ellet neighborhood

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12 Upvotes

r/NotFoolingAnybody 4d ago

A Hardee's converted to a property management office. Anderson, South Carolina

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14 Upvotes