Zoomin' into Zayre in the 1980s were great I still remember myself having my parents sitting in their carts while buying my toys, my mother buying clothes, home decor and food snacks bedding objects and my father buying his clothes auto items shoes Took a very great look by the time I was 8 to buy that video connector for the Atari
Referring to 6:40 time mark - Back in the day - checkout lines were set up to take either cash and checks or credit only. But not all three simultaneously.
Even though they are gone, ZAYRES and AMES at least believed in good customer service and tried to keep their customers happy. Today's WALMART could sure take a lesson on customer service.
In 1974 I was 20 years old. I moved out of my parents home and in to my very own apartment. I bought a bunch of used furniture from the classfied section of the newspaper and almost everything else at Zayre. I'm 70 years old now and believe it or not, we still use the kitchen knife set I bought at Zayre so many years ago. Such fond memories.
I bought all my 80s gear here! The jelly shoes, parachute pants, jelly bracelets, charm bracelets, lace Madonna gloves, and my thriller jacket, ..lol I think Walmart drove this one out of business... It's a Home Depot now. Happy Holiday Memories from Memphis! :-)
Must be amazing to find old footage of your mom! :-) I lost all images of the woman who raised me but after a lot of internet sleuthing, I managed to find footage of her in an old 80s documentary (and myself at 11)... I was over the moon to see her again! Ha! What can be found online today is just miraculous. :-)
The power of false advertising get it all what a bunch of lies the shelves were empty there was never any Sales Assistant i had to cover every department in the store There was never any stock What a bunch of lies 73 stores going out of business And they deserve it Zayre treats you right what a pack of lies that is There was hardly any mercenaries the customer service Was disgusting these people who made these ads Never worked in zayre lol 73 stores went out of business Because they were awful to work for veronica who worked the service desk cussed at the customers The management couldn't manage a toilet Mr lisinski was like mentally challenged Mr Locke Did nothing but sit in his office but check out the guys On the he security camera and relieve himself And that's just for starters Veronica hated men and gave me a hard time I'm glad that place went out if business They deserved it
I used to work for this company what a bunch of lies They were the worst company to work for The happiest day of my life was when this store and the Hollywood fashion center went bankrupt Due to the murder of Adam walsh
Ah yes This is for you Zayre fans with the orange brown red beige color schemes, in/out door handles with the asterisk, thick cash register lamps, the cluttered aisles, and the loud smell of popcorn Many people took another look for the last time when it died a terrible death in 1989. We all liked to make Zayre our store!!!
In 1971/72, My BFF & I got our $2.00/weekly allowance on Fridays & would walk up to Zayre in Town & Country Plaza/Tampa (Hillsborough Ave & Webb Rd) and buy two 45 Records for that week. She moved away that summer. Wonderful Memories for me
I unfortunately was not alive at the time of this store, but I found a bunch of Zayre memorabilia and stuff while cleaning my grandpas house and I have to say that this store seems pretty flipping amazing!!!!!! They should bring this back!!
@@thegoodybarn9060 All kinds of fun stuff!!! Old receipts with what was purchased, shopping bags, price tags, a photo bag that held some pictures I’ve never seen and my grandpa hasn’t in years, and my all time favorite item: a spool of unopened Zayre yarn that was my grandmas!!! There’s probably more cool stuff hiding but these were my favorites!!! Apparently my grandma did literally all of her shopping at Zayre’s!!!
Still my favorite department store. Got all my Transformers Masters of the Universe Nintendo and practically all my Christmas toys. Even got my first pet there. Good times! LOL
The last Zayre closed here in the summer of '89. I was able to get a lot of nice clothes on clearance. I was 15 back then and my little paycheck went far that day!!
I was born in '85 and if I remember correctly there was a Richway and Zayre in Atlanta somewhere along Stewart Ave (Metropolitan Pkwy) and one on Jonesboro Road and 285. My mom used to take me there so many times when I was a kid. They must have closed in ATL around 89/90ish.
The one in my town was kind of janky. Looked nothing like the bright new stores that got hustled in the ads. I thought about getting an after school job there in HS, walked in and saw how dingy and chaotic the aisles were and took a hard pass.
I was just a kid/teenager when Zayre's went out of business, but my feeling was that the only thing keeping them from being successful was a lack of help. They had no one on the floor, no one running the registers, and as someone else noted below, no security. The 24 hour Christmas thing was amazing for the time, and they would be packed at 2, 3, 4 in the morning, but it would take an hour or more to get through the checkout line.
K-Mart met their demise the same way. Not enough help, long waits in the check out, narrow aisles and empty shelves spelt the beginning of the end for them. It's really so, so sad. I bought the dress for my junior high school dance at Zayres with my own money earned from babysitting. I thought I was the "you now know what," lol!
I miss Zayre Department Store 🏬 they had one in my hometown, Norwich, CT now it’s shoprite. I was 7 years old when Zayre went out of business. I remembered their refreshments counter, many clothes racks and toy department. When Zayre went out of business it became Shoprite and the old Shoprite location in the same shopping plaza where Zayre was is a TJMaxx.
Growing up in the 80’s there was a Zayre not far from my house on the west side of Cleveland. I used to shoplift cassette tapes from there all the time. Worst security ever. I swiped tapes by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and many others there. I like to think I did my part in bankrupting that place.
@@johnritcher5751 ok boomer. Captain Barrett, if you lived in Cleveland on the west side you MUST be talking about the store in Ridge Road? Near the skating rink? That place was an absolute dump and I think every kid in our neighborhood swiped at least one thing from there!
The Zayre commercial at 11:40-12:10, is THAT woman a nurse or a Navy sailor? I like it when it shows her tapping her foot. Her shoes are sexy. I would love remove her shoes and give her a foot massage.
Zoomin' into Zayre in the 1980s were great I still remember myself having my parents sitting in their carts while buying my toys, my mother buying clothes, home decor and food snacks bedding objects and my father buying his clothes auto items shoes Took a very great look by the time I was 8 to buy that video connector for the Atari
Zayre was our target back in the day😂
Referring to 6:40 time mark - Back in the day - checkout lines were set up to take either cash and checks or credit only. But not all three simultaneously.
Even though they are gone, ZAYRES and AMES at least believed in good customer service and tried to keep their customers happy. Today's WALMART could sure take a lesson on customer service.
WALOBS
Zayre mever lived up to their commercials and theanager don't give a shit
Ii net the jigsweer out in full force to shop lift lol
Something did happen at ZAYRE They went broke and closed their shop😂❤and I couldn't be happier
Out of business
In 1974 I was 20 years old. I moved out of my parents home and in to my very own apartment. I bought a bunch of used furniture from the classfied section of the newspaper and almost everything else at Zayre. I'm 70 years old now and believe it or not, we still use the kitchen knife set I bought at Zayre so many years ago. Such fond memories.
❤️
Athens Georgia had a Zayre store. Used to be my favorite place to get my toy trucks as a kid back in the 80s
Worked fore zayres' in des plaines, ill 1978 to 1981 then ware house alsip ill.l year.
Uggggg. My mom took us shopping at Zayre. I always hated that store - nothing but clothes, clothes, CLOTHES.
You should have paid more attention to the toy department 🙂
@@thegoodybarn9060 Lol Did they have one? My mother didn't allow us kids to look at toys too often.
I bought all my 80s gear here! The jelly shoes, parachute pants, jelly bracelets, charm bracelets, lace Madonna gloves, and my thriller jacket, ..lol I think Walmart drove this one out of business... It's a Home Depot now. Happy Holiday Memories from Memphis! :-)
The mother at 4:16 was Maureen Mooney, who played Anne Jeffers on The Guiding Light during the late '70s.
Must be amazing to find old footage of your mom! :-) I lost all images of the woman who raised me but after a lot of internet sleuthing, I managed to find footage of her in an old 80s documentary (and myself at 11)... I was over the moon to see her again! Ha! What can be found online today is just miraculous. :-)
The last Zayres closed here in June 1988 god I miss this store
Ahhh... my first job was at Zayre. I don't even know why I applied there.
The power of false advertising get it all what a bunch of lies the shelves were empty there was never any Sales Assistant i had to cover every department in the store There was never any stock What a bunch of lies 73 stores going out of business And they deserve it Zayre treats you right what a pack of lies that is There was hardly any mercenaries the customer service Was disgusting these people who made these ads Never worked in zayre lol 73 stores went out of business Because they were awful to work for veronica who worked the service desk cussed at the customers The management couldn't manage a toilet Mr lisinski was like mentally challenged Mr Locke Did nothing but sit in his office but check out the guys On the he security camera and relieve himself And that's just for starters Veronica hated men and gave me a hard time I'm glad that place went out if business They deserved it
I used to work for this company what a bunch of lies They were the worst company to work for The happiest day of my life was when this store and the Hollywood fashion center went bankrupt Due to the murder of Adam walsh
Ah yes This is for you Zayre fans with the orange brown red beige color schemes, in/out door handles with the asterisk, thick cash register lamps, the cluttered aisles, and the loud smell of popcorn Many people took another look for the last time when it died a terrible death in 1989. We all liked to make Zayre our store!!!
My mom worked at the Zayre snack bar in the ‘70s. Sadly, they went out of business shortly before I was born.
In 1971/72, My BFF & I got our $2.00/weekly allowance on Fridays & would walk up to Zayre in Town & Country Plaza/Tampa (Hillsborough Ave & Webb Rd) and buy two 45 Records for that week. She moved away that summer. Wonderful Memories for me
For us it was Zayres or Ventures.
I unfortunately was not alive at the time of this store, but I found a bunch of Zayre memorabilia and stuff while cleaning my grandpas house and I have to say that this store seems pretty flipping amazing!!!!!! They should bring this back!!
Thats amazing! What sort of memorabilia did you find?
@@thegoodybarn9060 All kinds of fun stuff!!! Old receipts with what was purchased, shopping bags, price tags, a photo bag that held some pictures I’ve never seen and my grandpa hasn’t in years, and my all time favorite item: a spool of unopened Zayre yarn that was my grandmas!!! There’s probably more cool stuff hiding but these were my favorites!!! Apparently my grandma did literally all of her shopping at Zayre’s!!!
@@taylorp535 thats so cool! Keep that stuff safe
Still my favorite department store. Got all my Transformers Masters of the Universe Nintendo and practically all my Christmas toys. Even got my first pet there. Good times! LOL
The last Zayre closed here in the summer of '89. I was able to get a lot of nice clothes on clearance. I was 15 back then and my little paycheck went far that day!!
I was born in '85 and if I remember correctly there was a Richway and Zayre in Atlanta somewhere along Stewart Ave (Metropolitan Pkwy) and one on Jonesboro Road and 285. My mom used to take me there so many times when I was a kid. They must have closed in ATL around 89/90ish.
I had the same experience pretty much our moms went to the same spots. LOL
Why can’t we turn back the clock?
Wow! Brings back so many memories.
2:03 Victor Caroli on the voice-over. 12:01 & 12:18 The voice of Doug Paul.
The one in my town was kind of janky. Looked nothing like the bright new stores that got hustled in the ads. I thought about getting an after school job there in HS, walked in and saw how dingy and chaotic the aisles were and took a hard pass.
I remember going in dirty stores like that back then. The worst one was TG&Y All the toys were already opened up 4 me to play with. Lmao
I was just a kid/teenager when Zayre's went out of business, but my feeling was that the only thing keeping them from being successful was a lack of help. They had no one on the floor, no one running the registers, and as someone else noted below, no security. The 24 hour Christmas thing was amazing for the time, and they would be packed at 2, 3, 4 in the morning, but it would take an hour or more to get through the checkout line.
About like Wal-Marts today its sad man nobody on the floors and hard to find anybody..
K-Mart met their demise the same way. Not enough help, long waits in the check out, narrow aisles and empty shelves spelt the beginning of the end for them. It's really so, so sad. I bought the dress for my junior high school dance at Zayres with my own money earned from babysitting. I thought I was the "you now know what," lol!
Mr. Maurice is that, how kind
Loved this store as a kid!
Well if you work there you'd be singing a different tune They were awfull to work for and I'm glad they went broke
Looking for commercials for Brindles Hects Service Merchandise great video
I loved Zayre.
Ya well if you worked at ZAYRE i worked there It was a horrible store to work for And they were nothing like the commercial s you saw On tv itstunk
I worked at a Zayre in Northern Virginia '74-'77. Watching those commercials took me back. A couple times I could practically smell the place again.
Was it the one in Winchester?
@@LosAngeles-yz1yn - Hybla Valley, Alexandria.
it was on our 11 birth day
I miss Zayre Department Store 🏬 they had one in my hometown, Norwich, CT now it’s shoprite. I was 7 years old when Zayre went out of business. I remembered their refreshments counter, many clothes racks and toy department. When Zayre went out of business it became Shoprite and the old Shoprite location in the same shopping plaza where Zayre was is a TJMaxx.
Yep, I remember being about 4 years old getting a grilled bagel at their little food counter in Massachusetts.
@@Jasonk1979 wow grilled bagels. Sounds delicious. I remembered getting popcorn, soda, soft pretzels, fries, hot dogs or burgers at Zayre refreshments counter
I also miss Ames.
Me too. Ames, Caldor, Woolworth, Bradlees, Sears, Jordan Marsh, Filenes, Zayre. The best stores.
@@kataeva2220 sadly Walmart ate all of them like a game of Pac-Man. I miss seeing a variety of retailers, especially Mom & Pop stores.
@@AdorzAaliyahSince94 me too.. smh Walmart and target put them all out of business. (And online shopping!)
@@kataeva2220 I don't even recall Walmart/Target being this huge before '98. It's unfortunate
@@AdorzAaliyahSince94 exactly smh
Growing up in the 80’s there was a Zayre not far from my house on the west side of Cleveland. I used to shoplift cassette tapes from there all the time. Worst security ever. I swiped tapes by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and many others there. I like to think I did my part in bankrupting that place.
Not something to be proud of. Being a shitbag thief.
@@johnritcher5751 LMAO
@@johnritcher5751 ok boomer. Captain Barrett, if you lived in Cleveland on the west side you MUST be talking about the store in Ridge Road? Near the skating rink? That place was an absolute dump and I think every kid in our neighborhood swiped at least one thing from there!
@@jessicadelgado2142 yeah the security guard was a big fat slob who just sat at the front of the store and didn’t care.
I’d like to believe that Target now is what Zayre could’ve been.
The Wal-Mart of my youth!!!!!!
I'd probably compare Zayre more with Target and Kmart with Walmart.
@@edsky6892 They should bring back ZAYRE, I mean, #&%£ AMAZON, and #&%£ WAL-MART.
@@danacarter9147 I'd be down for that. Happy childhood memories there. It would be surreal to walk through one now.
@@edsky6892 Me, too. The good old days, you know what I'm saying?
THAT'S TRUE!!😃 @@edsky6892
My sister and I loved Zayre when we were kids, we always ordered a hot dog at the concession stand inside the store. 🌭
Definitely good times
Please bring back zayre, now!
Because we need that store.
@Robert Green I'm thinking the same thing, too.
They were acquired by Ames
The Zayre commercial at 11:40-12:10, is THAT woman a nurse or a Navy sailor? I like it when it shows her tapping her foot. Her shoes are sexy. I would love remove her shoes and give her a foot massage.
Thanks to the Oddity Archive I noticed the Atari 2600 error in the ad the kid and his mother is looking at. Thanks Ben!
Cool. What was the error?
@@thegoodybarn9060 If you look at the ad, it says Atari 2600 but it is an Atari 800 computer.
Oh ok. Thank you!
Was zayre only in Chicago?
Hellnawl mane, it was in Memphis..
Sarasota Fl to
Cincinnati had them.
Indy had them as well
Miami too
How little it costs.