GEMCO Stores Commercial (Original Posting)

[peteo100]

San Bernardino, CA Gemco was at the corner of Sterling Ave & Highland Ave.

[defnyung]

Gemco on Florence Ave. Norwalk Ca. was thee one!

[kurt52073]

I used to go with my mom to the Gemco near Whittier in the 70s and 80s. They had an Orange Julius inside that sold pretzels.

[oaklandlatinosunited]

i remember when i was a kid i lived in Oakland and we would always go to the Gemco in San Lorenzo Ca on hesperian Blvd . it closed and was a Target for many years now it's a Wal Mart ,

[bsatl]

I LOVED THIS STORE WHEN I WAS A KID...ESPECIALLY AT CHRISTMAS

INDIAN HILL..POMONA, CA

[TonyShow82]

I remember GEMCO. There was like 2 or 3 in Riverside California where I used to live when I was a toddler. 

[THECLARENCES]

Totally tubular to the max!

xoxo

The Clarences

[Vebinz]

GEMCO and FEDCO were the best places to shop, even for a kid.

[notsobadyathink]

This looks 80s, but I remember Gemco in the 70s (maybe late 60s?) I think you can still get a crap coffee maker for about the same price. he-he.

[Kelley959]

Before the days of Wal Mart!

[Nicholas197813]

@Kelley959 YOU GOT  THAT RIGHT THAT WAS LIKE IN 1981 OR 1982

[milkingtherod]

wow what memories....man I loved me some Gemco!......I was just a little kid but had a huge crush on the brunette that bagged our groceries every 2 weeks. We bought all our toys and school clothes there too! Obviously the business model worked as WalMart uses it today....wonder what happened. Much love to the Pacoima/Van Nuys Gemco that was later converted into a Target....may she rest in peace!

[Fredconto]

Gemco didn't go under like posts here have stated. Lucky stores ended the brand to raise cash by selling its assets to stop a hostile take over of the company.

[zmzoom]

Yes... I remember going to the one in Glendora as a kid. I believe that location had a supermarket inside it too.

[LordKhyron85]

@zmzoom Yes, that one did have a supermarket. I loved that store as a kid. I'd look at all the Star Wars toys while my mom grocery shopped.

[THX1205]

The Membership Card will cost you $1 dollar!

[PITTPENN]

I worked at the Gemco on Grand Ave in Glendora,CA in the 70's. It amazes me how much the new Walmart and Target superstores resemble our Gemcos from the 60,70's and 80's. Guess Lucky Stores(parent company of Gemco) knew what they were doing, even back then.

[eightiesgirl81]

I remember my mom would always take me to the Gemco in La Puente/ West Covina, CA there's a Food 4 Less there now. And there was one on Nogales too where the 99 ranch market place is now.

[LovesMike33]

@eightiesgirl81 There use to be a Gemco in Rosemead off San Gabriel Blvd. I don't know if your familiar with the Area.

[2nd2nun1]

Wow. I remember this commercial when I was in 7th grade in Los Angeles. We used to shop at the location on Jefferson Blvd. in Culver City. It was formerly a FedMart, and a Two Guys before that, lol. Today it's now a Target (which is one of like FOUR in a five-mile area). Sadly, we need more store diversity.

[darrenquick]

i can remember going to the one in either Santee or La mesa. all i can remember it was off Hwy 69

[Frostbyte380]

......and I still have my old Gemco card.

[sanjothebanjo]

I remember the Gemco in San Gabriel, CA. LOL.

[EArchivist]

The Gemco in La Mesa, CA was in a shopping center that was built after they tore down La Mesa Elementary School, my first alma mater.

We still have a 1978 Zenith TV bought there, Still works, too!

[hungrybus]

@EArchivist My first realy job was at local Gemco. I worked most of that time at the front desk. I still see Gemco members to this day who are carrying their member ship cards in their wallets, and when I mention the store, they become all nostalgic and emotional about how great Gemco was! You could buy anything and everything all in one stop! Nothing like it today.

[polarisathena]

Shopping Gemco, Downey , California having a Icee at the snack bar and smelling the popcorn. Looking at the records as you would leave. Fun times.

[shotpin]

Fedmart in San Diego. That and Jack in the box made a trip to grandma's something to remember. Mom and Dad would cash a check there. My siblings and I would ogle the bicycles then check out the new fashion statements on the way out. Blue leisure suites......I could only dream!

[tbo452]

Lifetime Membership was only $1.00

At that time though - Gemco was cheaper than the major supermarket chains in terms of prices

[tbo452]

Lifetime Membership was only $1!!

[robertmartinez]

I used to work at Fedco :) We used to compete with Gemco nose to nose. When I moved to the SF Bay area, there was a Gemco near San Francisco.... I'm not sure who went bust first... Gemco or Fedco. We all had great memories working after high school at the store. Ski trips, skydiving trips, dinners out, parties. It was a great place to work & even had health insurance. Kids today are strange. They don't know how to earn money without a sniveling attitude ;)

[orion1052003]

I used to stand there and look at the commodore 64 games at GEMCO but not be able to buy them. I remember looking at an old game called Shamus. Now, 20 years later, I'm playing it on my computer.

[kjbleu]

Yes! I finally saved up enough to buy a C ^4 at Gemco.

[loquita999]

Eating taquitos at the snack bar inside Gemco on Arlington Ave. in Riverside -- and shopping for school clothes there!

[mynameismic]

also there was "the price club" fred price who started fed-mart stores closed in 1982 they had the fed-mart name on every thing

[mynameismic]

i still have a gemco ,fedmart catalogs some where

[HistoryGeek4U]

As a kid, I had so many fond memories of this store (being born in 1981). Dad told me that this place was like Wal-Mart except that the employees were actually paid good money and they had a union or something like that.

::sniff:: Nostalgia.

[robertmartinez]

I don't know about Gemco, but I worked at Fedco which was a direct competitor. It was like the current Wal Mart except that the crowds just rolled through and we had trouble keeping the shelving stocked. The funny thing: we also competed with Kmart & we were the discount leader among five stores....... and Kmart, as weak as it currently is, is still alive ! Hard to believe Fedco & Gemco failed first.

[ChrisSSocal]

20 bucks for a coffee maker? No wonder they went under.

[SharkBoat]

They had a nice fishing department. I wish they would come back.

[Jecipe]

Gemco was the shit.

[insurge]

wow i missed that place as a kid. i belive what was once a gemco where i live became a target store.

[deewhy81]

I think I know where you're talking about. It is the on La Cienega Blvd. near Culver City right? My dad worked at the See's Factory there and he had a membership! Happy times!

[PHARRAOH]

i remember the lahabra one had a guard who gavo out suckers to all kids and i also remember they had a great sporting good section with lots of fishing gear. it was a great store.

[Cosmicalex13]

So this is what my dad was talking about. So retro.

[PortPowerKS]

I still remember the Gemco in South Sacramento on Mack, before it became a Target. The building is now yet another Asian Supermarket..

[maxineweiss]

No you didn't. Anybody could get a Fedco card.  There were plenty of people who didn't work for the Gov. If you lied on your application, they never checked. Not that I ever did that.....just sayin'

[Skor164]

Very nice!! I still remember the phone number for the El Cajon Gemco before they became Fedmart and I also remember when Gemco went on strike.

[jflores949]

remember BEST stores?

[blkguy620]

i DO!

[cestevens100]

"People who know better shop BEST"

There was a store in Cerritos on Studebaker and its still called Best Plaza.

I bought a Mr. Coffee there with a timer, which was a big deal in the 80s. I still remember it coming down the conveyor belt.

[PortPowerKS]

Sacramento had the BEST store that looked like a box; staff had to pull a corner of it out to open the store and it looked like a corner ripped off of a box. The South Sacramento Best store sat vacant since they went belly-up and is now a mosque.

[JoeSmoeX]

Yeah I remember BEST. It had hella Star Wars stuff.

[angelincal]

gemco also existed in phoenix az

[Kuahmel]

There goes another one!! Long time no check in, bro.

[ghostchantxx]

With the grocery store part as a Luckys type.

Did it use the Lady Lee name ?

[milkinithrd]

wow what a flashback...I live in NY now...and miss Cali more than ever..thanks for bringing back such a great memory...when the cashier actually had to ring up each indiviual item instead of scanning...I have to say coffee makers have always been over-priced!!!...lol

[elpablo69]

There were Gemco's in Phoenix too.

[eyeh8cbs]

Most of the Gemco stores in CA are now Targets. I still call them Gemco when going in!

[shaitan9]

haha wow! good stuff ...im digging all these old commercials...mostly the Disney ones but this one brings back memories...all the old Gemcos here in San Francisco are now Targets

[billybats1]

We had a Gemco in Torrance. My mom loved that place!

[NotUTom]

I remember that. Now it's a Best Buy.

[kambreesuncle2]

I remember Gemco, too. I lived in Pacoima when I was little and me and my family would shop at the store in Arleta. It closed around 1987. That was a cool place.

[75andalive]

Oh yes I lived in Palmdale,and Downtown area at the time....loved ZODYS and Gemco I was 3-4 years old but the memories are vivid

[daftmahatma]

Very nice, TerryT1976... I enjoy these regional ads! :)