Zayre Christmas 1984

[001GenLee]

Boy am i glad that alot of people saved these old commercials and posted them to Youtube. I'm still waiting to see a Knight Rider Big Wheel in one of them. :)

[Paigeshusband]

I loved shopping at 11pm on Christmas Eve at Zayre. So many good deals, no crowds and lots of free candy, cocoa, and cookies.

[goldenapple1984]

I worked at the Zayre on 26th and Whipple in Chicago, Ill and thats where I met my husband , 33 yrs ago and still counting

[goldenapple1984]

Wow , Do I ever remember this store because its where I got my first real job , and ended up meeting my husband who I am still married to today which is 33 years later , we meet at the Chicago, Ill store on 26th and Whipple

[jsf926]

I also miss Bradlees, Caldor, Lechmere (killed by Mont. Ward before imploding themselves), Ames, Ann & Hope... Those were popular in New England. Then everything Macy's took over (here it was Jordan Marsh, then Filene's).

[NitekMuscle]

The Zayre logo and font has that intangible ghetto quality that is both somewhat comforting and familiar.

[stronty]

@NitekMuscle Zayre stores were so 70s... in the 80s, the stores seemed terribly outdated, but they were better than KMart or McCrory, or Gaylords.

[Simon5005]

I worked at the Zayre in Woburn, MA during the summer of 1973 before going off to college in Abilene, TX. This was just the beginning of my bizarre life.

[Del655]

@Simon5005 Are you saying that working at Zayre was bizarre? LOL

[uret7]

@Del655 I remember when I was probably 4 or 5 yrs old getting the best grilled bagels at Zayre in Lawrence,MA

[sommerssmith]

@Simon5005 That's like the pre-days of working at Target or Wal-Mart. If Zayre were still around today I believe they would sell the same as those chains do.

[scorpietta]

@Simon5005 Yeah, I remember that store, became an Ames, now it's a small strip mall with Kohl's and Pier 1.

[Simon5005]

@scorpietta You're thinking of where Bradlee's used to be on Washington St. near I-93. Zayre's was down on Rt. 38 where the Super Stop & Shop is now. Greetings from North Quincy!

[scorpietta]

@Simon5005 You're right, it's confusing with all those stores having gone out. I loved Bradlees and Zayres the most. Caldor was ok, too.

[scorpietta]

@Simon5005 You'd know that, though!! I grew up in 'Winchesta'. Small world, eh?

Greetings, from Stoneham.

[The096757]

if felt like xmas in these closed stores. it doesn't feel xmas at target or walmart.

[ktc8592]

@The096757 i totally agree. its hard to explain..but so true. back then, shopping was fun. now shopping in those stores sux.

[taledarkside]

@ktc8592

You always have Kmart. I go there instead of walmart.

[gregherbert2009]

@taledarkside All of these stores suck, they sucked then and suck worse even now. I only shop at Neiman Marcus.

[NitekMuscle]

I remember Zayres entering the South Alabama market in the late '80s and staying until bankruptcy.

[rycon246]

They have a Marshall's and a Checker's at the one in Miami Now . Can't remember what else !

[Bestclips00]

I remember Zayre on Western Avenue in Chicago's Logan Square.

[Kelski1998]

Yes thats the one my Mother and Granmother used to frequent when my Grandma lived in Bucktown.

[Joelomite]

My Zayre memories: In Miami, Fla on US1 and 136st (now called Palmetto Bay). It had a Pearl's Arts & Crafts next door, as well as an arcade and Godfather's pizza.

I just remember all the stores had that orange/brown ugly color scheme....which is what makes the memory of it so special...

[myish08]

All day and night they'll be there.. WHERE?. im still looking for them!!! where the hell are they? this is serious!!!!! Someone playing a cruel joke on me????

[MattTheSaiyan]

Hmm. Nice commercial, and I like that woman's haircut.

[sl1ker]

It's funny who a silly commercial could bring back memories of your childhood even if only for a couple seconds. Oh, to be a kid again.

[redpaladin64]

There used to be a ZAYRE store (on Cloverdale Hill) in Winston-Salem, NC. Have no clue when it had closed since I was in the Army back then. The building is now a Lowe's Foods Grocery Store with separate stores where the automotive service department used to be located..

[Bestclips00]

I miss Zayre!

[Del655]

In the age of wal-mart, I think we all do.

[Telealan2]

@Bestclips00 in the west coast there was never zayre and people dont know about it or care about it

[Digifan23]

i miss Zayre

the one my mom and i used to shop at is

a Kroger now

[mnmcv1]

ZAYRE!!!!! they were everywhere in Massachusetts. My mother sweated the one in the North Dartmouth Mall...

sigh...another symbol of a bygone era...this, Caldor, Ann & Hope...

[americanidol434]

i have 25 cents Zayre spool thread.

[tony46214]

I remember so fondly when I was a kid going to all the Zayre's store here in Louisville, Ky.....ahh, what memories...the one Zayre on Dixie Hwy is a Kroger Grocery....

[Kelski1998]

Oh man those were around Chicago like no ones business 24 Hrs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Goodness knows Grandma lves to shop at 2 am for Christmas gifts

[snoopy64116]

I remember Zayre in Waterville, Maine. Then Zayre was bought out by Ames in the late 1980s. Then the Ames stores went out of business in 2002.

[BigBoiJC]

the only thing i think was great about zayre's was the smell of popcorn that hit your nose right as you went in the door. the store was a dive.

[milatchi]

That's exactly the first thing I think of when I remember *Zayre, the popcorn. I also remember the toy section and Rambo toys.

[petey8887]

I always say the same thing about Hills, another great store that's not around anymore. I miss those kinds of places.

[SpongeStorm4000]

Both Zayre and Hills were bought out by Ames.

[mistaj5]

Zayre lives on unfortunately...it is now the TJX companies: AJ Wright/TJ Maxx/Marsall's.

[hukelauidol]

I am from Boston, MA. I remember every time my mom took my brother and I to Zayres we would get popcorn at the snack counter before we left. They turned it into an Ames when they got bought out, and it's now a Shaw's Supermarket

[gymnastix]

The lyrics to the old Zayre jingle used in radio & TV ads (and played over the stores PA system) in the 1960s were: Before you go back to school, go to Zayre./You can learn the ABCs of savings there.

[gymnastix]

The store name actually came from a phone conversation between one of the Feldberg brothers (who originally owned the retail department store chain, based in Natick, then Framingham, Massachusetts) and another man, wherein Feldberg said zehr gut (German for very good). So Zayre really meant Very.

I, too, am from the Boston area, and worked at two Zayre stores (in Waltham, Mass., and briefly in Hadley, when I attended UMass/Amherst) from 1977-80, by the way.

[gymnastix]

Actually, I started out at the snack bar, so served that popcorn you so fondly remember. But then I switched to the hardware department.

But, as a kid, like you I remember the scent of that popcorn throughout the store, and the red & white, cardboard boxes in which the popped corn kernels were then served.

I know the Waltham Zayre's became an Ame's, but as there was already a Star Market (which became Shaw's) in the complex, don't know what became of the Zayre's/Ames building?

[hukelauidol]

I've never been to the Waltham one. I went to the one in Dedham.

[uofmrules1]

God! I only remember Zayre because a cousin of mine took a job at one in Indianapolis in 1987. We (his wife, my mother, and I) went into one near his house that he didn't work at and the store was an absolute disaster...however, his wife warned us that his store was worse then this one.

Then in 1995 near Kalamazoo, MI, I drove my a building that used to be a Zayre and laughed, because I knew they'd go out of business.

[Del655]

Thanks for the comment. The one nearest me(Hoover Al.) was stifling hot in the summer because the a/c never seemed to be on. I still miss them for some reason.

[1967SimonTemplar]

@Del655 I worked in that godforsaken store in Hoover for ONE night during Christmas 1987. Worst working experience of my life, but great for laughs this many years later. I took a job at Macy's the next day and gladly turned in my amber colored smock to the store manager as she wearily wished me well!

[iLO80]

Z A Y R E S! Holy crap! They had one on 49th(103rd) in Hialeah. Then they turned it into Ames...and eventually, Bed Bath and Beyond. I remember as kid, throwing up at that Zayre's on 103rd.

[ninahdee]

Man, I was just telling a friend about Zayres!!! Hilarious! Don't forget to look in the giant bin for the "value shoes"!

[autoamerican79]

just in time for the holidays too!!