Hills Department Stores Commercial (1987)

[TheRunningwolf2004]

WE had one here in Marion Ohio I love to go there and shop miss it

[scoot1105]

I sure do miss Hills, especially the 25 cent bag of popcorn and the slushees right there at the entrance!! I still remember the last thing i bought from Hills. It was a 12-speed bike for $125.00. Ah, the good ol' days!!

[ItchyGoomie]

Hills > Walmart

[nicks75]

Go to Hills, play with their displayed atari and Coleco Vision game consoles,watch michale jacksons thriller being displayed near the games, then head to the concession area play the arcade machine and eat a chili dog (which hills had the best!!) Loved going to Hills when I was young.

[AwesomerAbe]

Root beer Icee for the win!

[TRJ22487]

I always liked Hills (and Jamesway) because they weren't in my area, I would only see them when we traveled further south to the Jersey/Pennsylvania area. In New Hampshire we had Bradlees, Rich's, Caldor, Ames ,Kings, Zayre, and the old school K-Mart's (you all know what I mean). MAN do I miss the days of not a Walmart or Target in sight!!! Those old department stores made shopping MAGICAL! I go to malls these days, I strain to remember what the anchors used to be...hell even Filene's is gone..

[ArnoldSchwarznigger]

This is what I was looking for, the jingle at the end. Unforgettable. Thanks uploader.

[nicholasyoder]

Hills is where the toys are!

[nicholasyoder]

Hills is where the toys are!

[cincyblows]

When I worked at Hills they cut costs by not keeping our store adequately ventilated. An elderly woman who worked there died as a result. Wherever you are, Stephen Goldberger, I hope your crotch is crab-infested for eternity.

[sneakers55]

@sneakers55 Used to live close to a Hills but was never found much worth buying. Besides, for many years they chose not to accept plastic. I like my rebate-paying plastic. Wal-Mart was a much smaller company in those days. Also, much nicer because they had a fresh new greenfield store why Hills was a dump.

[JBird30761]

I used to watch Buffalo TV all the time when I was a kid and remembered the Hills commercials with these catchy tunes and the famous "Check us out!" saying. They were great commercials, in fact, I have a christmas 1988 one in my collection of videos. However, I discovered there were no Hills in Canada.

I wonder if there were ever any Hills in the Detroit area.

[notanlinesca]

Hills was the best store ever. Even tho I live in Canada we used to go to the one in Niagara Falls 4 or 5 times a year. I really miss the smell as soon as you walked in but today if I heat up a corndog it all comes back.

[waynemasters]

No thanks to the assholes at Wal Mart for wiping out every retailer in the country. The government broke up the Bell System... now it should be Wal Mart's turn. Scumbags.

[sneakers55]

@waynemasters The role of the Government in breaking up the Bell System is greatly overrated. AT&T got to dump the Regional Operating Companies but they got to market computers to all comers. Besides, Ed Whitacre reassembled about half of AT&T starting with the runt of the Baby Bell litter, Southwestern Bell. And, as to Wal-Mart, they should NOT be punished to achieving economies of scale that nobody else has. They are soon expecting to have a half-trillion in sales.

[homergrand99]

i used to work at hills in horseheads,ny

[TheWinkBoss]

We used to go to Hills all of the time! I liked the way the clothes were set up. My sister and I would walk there by ourselves and shop for school stuff. Oh, the good ol' days!

Thanks for posting.

[thegreatbungholio21]

I remember going to the Hills in Ashtabula, Ohio when I was a kid. I had a paper route and would layaway transformers and pay on it every week until I could pick them up. I remember anxiously waiting for the box to come down the conveyor belt from the back of the store. Good times....

[norske666]

i worked there when i was 18, 1995.

[cybertronization]

My mom took my brother and I to a Hills store when we were kids.

[yaywhewclips242]

Hills did not last long, but the one in Clearence NY (Buffalo) lasted way longer!!

[mercuryridah]

Hills is Were the Toys Are!!

[mercuryridah]

the Hills chain was purchased by Ames in 1998. I remember the Hills in North Versailles, It became Ames in 1999. Now its an abandoned building awaiting renovation or destruction. It was a very nice store. I have a lot of merchandise purchased from that store. I miss the pop corn.

[SharkAttack5111515]

I remember Hills.  It was an awsome store where my mom got a lot of clothes for low prices. The kids free popcorn at the concession stand was awsome also. As already mentioned an Ames eventually took it over. I think my Hills store left around 1996/1997 and the Ames took over around 1999. It left around 2001/2002. The building with those two stores eventaully became a flee market in 2004 and left by 2006. It later became and Steve and Barry's and that chain died out. The economy sucks!

[LBPHeretic]

Wow! I remember that Hill's Department Store "Check us out!" jingle like it was yesterday.

Thanks very much for posting this little piece of history up on YouTube. Five stars!

[columbusmediatalk]

You're welcome. Also a big fan of the jingle!

[Navdan87]

The Hills store in North Huntingdon ,Pa was AWESOME!! They had that snack bar right before you walked in and had good popcorn and hot dogs. Some arcade games too. Shame they had to close in mid-late 90's. Put an Ames in it's place. I HATED that store!

[ProgMetalLover]

Ames bought the Hills chain in the late 90s. Sadly, Ames was in shaky ground and it helped to kill the Ames chain not long after that.

[rockabillycat1954]

the smell of popcorn hit you right in the face as soon as you walked in. i miss it though.

[Dunes]

Chilicothe. I live in Ohio,and there used to be a really good Hills store there,but alas it ceased to exist eventually as well.

Damn--I miss stores like that.

[zztopis]

my brother use to work at Hills and Quality markets.

now both stores are gone

[BabyFace316]

Hills is my favorite store of all time. Christmas, Halloween, and back to school were the best time to go in their. I always remember my mom bringing home big boxes full of layaway stuff that was for our Christmas presents and always trying to peek inside of them.

I miss the "Hills is Where The Toys Are" jingles during Christmas and the year Fourth of July fireworks.

[hotjohn716]

I love Hills it was the best, An we had several n WNY... This was the best place to go an I loved the popcorn smell when u walk in.... I miss this store alot

[c0deMunkey]

LOL, I was just now thinking about the "Hill's Popcorn Smell," searched for Hill's and saw your comment! Amazing!

I miss Hill's. Those were great times. Stores just don't have a popcorn aroma anymore.. It's quite sad.

[LBPHeretic]

I too am originally from Western New York (Medina to be exact). I remember going to the Hills store in Lockport when I was little. :)

Yes, I totally agree with you about missing the popcorn smell as you walked into the store. My childhood memories of Hills Department Store are permeated with that smell before my family would go in to shop or when we were about to leave. :D

[zorak1704]

Hills has the hits. Lp's and cassettes.

[MrExnihilo]

My Hill's had some of the meanest, backstabbing managers in the retail business. I liked a lot of my coworkers, but let's be real. Hill's was run by some damn snakes at the very top.

[MrExnihilo]

Hill's store #54.

[torin30]

Anyone remember the christmas commercial of an elf riding a electric razor? I loved that as a kid

[mediamadman747]

I remember it was VERY yellow from the butter flavoring.*

*At least, I THINK it was from "butter flavoring."

(8^ -

[TechForThought]

and great popcorn too

[TechForThought]

Almost all of the Western New York HIlls/ames stores are empty rotting skeletons. One of the roofs even collapsed on one

[scootersweetpuppy]

Our Hills store was the best. Unfortunately after it closed nothing moved into it. Its just a hallow skeleton with grafitti sprayed on it now. I loved Hills.

[animatestate]

Luckily, you still have the building for yours. They tore ours down and built a Wal-Mart on top of it.

[StukInBuf]

Would that be the Erie, PA location... East 26th Street?

[zakima2]

lol, omg I loved Hill's, especially when christmas was near, cause Hill's is where the toys were. It was a great store until Ames bought it out, and than Ames went bankrupt. So now we have wal*fart.

and target... oh and big lots. so I guess its not that bad...

Childrens Palace is also missed greatlly, the onlly toys store in the shape of a castle. Great idea. anyoher shopping memories.

[limenlimpidgreen]

Wow I remember Childrens Palace...barely. I remember it being vacant mostly. I think we used to drive past it to get to Toys R Us and Kids R Us.

[thegreatbungholio21]

@zakima2 I remember Children's Palace. They built a Toy R Us near it and it went under. Peter Panda gave me the creeps back then too.

[cincyblows]

Hill's had the worst upper management in the history of retail, but a lot of the middle management was pretty good.

[waynemasters]

Hills kicks Wal Marts arse! Hills really was the best.

[HillsDepartmentStore]

Hills was the best.

[unixsuperuser]

Classic! My mom took me here all the time when I was young. Mid 80s, Toledo, OH!

[HolidaySeason4Ever]

Same here, but I went to the Findlay OH store. Tis a shame they are not around anymore.

[no1cp]

lol. My mom too. The store on Alexis, near Lewis. I believe there was one on Holland-Sylvania & Central. (Wal-mart there now)

[animatestate]

Yea, Ohio had some good Hills stores.

[harley145000]

loved hills

[ytownteddy]

Used to go to the one in Liberty Plaza in Youngstown, Oh all the time. I remember as a kid sitting on the hood of the car watching the fireworks display they'd put on from the roof of Hills on July 4th every year. Fireworks at Hills...pure excitement, baby.

[PreviewSubscription]

I remember that store,and Hills.They used to show Fireworks at our store in Champion Ohio.

[animatestate]

Yea, at ours too.

[Comptekhs]

I miss Ames but, I like Hills even better I wish Ames wouldn't have bought them out. I think maybe hills would still be around. I miss the snack stand when you first come in the door that popcorn smell. The only retail store such as kmart anymore has a snack stand that I know of. I miss hills bring it back

[DoctorScissors]

Nice

[babygiraffe123]

I remember seeing these commercials when I was little, and I kept asking my mom if we could go to Hills. Being a small child, I didn't understand that we didn't have any Hills Department Stores in Canada, where I'm from. I don't know HOW many times my mom had to explain that to me, but when I finally figured it out, I was really disappointed. LMAO!

[fwdstuck]

We had 2 hills stores in chattanooga, tn. One was made into a biglots the other was was made into a toys r us, booksamillion, and chinse buffet(3 in one store). Great memories

[garfieldsimpsonfan]

I live in Gloucester, VA, and we used to have a Hills in Newport News. We loved shopping there. That's where most of my old Christmas stuff came from when I was little!

[daddygreenjeens]

this commercial rips ass

[Aquadiamond2]

We used to shop @ Hills all the time. Everytime you go in there it smelled like popcorn from the snack bar. Never left without getting a Cherry Coke slush. They had the best interactive Christmas displays ever. Three times a year Hills was a must. Halloween,Christmas, & back to school. Uniontown (Pa) Hills was closer, but the Belle Vernon (Pa) one was nicer. Dammit I miss those days.

[myredrose1974]

I couldn't have said it any better!! That was the best damn store around!!!!!!!!!! It had it all!!

[amanda7131]

Hills was the best department store ever, seeing these commercials brings back so many child hood memories. All the best back to shool items were there

[panamaniak]

Damn. I remember the Eastwood Mall in Niles,OH!

[SeniorQuack]

I rode my bike to the Liberty Plaza all the time

[harlan1988]

even the clothes smelled like popcorn lol

[animatestate]

Yea. LOL

[PJSkins26]

I remember going to the Hills at Penn Can Mall in Cicero, NY all the time during the mid 1980's as a child. My Dad bought my clothes and most of my toys and Atari Games there. I miss those times. Once the mall itself closed became abandoned and an eyesore. Hills was still open and became Ames in 1999. Ames closed down in 2002 and The Penn Can Mall was in the middle of a makeover to become Driver's Village. I miss that Mall and Hills so much

[OpenArms82]

We had Hills stores all over Northeast Ohio,the one closes to me is now A BigLots.

[CelesteK]

They pretty much had Hills department stores all over the country then Ames took over and then it was like Hills didn't even exist.

[kcaj789]

1987... the Hills Store in Heath had just opened at that point. It became an Ames when Hills went under, and when Ames left it became Steve & Barrys, which it is now.

[lizardkinglarry]

I remember the Hills store in Liberty Plaza from my days living in the good ole town of Girard, Ohio--that was one of the old Horsemen hangouts (Our band/group of guys was called the Horsemen)and where I won the Nacho eating contest that earned me the nickname "Nacho Man"...good times....

[OpenArms82]

I live outside Youngstown,I've been to that store A few times,it was nice.

[limenlimpidgreen]

That's vacant now, they were going to put a lowes there but I don't know what happened...

[hondolespaul]

Ah, Hills. I remember the store in Rochester, NY on East Ridge Rd. I also remember them serving popcorn and there was a mini carousel near the entry doors. Our Hills started out as a Gold Circle and oddly enough, I can recall when that store closed in the late 80's. Hills was only open for a few years, closing in January of 1991. In 1993, it became a Caldor that closed a few years later. Present day, it is a Home Depot.

[xreddragonx]

Thank you for that memory refresher, hondo. I'm in Rochester NY and I was just thinking back to the history of that little shopping spot on Ridge Road where Home Depot now sits. I remember when it was Gold Circle, then Caldor's, but couldn't quite recall the store that briefly sat there between those times, and now I do. :)

[hondolespaul]

You're welcome. I live in a suburb of Rochester. Tell me something... I was not around when that building became a Home Depot. Was the original Gold Circle/Hills/Caldor building demolished? Please let me know. I have been visiting Kmart on East Ridge Rd. quite a bit lately. It is hard to believe that store still exists. My shopping experiences were fun but they were nothing like the old days (early 1990's). The photography department was gone and "The Sandwich Shoppe" was gone too.

[Wa3ypx]

When I smell pop corn I think of Hills. They always had good work pants!!! lol

[marker106]

Since the commercial is 20 years old  Hills is 50 years old

[OpenArms81]

That's right,They started in 1957.

[OpenArms81]

Hills was the best.

[badbobbyhughes]

i miss hills, they had a great selection of atari games, and that was the last dept store I can think of in nashville that served food - icee, and that popcorn smell that hits you before you even enter the place...

[marcynkeesfnct]

Never had the luxary of visting a HILLS but they will be missed.

[Beautifulstar24]

Neither have I. I used to always see commercials for Hills in MD, b/c we used to live not too far from Pennsylvania and I always wanted to go to one. I went to Jamesway, but I always wanted to go to Hills. Too bad I'll never get that chance. :(

[AndrewT3660]

As do I: I always thought it was novel how they served food in the store!

[kawaiiflaggirl]

*sniffle* I remember when Hills used to be in Defiance, Ohio.

[BaronvonCase]

They had some damn good bagged popcorn. All yellow and buttery... Mmm

[PJSkins26]

My parents bought all our Atari/Nintendo Games from Hills at The Old Penn Can Mall store in Cicero NY back in the 80's

[SnugglySara]

Hills was my happy place in the 80s. I'd lose myself in the record dept.

[NDPortsmouth]

Too bad they went inside the Columbus market in the early 90s which began their downfall and then buyout by Ames who went bankrupt five years ago. LOL

[heine71]

This was from the mid to late 1980's Hills "Check Us Out" era.

[ScottBrown717]

They would've been around for 50 years had they still been in buisness right now. Such ashame.