Hot Topic
This one hasn’t disappeared either, but commenters felt the old version had. Redditors remembered a much darker, unmistakably goth store that felt slightly intimidating to enter, rather than the brighter pop-culture shop they see today.
Spencer’s
Spencer’s received a similar complaint. One commenter remembered walls of lava lamps, plasma globes and blacklight posters, while describing the modern version as much closer to another T-shirt store.
Value City
Sometimes the store itself is only half the memory. One Redditor remembered riding in their mother’s brown 1983 Honda Civic to a Value City and Payless that sat beside each other, making those shopping trips inseparable from childhood nostalgia.
Babies R Us
For some parents, losing Toys R Us also meant losing Babies R Us. One commenter specifically missed having a dedicated alternative to huge general retailers when shopping for diapers, car seats, high chairs and other baby essentials.
Hastings
Hastings earned an honorable mention from a commenter discussing the loss of Borders. For people who remember stores combining books, movies, music and entertainment under one roof, losing another place to browse made the retail landscape feel considerably less interesting.
TigerDirect
Computer shopping used to mean having several specialized stores to choose from. One Redditor remembered TigerDirect as a reliable place for computer parts, even recalling that one of the last things they bought there was a set of RAM sticks.
