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#1
Hotels/Motels / Re: 1st Cartoon Network Hotel ...
Last post by TheFugitive - Today at 12:10:41 PMI actually drove by this place recently and it is awesome! Really cool!
However we stayed up the road at a very nice hotel that was built to resemble a steamboat.
However we stayed up the road at a very nice hotel that was built to resemble a steamboat.
#2
Defunct Department Stores / Re: Stuart's Department Stores
Last post by Retail_247 - Today at 10:15:15 AMHigher quality image of the Stuarts logo can be seen here:
https://defunct-brands.fandom.com/wiki/Stuarts_(Discount_Department_Store)
https://defunct-brands.fandom.com/wiki/Stuarts_(Discount_Department_Store)
#3
Defunct Department Stores / Re: Service Merchandise
Last post by TheFugitive - May 21, 2024, 02:08:07 PMMy daughter, who now lives nearby, informs me that the Handel's Ice Cream stand next to my old Service Merchandise store seen above has permanently closed.
This is sad because their ice cream was truly delicious and frankly they were one of the best memories I had of working at that store. Service Merchandise execs, who rarely had anything good to say about either Pittsburgh or our store, at least all complimented the ice cream they could enjoy while visiting.
I did have a falling out with Handel's in 2020 when in the midst of the pandemic they refused to serve me because I was not wearing a mask. DUH! IT WAS AN OUTDOOR ICE CREAM STAND WITH NO INTERIOR SEATING! I WAS OUTDOORS AND YOU WERE INSIDE, BEHIND GLASS, WEARING A MASK!! So stupid!
Handel's is a chain based in Ohio and some of you may be able to still find them out there someplace.
This is sad because their ice cream was truly delicious and frankly they were one of the best memories I had of working at that store. Service Merchandise execs, who rarely had anything good to say about either Pittsburgh or our store, at least all complimented the ice cream they could enjoy while visiting.
I did have a falling out with Handel's in 2020 when in the midst of the pandemic they refused to serve me because I was not wearing a mask. DUH! IT WAS AN OUTDOOR ICE CREAM STAND WITH NO INTERIOR SEATING! I WAS OUTDOORS AND YOU WERE INSIDE, BEHIND GLASS, WEARING A MASK!! So stupid!
Handel's is a chain based in Ohio and some of you may be able to still find them out there someplace.
#4
Current Restaurants / Re: Red Lobster abruptly close...
Last post by TheFugitive - May 21, 2024, 09:44:50 AMSome more interesting stuff on this from a Hong Kong-based business reporter.
Details from the Red Lobster bankruptcy filing are wild. So much mismanagement!
▫️$1 billion in debt, $30 million in cash
▫️Previous owner sold land and leased it back to Red Lobster at "above market rates".
▫️$20 Endless Shrimp cost it $11 million but the interesting part is that one of the chain's owners is Thai seafood firm Thai Union (which also owns Chicken By The Sea) and it may have used Endless Shrimp to dump its own shrimp supply through the 578 restaurants in North America.
▫️Thai Union became the only Red Lobster shrimp vendor, overcharging for shrimp and skipping quality reviews (Thai Union has written off its $500m+ investment).
▫️Red Lobster has had 5 CEO in the last 5 years (!!!)
▫️Sales down 30% since 2019
Details from the Red Lobster bankruptcy filing are wild. So much mismanagement!
▫️$1 billion in debt, $30 million in cash
▫️Previous owner sold land and leased it back to Red Lobster at "above market rates".
▫️$20 Endless Shrimp cost it $11 million but the interesting part is that one of the chain's owners is Thai seafood firm Thai Union (which also owns Chicken By The Sea) and it may have used Endless Shrimp to dump its own shrimp supply through the 578 restaurants in North America.
▫️Thai Union became the only Red Lobster shrimp vendor, overcharging for shrimp and skipping quality reviews (Thai Union has written off its $500m+ investment).
▫️Red Lobster has had 5 CEO in the last 5 years (!!!)
▫️Sales down 30% since 2019
#5
Current Restaurants / Re: Red Lobster abruptly close...
Last post by TheFugitive - May 20, 2024, 11:33:58 AMRed Lobster has officially filed for bankruptcy.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/how-red-lobster-s-misguided-endless-shrimp-promotion-drove-it-into-bankruptcy/ar-BB1mJbCp?ocid=BingNewsSearch
Analysts are blaming to a large degree their Endless Shrimp promotion. Apparently Americans can eat a whole lot more shrimp than they thought we could. RL's Asian investors are pulling out and the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company is for sale.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/how-red-lobster-s-misguided-endless-shrimp-promotion-drove-it-into-bankruptcy/ar-BB1mJbCp?ocid=BingNewsSearch
Analysts are blaming to a large degree their Endless Shrimp promotion. Apparently Americans can eat a whole lot more shrimp than they thought we could. RL's Asian investors are pulling out and the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the company is for sale.
#6
Current Restaurants / Re: Chick-fil-a
Last post by TheFugitive - May 20, 2024, 09:04:48 AMYou got that right.
#7
Current Restaurants / Re: Chick-fil-a
Last post by Retail Regents - May 17, 2024, 01:17:21 PMQuote from: TheFugitive on May 17, 2024, 12:59:02 PMAs I continued to wait the two young women began having a very loud conversation. One of the women was telling her friend about her recent trip to the gynecologist, and was going into WAY too much detail. I was rolling my eyes and looking out the window, pretending that I could not hear them.
Not so for the old guy with the cane. He glared directly at them and scowled.
Seriously, girls, you have to have this conversation here? Right in the middle of
Chick-fil-A where a bunch of people are trying to have lunch?
People have less shame in talking about overly personal business, and would get angry at us for reacting. Such weird times we're living in.
#8
Current Restaurants / Re: Chick-fil-a
Last post by TheFugitive - May 17, 2024, 12:59:02 PMI went to the Chick-fil-A near my office to have lunch the other day. I ordered my meal on the app. When you arrive you can sit at a table (they are all numbered), open the app and tell them what table you're sitting at. They'll bring the food to your table. Pretty cool.
In a booth directly across from me were two young women who were around 18 or 19 years old. As I sat there an older gentleman with a cane walked in and sat down at the table next to me.
As I continued to wait the two young women began having a very loud conversation. One of the women was telling her friend about her recent trip to the gynecologist, and was going into WAY too much detail. I was rolling my eyes and looking out the window, pretending that I could not hear them.
Not so for the old guy with the cane. He glared directly at them and scowled.
Seriously, girls, you have to have this conversation here? Right in the middle of
Chick-fil-A where a bunch of people are trying to have lunch?
In a booth directly across from me were two young women who were around 18 or 19 years old. As I sat there an older gentleman with a cane walked in and sat down at the table next to me.
As I continued to wait the two young women began having a very loud conversation. One of the women was telling her friend about her recent trip to the gynecologist, and was going into WAY too much detail. I was rolling my eyes and looking out the window, pretending that I could not hear them.
Not so for the old guy with the cane. He glared directly at them and scowled.
Seriously, girls, you have to have this conversation here? Right in the middle of
Chick-fil-A where a bunch of people are trying to have lunch?
#9
Shopping Cart Sightings / Thrift store finds
Last post by Retail Regents - May 15, 2024, 06:12:08 PMA Big M cart (appears to be a United Steel & Wire product) in the Glenville Salvation Army and a Hannaford Unarco from February 1998 in the City Mission.
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#10
Department Stores / Re: Walmart
Last post by TheFugitive - May 15, 2024, 11:17:23 AMWalmart has laid-off "hundreds" of office staff, and is requiring remote workers to return to the office.
https://apnews.com/article/walmart-layoffs-relocations-remote-work-cb6382a65d92f43058efb3a7fae238f1
This article is a bit unclear but it appears as if Walmart is shutting down campus offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Toronto and consolidating those functions in Bentonville, Hoboken, NJ and the SF Bay Area.
https://apnews.com/article/walmart-layoffs-relocations-remote-work-cb6382a65d92f43058efb3a7fae238f1
This article is a bit unclear but it appears as if Walmart is shutting down campus offices in Atlanta, Dallas and Toronto and consolidating those functions in Bentonville, Hoboken, NJ and the SF Bay Area.