I have a question regarding the storefront design in the image below.
(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/770526034201411586/1074469820369731652/bb9d71f87b41d9630cbb31ff1972cf97.jpg)
Many older Ames stores used this general design and I'm trying to work out if Ames designed it themselves or if they inherited it from one of the chains they acquired then re-used it for other stores.
Store #0079 in Collins, NY uses this design and was an Ames from the start. This tells me that the design was developed by Ames for use on their stores.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated as I'm currently working on a spreadsheet containing all the store numbers plus info on what stores were Ames from the start and stores acquired or purchased from other retailers.
Here's a link to the thread about my spreadsheet.
https://amesfanclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=5973.0
Based on the very low store number I would say that location was one originally opened by Ames. So it would have been an Ames design from the very beginning.
Though I will admit that the layout of the entry looks a bit like a Hills store with the side doors and a lobby big enough to potentially accommodate a snack bar.
The one that I know definitely (East Greenbush, sometimes listed as Rensselaer as that was its postal address) in NY State looks like that as well and was built for them originally.
That was, of course, a much later build (sometime between when the ShopRite was built and when they left Albany area the first time), so that may not be of much help, but just throwing it in.