Ocean State Job Lots

[JamesAsal0734]

What Ames stores did you visit (or perhaps work in, even for a day) while you were employed by the company?

What stands out in your memory about those stores?

Here's a few memories of the stores I visited and worked in during my 18+ years at Amazing Ames (I was a Store Trainer, Lead Trainer) from 1983 right up until the END in October 2002...

Connecticut:
0233 Dayville: My home store for most of my Ames career. You are right, it is located in one of the most boring towns in Connecticut. :)

2141 East Hartford: Scary store... Scary associates. Did some training classes there... Hellish ride up 84 to get there, too. Whew!

0274 East Haven: REALLY scary store... Ugly facade... Creepy old Zayre location... Steep steps to get to the office... Service Desk looked older than I was...

0400 Jewett City: Cute store... Very small, but always neat and clean. A jewel of a store.

0732 Manchester: Nice big store with a HUGE associate lounge area... The associates who worked in that store were a rowdy bunch. Had some laughs there!

2212 Newington: The associates in this Regional Office store had Attitudes By The Bagful. Wow.

0214 Norwich: Creeky old store... always looked strange no matter how many times it was remodeled. Never liked going there for some reason.

0244 Old Saybrook: Another OLD store... Memorable because it was a mirror copy of the Dayville store layout, stock room locations and all... The Store Trainers office looked like a boiler room, there was a huge pipe that ran across the ceiling. Watch your head!

0408 Rocky Hill: Went to this store to help out with Inventory once... I hated every minute of it. The associates in that store walked on eggshells because they were spitting distance from the Corporate Office, and they got beat up regularly by everybody and anybody who wandered in.

0736 Vernon: Didn't stay here long but did a Store Trainer visit as a favor to the DM. Nice bright store.

0738 Waterford: Former District Office Store. Really big and bright. NICE offices...

0739 West Hartford: The most bizarre and unusual facade of any store I visited... Came here to do some A+ training in the final year... Nice managers, whacky associates... VERY rough neighborhood (or so they told me)... GREAT offices, though... You had to walk all the way to the back of the huge store and through receiving just to get to the stairs... long corridors upstairs leading to many offices and huge lounge... The store was SO big, they actually partitioned off about 25% of the salesfloor area to use as a stock room... And it was STILL big for an Ames...

0734 Willimantic: The store where I worked for the last six months of my Ames life. This store was just huge, and located inside the mall, with no exterior entrance. Great fun there...

0701 Dudley: Worked here a few times... Small, bright store... Friendly associates.

Also visited and worked in....

Franklin, MA
Palmer, MA
Sturbridge, MA
Worcester, MA (Stafford St and Lincoln St)

East Providence, RI
Narrangansett, RI
North Kingstown, RI
Warren, RI
Cranston, RI

WOW, I GUESS I REALLY TRAVELLED....!

[greg8370]

Hey James, I remember you now; you were drawing that cartoon strip back in the day.  How's that going?  You certainly got into a lot of stores.  Did Linda D and Rich ride the wave to the end in Willimantic with you?

[JamesAsal0734]

Heyyyy Greg,

My cartoon strip is still going strong... I published a collection of the strip in 2003, then went on a bit of a book signing tour. Fame, but precious little fortune, followed.

Linda D rode the wave to the end in Willimantic but Rich was sent off somewhere else... Cranston, maybe? I don't remember.  Sad days there at the end...

What's up with you these days?

[greg8370]

Congrats on the strip!  Googled it and you are famous!  Great when a hobby turns into something great.  I'm sure it was sad at the end; I know how I felt when Bradlees went out after being there 18 years.  I'm a store manager at nationally known and beloved office supply/tech superstore now for  the past five years.  Wonder where Linda D's stuffed animals are now?
Nice website here.  Great pictures and stories.  Liked your descriptions of all the Ames you were in; especially Newington.  Was at a district meeting last year and behind the resturant was the Newington store being knocked down.  Wish I had my camera.

[JamesAsal0734]

OMG, they knocked down Newington??!! TIMBERRRR!!

Eh, good riddance to it, I say. The people there had Attitudes By The Bagful.

So, a nationally known and beloved office supply/tech superstore? Hmmm. Staples, Office Max, or Office Depot? Or perhaps some other chain I can't think of??

[C. Fontaine]

Funny, it's foodservice, but all of your store descriptions sound eerily similar to my job at Papa Gino's.  I'm a manager at my home store in Webster, MA, but also have worked all over the district, and state as favors for my DM and RVP.  Papa Gino's corporate offices are actually located right above a Papa Ginos, those employee's seem scared for their lives whenever anyone with 'Papa Ginos' embroidered on their work shirt comes in.  It's amazing too how not just the employees', but the customer attitudes vary from the big cities to the small towns.  For instance, I work in Worcester, MA as a temp manager more than frequently, because they can never seem to keep any of the MIT's they get from corporate, and talk about rude customers.  The most popular mentality is 'I want my food and I want it now,' two minutes after they came in and ordered.  Funny though, I've noticed office supplies and such in many restaurants with Ames price tags on them, hehehe...

[AmesNewington]

Let me tell you something about Ames #2212 Newington. I loved that store to death. However, I do know that it didn't have the best employees with a few exceptions. I was friends with a few. They were mean though at Customer Service. I'll tell you my reasoning. The Berlin Turnpike is an easy job destination for our Hartford friends. I'm not prejudice, but I could tell who was mean and who wasn't. Price Chopper is the same. There are many rude associates there, while Southington has very friendly people. The Newington Price Chopper has bus loads of employees rolling in in the morning. If you want better service there, go in the evenings. However, I will never forget Ames in Newington, and I sobbed when it closed, and when I saw the machinery claw into the building in early 2004. We always went with my Grandma in the early '90s. It was our thing. Bradlees was always good with associate friendliness. I wish I can remember it better.

[JamesAsal0734]

I hope you didn't take offense to my comments about the Newington store.
They were made to be humorous. :saint:

[JamesAsal0734]

Oh, it's also worth mentioning that Ocean State Job Lot has taken over many old Ames locations, including most recently, Woodsville, NH

[dayville81]

Ocean State Job Lot usually keeps the Ames fixtures. In Jewett City and Old Saybrook they section off part of the sales room for more stock room since Job Lot stores typically arent that big. Usually the fixtures include aisles, cash registers, doors, etc. Jewett City they are going to put a builder's warehouse in part of the old Ames.

[Zayre88]

I recently received an e-mail with a question about products sold at Ames:

"would anyone possibly know the jewelry companies name that they used? there were certain pieces i am trying to find in heart charm/pendants"  :question:

Thanks for the help

[beachgal26]

Hi!  I hope that I can help on this one because Sarah Coventry used to sell jewelry through home parties in the 1970's.  Sometime after that, I began to see their items sold in stores like Kmart, etc. and I believe they might have also sold to Ames in the 1980's.

P.S.  I have a good friend who lives near Willimantec and I'm going to see if he can try and get a picture of the store.  If he's successful, I will be happy to send it in!

[d_fife]

Originally posted by JamesAsal0734
Oh, it's also worth mentioning that Ocean State Job Lot has taken over many old Ames locations, including most recently, Woodsville, NH

it took over the ones in walpole (32,000 sf) and peterboro and ossipee nh

[Anonymous]

i did not see the hamden,ct,  new haven, ct and meriden,ct (centennial plaza) ames stores mentioned in the list.  they closed in the early 1990s.  the hamden and new haven stores were previously kings.

also i did not see the ames in colebrook, nh when i was there seven years ago.  when was it open?

[d_fife]

Originally posted by Anonymous
i did not see the hamden,ct,  new haven, ct and meriden,ct (centennial plaza) ames stores mentioned in the list.  they closed in the early 1990s.  the hamden and new haven stores were previously kings.

also i did not see the ames in colebrook, nh when i was there seven years ago.  when was it open?

there was no ames in colebrook. it was in northumberland (Groveton) which is 25 miles south of colebrook and it was open 7 yeras ago and closed in august 2002 with the rest of them.

[Anonymous]

i did see the ames in groveton,nh.  however the store locator of the ames fan club mentions an ames in colebrook, nh at 175 main street.  is it wrong?

[C. Fontaine]

Yes, I'm sorry.  I have been told that the Hills store that was there was a local store.

[d_fife]

Originally posted by Anonymous
i did see the ames in groveton,nh.  however the store locator of the ames fan club mentions an ames in colebrook, nh at 175 main street.  is it wrong?

that hill's department store is a local clothing store, not the hills department store Ames bought out.


now what else do any of you remember about Ames

[beachgal26]

Since I live further south, can anyone explain what the Ocean State Job Lot stores are and why it seems as though they have surfaced in so many former Ames locations? (T:huh:hey appear to carry much less of the nice variety of items that Ames used to carry and almost remind me of dollar stores.)

[BillyGr]

Originally posted by beachgal26
Since I live further south, can anyone explain what the Ocean State Job Lot stores are and why it seems as though they have surfaced in so many former Ames locations? (They appear to carry much less of the nice variety of items that Ames used to carry and almost remind me of dollar stores.)

They are basically a multi-priced "dollar store" type operation - they buy overstocks, damaged products, close to expiring items, or other things that are available cheap and sell them cheaply with little decor.  Similar to a Big Lots or Odd Lots in other places - some of the stuff can be a good deal (and sometimes a good spot to find something you really liked that is being discontinued - especially if it doesn't spoil).