STORES WE REMEMBER

{ THEN AND NOW } Stores We Remember

Brick-and-mortar retail was a tough business even before the pandemic, and there were casualties. But these five sites are still places where you can shop.

Imagine how excited we’d all be if we’d been shopping online for centuries and someone invented the physical store. Suddenly we’d be able to browse aisles, peruse merchandise, try on outfits and appraise new novels by their heft—what a wondrous innovation the in-person shopping experience would be! Instead, of course, shopping in stores has been a constant in our lives. We recall the annual late-summer back-to-school shopping trip, the festive fracas of holiday gift-buying in December—maybe even trooping to the mall as teens to see if certain other teens were also hanging out there.

Sometimes it takes a closing sign on a retailer’s door to help us realize how beloved that store has come to be. The five Bergen establishments here are gone now, victims of a changing marketplace. But we still have the memories they provided—and perhaps some of the merchandise. And score one for poor old brick-and-mortar: These locations are not the same stores today, but by golly, they’re still stores!

BRADLEES

Bradlees on Route 46 in Saddle Brook was known for infusing fun into the family shopping experience. It was loved by millennials, who grew up with the Northeast-based department store. Parents would search for bargains, just like Mrs. B in the well-known ads, and at most stores a kid could count on a snack-bar treat such as a soft pretzel. Bradlees went bankrupt in 2000 and closed all its remaining stores the following year; Walmart took the Saddle Brook location in 2003.

SEARS

When Paramus Park Mall opened in 1974, inviting shoppers to “picnic in the park,” Sears held a starring role as a 169,000-square-foot anchor. It was an iconic place to buy everything from dungarees to dishwashers—and fix a car too. Founded in Chicago in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alva Curtis Roebuck based on predecessor businesses, Sears, Roebuck & Co. was for many decades an indispensable fixture of Americana, particularly beloved for its holiday catalog. (And if you remember the “Roebuck,” you’re of a certain age.) Some Sears stores remain, but their number is diminishing; the nationwide goliath hit bankruptcy in 2018, the same year the Paramus anchor rang its last sale. When Stew Leonard’s helped fill the void in September 2019, it was a milestone for both Paramus and New Jersey, marking the chain’s first food-and-wine store in the state.

TOYS “R” US

When Geoffrey, the Toys “R” Us mascot, packed his bags and moved from that iconic blue façade on Route 17 South in Paramus, the site would not stay empty for long. Big Lots snagged the location for its first Bergen County store and has been there since 2019 with bargains for all ages—including bargains on toys. Like many retail giants, Toys “R” Us was shipwrecked in a turbulent economy that packed a hard blow during the 2017 holiday season. But the company returned in December, opening a two-level store at American Dream mall. Of course, kids of all ages can still buy from Geoffrey and the gang online.

PACKARD’S

Though it’s been closed for three decades, Packard’s on Main Street in Hackensack still evokes memories as a true “everything” store—a grocery market surrounded by services, such as a barbershop and travel agency. Just as colorful was its namesake, Yale grad Frank Packard, who fought the government for consumer-friendly pricing. Formally known as PackardBamberger & Co., the venture included department store VP Edgar Bamberger. The 274,000-square-foot site became an indoor flea market before demo in 2001 for Target, a modern all-in-one store.

BORDERS

Borders at Garden State Plaza in its heyday was often packed with bookworms and those embracing a hangout that was just right for the movie-theater wing—because books entertain as well as inform. Though Borders no doubt thrived in one of the state’s most successful malls, this one vanished with the rest of the debt-ridden company, which in 2011 announced nationwide liquidation plans. Amazon brought books back in June 2017, opening its first New Jersey bookstore at GSP. The site is smaller than Borders was, but customers are welcoming this new chapter. People do still shop in person—and still read!

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