Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Confessions of a big box employee.

I was hired in 1973 by Bazar and worked there until they closed in 1978. They were located south of highway 101 across from the current Target in Eureka. Bazar at one time was an up and coming chain. The local store had an automotive, linen, clothing, shoe, sporting goods, sundries, hardware, appliance, donut, pharmacy, restaurant, jewelry and a big grocery store. Their jingle was, "You don't need Aladdin's Lamp to make your dollars buy more, just do all your shopping at Bazar!" You could buy anything you could think of in one place! It was a close knit group of retail workers. It was a union shop represented by the Retail Clerks. It was the busiest store in town at the time, all the way until its closing. The rest of the chain just wasn't doing as well. The workers hoped that Fred Meyer's would come and have us be their first California store, but alas, that didn't happen. I really enjoyed working at Bazar and still see people who used to work there. All big boxes aren't bad. I wish that they were all union though.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah yes, I remember it well. We did all of our shopping there. The monthly groceries, clothing, shoes, records, small appliances. We shopped there extensively. And the donut shop too. That was our treat when we were young when we had to tag along with mom while grocery shopping. Baza'r was the Fred Meyer of it's day. My biggest memory is the gray tub for the groceries and the clerk handing out your plastic ticket and then the guys loading your groceries after they had travelled down the roller conveyor belt. Yes, Bazar/Disco was a wonderful store. I can really remember it to this day and I am 46 years old. It's been awhile. Mark and Save with Beno's and Payless never held a candle to Baza'r. Yes, it was a big box but it didn't cause the downfall of Bistrin's or Daly's or The Pant Rack or Evies or Food Mart or Eureka Market or Larry's Market or Kacy's Market or what have you.
I believe the market for shopping has changed and either you compete or you don't. Steve Gordon of Restoration Hardware seems to be doing OK with his chain of stores. I doubt Home Depot across the nation really affects his sales.

By the way, Whatever happened to Pay N Pak? It came and went. And Value Giant.

Anonymous said...

Big Box Pay N Pak closed years ago. In the old Broadway Cinema location. Pierson did not get put out of business.

Fred Mangels said...

Yeah. Pay n Pak was a pleasure to have, despite the lousy service. I'd heard that their Eureka store was the only one making money. All the other ones were losers so the company went under- their Eureka store ending up as collateral damage.

I've been trying to remember what used to be in that building before Pay n Pak? Back in the mid 70s there was some kind of variety store at that location. The name escapes me. I bought my first .22 caliber pistol there.

Anonymous said...

One thing is for sure Richard, you are bizarre.

samoasoftball said...

9:41am- Me Bizzare? I take that as a compliment. Sounds exciting and mysterious. Most would compare me to Milk Toast. Pretty blah.

Anonymous said...

Fred....It was Value Giant.

Anonymous said...

I think my parents still have some old Genie peanut butter jars that they store stuff in. I loved that store as a kid from out in the sticks and I believe that Eureka survived that major out of the area big box.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I have been trying to find out the slogan of Food Mart, my brother has a bet with a friend and I am supposed to settle, only I don't remember. We all grew up in Eureka but live on the east coast now. Can anyone remember their catch phrase, we shopped at the henderson center store. Thanks!

Sebastian said...

Wow, you guys are really bringing back some memories (I'm 38). I remember the Baza'r jingle (the last six words, anyway). I was in K-2nd grade at that time. Kacy's, Bistrin's, McGarrigan's ("in friendly Henderson Center")... how bout Mode-O-Day? ("You get more for what you pay... when you shop at Mode-O-Dayyyy") Bistrin's was my first job, in high school, in the Crescent City location. And Value Giant! I remember those TV ads, too. And speaking of Food Mart, does anyone remember when the Fortuna location was a Purity? (At Fortuna Blvd. and Rohnerville Rd.) ....as for the Food Mart slogan... I'm not sure they had one! But I do miss "Joe Carccione, your Green Grocer, with your tip for today!" Love the way he said "veg-tabbles" :-)

Sebastian said...

By the way, I grew up in Humboldt/Del Norte counties, and have been in Georgia for nearly 17 years. Sure miss the North Coast.