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Freedom Plaza (Dead April 2008)

We all remember my post last year about FREEDOM PLAZA?

It’s dead. The tornado that ripped through Suffolk yesterday demolished this place.

{photos from The Daily Press, and AP}

A Drive Down Newmarket Fair Mall/Newmarket North Mall

{Mutiply.com mirror}

Ok, this is bad video, and I should have cleaned my windshield first, but I ran out of wiper fluid. I did this on a whim.

This mall (in Hampton, VA) stopped being a mall in 1998-ish, and became Netcenter, an office complex. Only Sears and Piccadilly Cafeteria remains.

I had to duck my digital camera at one point because an Amsec worker was outside an entrance on his break.

I drove from the old Miller & Rhoads to the very last mall entrance before Sears.

Report: 6 Out Of 10 Americans Cannot Locate Payless Shoes On A Mall Map

Report: 6 Out Of 10 Americans Cannot Locate Payless Shoes On A Mall Map 

Kitchen’s Mini Mart, Ivor, VA (closed March 2008)

This place stopped providing gas months ago (the last price for gas there was 2.02).

In the last days this place was open, there was ALL sorts of old coke and pepsi stuff, like shelves and signs on the side of the store. I didn’t get a chance to get any.

Staples, Williamsburg, VA

I’ve been wanting to take a photo of this place forever.

This HAD to be a grocery store in the 1980’s. Like an A&P/Super Fresh/Farmer Jack
maybe. Any clues? All the stores around this area are very 1980’s as well. I need to go back and take photos of those. This location is on Richmond Road I think and is near the 347 entrances for William & Mary.

Question: The Shortest-Lived Stores in Your Area

What do you think was the shortest lived [chain] store(s) in your area? A store that seemed to open and then close months or a year or two later?

My three off the top of my head would have to be:

• Hills in Hampton, VA. Lasted from late 1995 to January of 1997. Still vacant, save for that one time the Salvation Army used it for a drop off place during the holidays.
• Frank’s crafts and nursery also in Hampton, actually not even a mile away from Hills. I think this place was seriously only open for a few months in late 2000. It was across from Coliseum Mall. I think the building is now a skate shop and a Panera Bread.
• FX electronics storein Virginia Beach, Hampton, and somewhere else probably. Apparently only lasted for a nanosecond in 1989.
• Now I don’t know, since I was a little kid (around six) when the chain left the Hampton Roads area, but how long did Bradlees stay in Hampton?

Stuff White People Like Finally Brings Up Target

Stuff White People Like FINALLY brought up Target — the most suburban, whitest, hates fat people, the NAACP even hates them — store. Even if it is an April fool:

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (PR Newswire) - The Target Corporation (TGT) has purchased the popular blog “Stuff White People Like” (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com).

Starting April 1st, 2008 the nation’s second largest retailer will use the site as a promotional tool.

Farm Fresh Grand Opening in Franklin

So, the Farm Fresh FINALLY opened today. Two years in the making.

{photo I took in October of last year}

I was planning on being there right when they opened at 8 a.m., but I pulled up…NO parking spots. Line around the outside of the store. I honestly didn’t think people out here would take this opening that seriously. I was wrong!

So I came back at 9 a.m. — another bad time. People were just standing around waiting for the five $100 gift card drawings. I walked around, mainly around the beverage aisles, since I love the fact that Farm Fresh has a vast array of beverages. I took some iPhone photos:

Look at all that Honest tea!

The “Vitamin Water” cooler has … Life Water in it though. fail.

They had Nantucket Nectars half and half!!! I’ve never had that before! I’ve only heard about it in Babysitters Club books!

Look at all that Inkos tea too.

I’m surprised Enviga is still being made.

oooo Big Cranberry Nantucket Nectars and Jolt. Sorry that picture didn’t come out right. I took it in a hurry.

I was standing in LINE. HERE. I was in line for an hour. The line didn’t even more until the final 20 minutes I was in line. This was next to the makeup, and the lady in front of me started to play with this pump of glitter gel and she got it all over her hands. Farm Freshes aisle descriptions are always odd. Like the first three signs make sense, you know a general description of what is on the line, and then the last line is totally way too much detail — in this case, Vagasil.

You can see Starbucks in the distance. Ok, so after being in line for an hour, I went to Starbucks, where there was only one woman ahead of me. Boy, the baristas need more training. The “handlers” from other Farm Freshes had to help them with everything. You would’ve thought they would’ve handled this last week.

Which brings me to my second visit to Farm Fresh later on this day, at around 4 p.m. MUCH quieter than it was this morning. Like a normal day in a grocery store. I had more time to explore around the store. I found this!

This little guy used to be on the farm fresh logo back in the day when I was a little kid. I still remember vividly a jar of Peanut Butter we bought when I was like four, with a drawing of him on the label.

So like I said, I went back to Starbucks after class and workstudy, because I wanted something to drink on my long drive home (50 minutes). They totally forgot about my order. One of the handlers had to make me my drink. I don’t think this Starbucks is going to be so great. We’ll see.

So like the article under the cut says, this store has NO plastic bags. I think this is a good idea because I used to be a bagger at The Fresh Market and I hated bagging in plastic, it was always so messy. I hate it when we go to Wal Mart and we have to put all our stuff in my Xterra, and its flopping around everywhere because its bagged in plastic. The store was giving away reusable grocery bags this morning, I got one. I don’t know how the general public is going to deal with no plastic bags. These paper bags are different than the usual ones Farm Fresh has, no handles, no logo.

Other than the iffy service at Starbucks, I can’t wait to shop in this store on a regular basis. It feels so nice to have a um, nice store in Franklin–and it was before I graduated. I always thought that Farm Fresh wasn’t going to open until after I graduated.

Tidewater News article:

Farm Fresh Grand Opening ad (Franklin)