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Tall_Kayak_Guy t1_jdmcd01 wrote

I remember when Home Depot moved in to our area, Channel Home Centers lost a lot of their business. Rickels then bought all the Channel locations. It seemed only a few months passed and Rickels had going out of business sales. It was sad that Godzilla stomped on the little guy.

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taxi_drivr t1_jdmus62 wrote

I remember that giant Channel store on rte 22 with the signage.

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torino_nera t1_jdn602h wrote

There was one in Springfield on 22 where Bobs and Christmas Tree Shops is now, I remember that as a kid. Not sure if that's the one you're talking about but I remember they had a big sign

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lolgineer t1_jdnwcsh wrote

Man that brings back some memories. Used to go there all the time with my Dad when I was little.

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taxi_drivr t1_jdn69qg wrote

that was probably it, couldn’t pinpoint exactly where on 22. I remember the boat shaped Wiz being relatively close by too

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torino_nera t1_jdn75v3 wrote

Yea definitely the same one, the flagship is a mile down the road. It's a PC Richards now so at least it's carrying the same torch lol

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taxi_drivr t1_jdn8w92 wrote

lol I left NJ in 97 but have fond memories of PC Richards, 6th Ave too.

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bsidetracked t1_jdnxpb4 wrote

Was it the Rickels or Channel over there that had the hot tub section? Kid me was obsessed with them and sad my parents never wanted to go over to that part of the store.

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h0w13 t1_jdsk59g wrote

There was a store a little further up 22 that was nothing but hot tubs and outdoor furniture. I used to love going there.

Harrows I think? Something like that

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bsidetracked t1_jdsl0n4 wrote

Yes! Thank you! That was it. They also sold a bunch of Christmas stuff which is why my mom would go there.

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Tall_Kayak_Guy t1_jdnf2ex wrote

I went to the Rickels in Randolph & Wayne a few times while they were closing. They were giving stuff away. Whole house, belt driven attic fan for $22. Gable attic fan for $5. Big boxes of nails, bolts, screws for .50 cents each.

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YetiBeachRainbow t1_jdmxmxz wrote

Only your parents called it Rickels - like there was no S but in NJ the elders added it

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wcs2 t1_jdmg6mg wrote

Rickel helps you do it better. Do it better with Rickel!

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stickman07738 t1_jdmh8se wrote

LOL, Rickels brings back memories. I was shopping in Jersey City store with my stepfather (I was ~8 years old ) getting stuff to repair a fence. Our hands were full so my stepdad, place 5 nuts and bolts in his pocket. We paid for everything except he forgot the bolts in his pocket - we exited the store and they detained him for shoplifting - when the cops came - the cops made fun of the store manager essential calling him a f-ing idiot.

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mbc106 t1_jdn896j wrote

It was on 440, right?

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stickman07738 t1_jdne90l wrote

Yes, right near Danforth Ave and Society Hill development. The building still exists but I do not know what it was called.

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mbc106 t1_jdnnjso wrote

It was a Big Lots-style store a few years ago (American something, I think) but I’m not sure it’s anything nowadays.

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FantasticMrCuss t1_jdmogzo wrote

That Edison Rickels had a Mental hospital behind it, long before Target came, now there are apartments where it use to stand.

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JerseyCantSaveMe t1_jdmotbi wrote

Target is where the mental hospital was, the rickel was in front of where target is now

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TheOriginal_858-3403 t1_jdp2l7s wrote

Before that it was the "Middlesex County Tuberculosis Sanatorium" or something like that. I remember there was an office in the original building that had a large vault door in it that had that painted above it. The vault was so large that they made it into someone's office. This was in the mid 90's.

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FantasticMrCuss t1_jdp555f wrote

Very cool, I was young when I saw the insane asylum, it had been long abandoned, we’d make our mom drive past it, lol. My sister and her friends snuck in once and found documents about patients, crazy stuff just left behind.

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mobster1 t1_jdmq2do wrote

isnt that a hotel not apartments

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Spiritual-Stress-525 t1_jdn4c6l wrote

They also converted Roosevelt hospital across Parsonage road into apartments.
I know there is the Veteran's home behind where Target is and the Nursing home on the hill, I don't recall the mental hospital behind the the Rickles site though.

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mobster1 t1_jdn9yds wrote

I have a link I found, first picture is the mental hospital with the rickets in front, then second picture, its the target where the mental hospital was, and rickels is the parking lot, (and you can see the little building where mattress firm and anthony coal fire pizza is) rickets and mental hospital http://images.yuku.com/image/bmp/1c416d284733520fe75472db77a2982a61ccfd1c.bmp

target now http://images.yuku.com/image/bmp/d2836016270848c43f9d58db05a5e9621fe0b039.bmp

found a small picture and the map, picture in left corner http://wikimapia.org/27369167/Site-of-Edison-Tuberculosis-Sanatorium-aka-Menlo-park-mental-institution

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katfromjersey t1_jdnhynz wrote

I think the portion of the old Hospital is now a hospice care building.

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Spiritual-Stress-525 t1_jdnvdod wrote

It could be. I moved in 2021, just when they were finishing it. It looks pretty fancy from the park though, in a 1930s WPA way

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Patty-Benetardis t1_jdnr8pz wrote

It also had a record store where you could buy concert tickets, didn’t it? I swear I camped out there a few times.

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damnitnicole t1_jdon60j wrote

CD world was in the lower level parking deck of Menlo Mall across the street, and Vintage Vinyl was just up rt 1 a bit, probably one of those two spots.

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Patty-Benetardis t1_jdotrxn wrote

It was definitely not either of those! It was in the same parking lot as a hardware store, if not rickets than maybe channel.

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Patty-Benetardis t1_jdoumu5 wrote

It could have been menlo before they made into a big indoor mall, but that would be before CD World was there.

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damnitnicole t1_jdp3mi7 wrote

i’m probably a few years behind you then, because those two are the only places i remember getting tickets for Birch Hill

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snowball91984 t1_jdmg7kp wrote

I remember going to Rickle in south Plainfield every other weekend with my dad. He had a side business as a carpenter in the 80s and 90s. We’d go get a bunch of lumber and other supplies and stop at Dairy Queen on the way home.

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Tarpit_Carnivore t1_jdn6995 wrote

Rickels, Caldors, and Meyers for me. I think it was called Meyers, it was a pool center in East Brunswick that also had model rockets & cars, it ruled as a kid

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everylastlight t1_jdphxbt wrote

I remember that! It was on 18 where the shopping center with Five Below, Ulta, Home Goods, and a bunch of fast food is now, iirc.

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Dead_Is_Better t1_jdmsfm9 wrote

I remember the one in Brick on Chambersbridge Rd. There's a Best Buy and some other stores where it once was now. I also remember the Chanel store on Rt. 37 in TR. That's been a few things over the years but it's now a Stop N' Shop.

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turbopro25 t1_jdmv4b9 wrote

Back in the day. Across the street was a Roy Rogers and a bowling alley in a big empty parking lot. Also Caldor if I remember correctly was where Kohls is now.

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Dead_Is_Better t1_jdmytua wrote

Two Guys was over there as well as an A&P and a Britts department store.

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christok21 t1_jdmxh3x wrote

Anyone remember the jingle? It’s been in my head for 40+ years. “Rickel’s helps you do it better. Do it better with Rickel’s”

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Whalers7997 t1_jdnpu3y wrote

Rickel and Channel were the spots back in the day for dads.

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bsidetracked t1_jdnvfp1 wrote

And moms! My parents dragged me to both many weekends in the 80s and 90s until I got old enough to do my own thing.

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robertfcowper t1_jdn4w5s wrote

My father talks about Rickels all the time. The plaza in Union where it used to be will forever be "the plaza where Rickels used to be" even though that was like 30+ years ago.

I let myself get suckered in by a Facebook ad for a site selling retro brand t-shirts. Got my dad a Rickels shirt, possibly the best reception to a gift I've ever given him. (For us NJ folks they also had Bradlees, Caldor, Jamesway, Ground Round, Metrostars, and a few good others I can't remember.)

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MickCollins t1_jdnnrbo wrote

Ground Round has made a small return, 10 locations open, most of them in states along the Canadian border (not sure why that is).

I remember my brother working in Jamesway in between...I want to say his freshman and sophomore year. When they closed it turned into a Frank's (a gardening store) and he worked there too, but did too much lifting for someone too small too be lifting without any muscle and screwed himself up for the rest of his life.

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robertfcowper t1_jdntolw wrote

Frank's sounds familiar. Feels like I can picture the logo with a flower within the letters. Did you grow up near Brick?

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VelocityGrrl39 t1_jdoloed wrote

There was a Frank’s on 35 in Sea Girt, not far across from the little strip mall that had Claire’s and The Gap.

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MickCollins t1_jdo1qdd wrote

Nope. A state over, in fact; just visited Middlesex area a lot because both grandparent sets were around there as was extended family. But we lived close enough that most of the stores were the same. But yeah, almost guaranteed to be the same Frank's.

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LongWindedInNJ t1_jdqf6wa wrote

Franks brings back memories. I grew up in Holmdel and there was once a Frank’s Garden Center on the northbound side of Rt35 in nearby Hazlet. It was closed and subsequently abandoned lot for as long as I can remember: mid/late 80s through maybe the late 00s? I think it’s a Lidl now.

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bsidetracked t1_jdnvrqw wrote

I got suckered too. Had to get the Ground Round shirt! That and Charlie Browns were the best restaurants in the world to ne growing up.

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robertfcowper t1_jdnx3o7 wrote

Oh man, Charlie Browns. Salad bar was nice, I wish more places had that still.

Just remembered Bennigan's too. I can still taste their turkey sandwich, they were two decades ahead of the pretzel bread trend.

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bsidetracked t1_jdnz6k4 wrote

I swear the ranch dressing at their salad bar tasted better than any other ranch dressing I’ve ever had.

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s55555s t1_jdmfndu wrote

I remember Freehold Rickels!

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Dsxm41780 t1_jdotbuw wrote

And Palumbo’s Pizza!

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s55555s t1_jdozabd wrote

I remember that too

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Dsxm41780 t1_jdozyph wrote

I went to school with the nephew of the owner. He runs the Romeo’s pizzerias in the Freehold area now.

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imchasingentropy t1_jdmm5cp wrote

There was a Rickle right around the corner from me until Home Depot moved in. Never saw a business kill a competitor so fast.

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MickCollins t1_jdnoc7r wrote

That was absolutely Home Depot's business model in the 80s into the 90s: straight "kill the competition".

When my family relocated to the shithole of Illinois in the mid 90s (don't get me started), there were a few Sears Hardwares around. Like an extension of the Sears Hardware Department with sometimes some extra stuff depending on the size.

On one long road (we'll say the Illinois version of Route 22, just shittier because Illinois) there were three such locations. Home Depot built locations literally across the street from all three of them.

Within two years all three locations had closed.

I didn't shop at Home Depot for a long time until I absolutely had to because nothing else was around except for Lowe's.

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heptapod t1_jdmpkoe wrote

🎶 Rickel helps you do it better! Do it better with Rickel! 🎶

"Here at the Floor Store, we make floor covering EEEEEEEEEEEEE-asy. I'm Cousin Brucie!"

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dman928 t1_jdmv6la wrote

Great. Now I have the Rickel jingle in my head.

"Rickel helps you do it better.... do it better with Rick-el!"

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ColdYellowGatorade t1_jdnhyh7 wrote

Reminds me of Drug Fair. Are they even around anymore? Walgreens and Rite Aid just killed them.

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beeeps-n-booops t1_jdmq0op wrote

Rickels helps you do it better!

Do it better with Rickels!

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sparky1976 t1_jdmyp7f wrote

Every once in a while I'll find a rickles price tag on something in our shop and garage.

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everylastlight t1_jdpi4li wrote

My mom's bathroom wastebasket still has a Rickel price sticker on it. I always laugh when I see it thinking about how old that thing must be.

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Jimmytowne t1_jdnezlc wrote

I still have a Rickel paint stirrer

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therankin t1_jdnucyh wrote

"Rickel helps you do it better, do it better with Rickel."

Still remember that jingle from my childhood.

Also, r/nostalgia

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farfacogin t1_jdr1rdb wrote

Remember the RT1 fleemarket ?

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bmd201 t1_jdr5hyj wrote

remember going there as a kid in the late 80s vaguely. the one thing that i always remembered was walking in the entrance and it smelled like popcorn from that one stand and some booth to buy and sell gold.

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oldnjgal t1_jdmdadd wrote

I worked there in the 1970s. Had to close off the lumber department on Sunday due to blue laws.

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wessty1984 t1_jdmduix wrote

I think they had yellow carts for getting wood and my father called them banana boats.

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jayradano t1_jdmixnf wrote

Used to love rickels and hechingers

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Dfndr612 t1_jdmlcqn wrote

Owned by Supermarkets General Corp, which also owned Pathmark.

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ShalomRPh t1_jdp58yg wrote

Makes sense, there was one on 59 in Monsey NY that shared the same physical structure as a humongous Pathmark. Now it’s a kosher supermarket (Evergreen), Amazing Savings, and a bunch of smaller stores.

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mcgeggy t1_jdn0l77 wrote

I worked at the one in JC in high school in the 80’s. Made a whopping $3.35/hour!

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voteblue18 t1_jdn4xq5 wrote

Omg I got dragged to Rickels on Long Island many times when I was a kid in the 80s. I hated it so much. BUT they had coin operated little rides in the front of the checkout and I was always allowed to ride while they checked out, so that was the upside!

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kris1202 t1_jdn837o wrote

I remember the location on 35 in Middletown, now a Tractor Supply/Sonic location.

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JerseyGeneral t1_jdnt3sv wrote

We had a Rickel on 18 in East Brunswick that became a Village Hardware and when Home Depot rebranded them it just became a home Depot. It was shut down in 2008 when Home Depot closed several underperforming locations in the wake of the housing market collapse.

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squigglechaos t1_jdo2276 wrote

rickels had whole house kits - my grandfather built a house from one in the 90s, and it’s still standing lol

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InSannyLives t1_jdpxyh8 wrote

Went here many times as a kid. When the Target opened Phil Rizzuto was there signing autographs.

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IOFIFO t1_jdq3ol4 wrote

Just the font of that neon sign triggers all sorts of nostalgia for me.

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LongWindedInNJ t1_jdqe6cv wrote

We went to Rickel in Hazlet when I was a kid. To this day, my father slips about half the time by saying he has to go to “Rickels” when he means he’s going to Home Depot.

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Buddhas_Warrior t1_jdmm5q7 wrote

Wow such memories! Thank you for posting this!

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Spiritual-Stress-525 t1_jdn3xdc wrote

My dad spent many a Sunday morning browsing those aisles.

Thanks for the memory.

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bignickydigger t1_jdneudt wrote

We had a rickel in RIdgefield NJ was also a channel

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froggyjamboree t1_jdnj518 wrote

My sister worked in the office in SP. I think it was on Helen Street.

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trixie_turnkey t1_jdnlhft wrote

I remember Rickels! Wow. Seems like sooo long ago.

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_Twistedhalo_ t1_jdnpd48 wrote

What about Hechingers (home improvement center ) ?

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VelocityGrrl39 t1_jdnsx0r wrote

I got lost in the Freehold Rickel when I was like 5. Ended up outside the store and a nice lady helped me find my mom.

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ImNotJon t1_jdny7uo wrote

We had one in my town growing up. The lights were always out, so it was the Ickel Me Enter.

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PurpleSailor t1_jdo7776 wrote

When I was a kid a trip to Rickles and Channel Lumber was a monthly tradition with dad.

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Mightyjohnjohn t1_jdoa123 wrote

I still have a screwdriver on my keys that I bought at Rickel.

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kanshakudama t1_jdok6aw wrote

Rickel helps you do it better. Do it better with Rickel.

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No-Horse987 t1_jdoxe6k wrote

Between Channel Lumber and Rickel, I thought that Rickel's had more stuff that you would usually need. If you wanted plywood or timber, you went to Channel.

This thread brings back memories. Now I can't get rid of that Rickel radio jingle out of my head.

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ZealousidealGift9126 t1_jdqafr9 wrote

There were both a Rickels and a Channel in totowa near 46 from what i recall. I think the Rickels is now FORMAN MILLS!

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TenCentCherryCoke t1_jdqf9lb wrote

I worked at the Rickel on 17 north in the ‘70s and it was my job to tie paneling onto the roofs of cars. No one else knew knots.

One customer bought 20 fifty pound bags of Sakrete concrete mix and tried loading it into his Gremlin.

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jerseyborn733 t1_jdqj80m wrote

The store closed in the 80s became a target in the 90s

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bknavratil t1_jdqpruf wrote

Oh wow I remember going to Rickels with my dad when I was a kid.

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cttime t1_jdrlqu8 wrote

TIL it was called Rickel and not Rickels

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User-no-relation t1_jdmjuwz wrote

Entrance on the left? I can see why they went out of business

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SailingSpark t1_jdmdx8b wrote

Rickels was the worst. We had a store near us, the joke was that as soon as an employee knew their department, they moved them to a new one. They deserved to go out of business.

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