For all you old-time Buffalonians

[Bishop Hedd]

Anybody remember the Twin Fair discount stores?

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Twin Fair could never compare to Two Guys on Sheridan. As a kid I loved the bowling allys in the back.

[SF Bills Fan]

I had a friend who worked at the Cavages at the old Como Mall (affectionately referred to as The Dawn of the Dead mall) during its last days. He'd always manage to give me the old five finger discount. The one I went to most though was the one at the Boulevard Mall, though I didn't care much for their selection. I preferred Sattler's record store at the same mall where I actually found a copy of the MC5's Kick out the Jams.

Remember also Record Runner and R.B.I. records at University Plaza?

R.B.I. was great because it had the most knowledgable staff in the suburbs.

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I remember Como had the discount movies in the end. They were $2-3 at most. I remember it was an easy theatre to sneak into even when it was first run. It had an exit at the end of the row of theatres. No guard ever. You could walk int and open the door and your friends could come in. I think I saw my first R rated move there - Bachelor Party. Snuck in, of course. That mall still stands, it's a big business park now.

[Marv Levy]

Potter Road.  Didn't that go all the way into OP? I think there were kids I went to elementary school with that lived on Potter.  I remember those stone animal statues near that big 70's style fireplace in the central area of the Seneca mall. I saw many movies there when I was younger.  Back in the day, that was the mall for the southtowns. There was that, Como, Eastern Hills (I still have no idea where that one is) and another somewhere in the Williamsville/Amherst area. I forgot the name.

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It was the Boulevard Mall on Niagria Falls Blvd.

 

Eastern Hills is on Transit Road a little North of the I-90 NYS thruway overpass

 

I do remember the fireplace at the Seneca Mall!! Wierd! Directly across was Baskin & Robbins. Mmm!

[SF Bills Fan]

Yep, it was on Transit Road. Now its Fleet Bank I think.

 

Also, Spencer Gifts is still going. There are two in Las Vegas.

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I thought Spencer was a Buffalo thing. I've never seen one here in the Bay Area.

[SF Bills Fan]

It was the Boulevard Mall on Niagria Falls Blvd.

 

Eastern Hills is on Transit Road a little North of the I-90 NYS thruway overpass

 

I do remember the fireplace at the Seneca Mall!! Wierd! Directly across was Baskin & Robbins. Mmm!

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Yeah, that was a crazy looking fireplace- totally out of a 70's ski chalet. What the hell was it doing there? That was where all the tough kids seemed to congregate I recall. There was a burger place near there too, I used to demand my mom take me there. Good stuff.

[Bishop Hedd]

I remember Como had the discount movies in the end. They were $2-3 at most. I remember it was an easy theatre to sneak into even when it was first run. It had an exit at the end of the row of theatres. No guard ever. You could walk int and open the door and your friends could come in. I think I saw my first R rated move there - Bachelor Party. Snuck in, of course. That mall still stands, it's a big business park now.

286190[/snapback]

Those theaters lasted right up until after the turn of the centutry. Man, I saw the original Freaky Friday as a kid there in 1976, used to ride my bike from Amherst in highschool to catch a midnight showing of the original Dawn of the Dead in the early '80's and supported the discount theatres right up until they shut down a couple years ago.

[Bishop Hedd]

I thought Spencer was a Buffalo thing. I've never seen one here in the Bay Area.

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Spencer's is a chain and they're still pretty ubiquitous.

[rastabillz]

Those theaters lasted right up until after the turn of the centutry. Man, I saw the original Freaky Friday as a kid there in 1976, used to ride my bike from Amherst in highschool to catch a midnight showing of the original Dawn of the Dead in the early '80's and supported the discount theatres right up until they shut down a couple years ago.

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When I was in high school we used to frequent the midnight shows on weekends. I must have seen the Zep's The Song Remains the Same about 20 times there.

[SF Bills Fan]

I grew up off of Potter Rd. also ... In the area by the big tower on Dorance.

I remember walking over to the Seneca Mall to hang out at the places mentioned here ... Cavages, Spencers, Ground Round .... Those were the days.

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Ground Round was great. That was a big thing for us when we were little and had birthday parties. We'd all go to Ground Round for dinner and then a movie. They always had Laural and Hardy or the Stooges on a screen at the Ground Round, popcorn all over the place. They had a video game room with Space Invaders and all the "high tech" games. It must have been a nightmare to clean that place.

[Bishop Hedd]

When I was in high school we used to frequent the midnight shows on weekends. I must have seen the Zep's The Song Remains the Same about 20 times there.

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And it wasn't just one theater showing the midnight shows it was 5 of the eight theatres showing pretty decent cult films.

[MikeH]

Yeah, that was a crazy looking fireplace- totally out of a 70's ski chalet. What the hell was it doing there? That was where all the tough kids seemed to congregate I recall. There was a burger place near there too, I used to demand my mom take me there. Good stuff.

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The only fast food place I remember in the Mall was Arby's ... directly accross from Cavages ... RIP

[SF Bills Fan]

Those theaters lasted right up until after the turn of the centutry. Man, I saw the original Freaky Friday as a kid there in 1976, used to ride my bike from Amherst in highschool to catch a midnight showing of the original Dawn of the Dead in the early '80's and supported the discount theatres right up until they shut down a couple years ago.

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Yeah, the theatres were the last thing alive there. They were still going when I had moved out to California. They called it Appletree Mall then. Now it's Appletree business center, I think.

I would have killed to see the origianl Dawn of the Dead in the theatres. Especially at a mall like that were it was very appropriate. I remember tricking my mom into renting it for me when I was like 12. I scared the crap out of myself watching that movie. It still stands as my favorite horror movie of all time. I wath it at least 2-3 times a year. Always once at Halloween. Romero deserves a medal for greatness.

[buckeyebrian]

WOW...Now there's a blast from the past.

 

While wondering about all the stores that have come and gone, how the heck does Valu hardware stay open. They never have more than 6 cars in any store lot at one time. Yet they have outlived Grossmans, Chase Pitkin, Builders Square & Busy Beaver. I'm not sure how they are going to survive in the long run against Home Depot & Lowes.

 

The owners of Valu hardware are very smart people. They have been parking at Hammer's Lot ll for over 30 years. Dumb people do not park at Hammer's Lot ll.

 

Bulk advertising for a lot of stores, I also believe they have kept their cost down by expanding their stores with money in hand, no loans= no interest cost.

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"And we're just the guys to do it" John "Bluto" Blutarski, Animal House, 1978

[SF Bills Fan]

And it wasn't just one theater showing the midnight shows it was 5 of the eight theatres showing pretty decent cult films.

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Yeah, there was a whole row of them. 6 in a row on one side, 2 across the way. If you were going to sneak in with friends, you had to really hope that your movie wasn't in 1 of the two theatres across the way.

[SouthernMan]

I once worked at Cavages Record store for a few months after I quit my overpaid UAW job and went back to college. It's easy to figure out exactly when it was because I have a vivid memory of trying to track a Bills game while working at the mall.

 

I was cash poor at the time, and I needed a few extra bucks for Christmas. A buddy talked me into going to a bookie and putting down $100 on a sure thing - the upcoming Bills/Cardinals game. The Bills were a 4 pt favorite and the Cards, as they always have, sucked. Easy way to get an extra 100 for the holidays - right? Wrong.

 

Bills got their asses kicked, 24-0, November 15, 1981. I working that Sunday at Cavages and I wasn't even able to see how the Bills were blowing it. VCRs were not in common useage yet, and I never did see that game. All I know is it cost me $110.

 

I haven't bet on a ball game since then. That same buddy tried to get me to bet on some game at the end of this season. I forget which one it was, but I told him "no way". It turned out to be a losing bet. I called and asked if he placed the bet. Fortunately he did not. We both occasionally recall the "famous" Bills/Cards bet of 1981.

 

The big records at the time (you never forget when you work in a record store) were Private Eyes by Hall & Oats, Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits, The Go-Go's Vacation, Journey's Escape, Rolling Stones Tattoo You, Stevie Nick's Bella Donna, and the self titled Foreigner LP.

 

I vaguely remember seeing Charlie Cavage a few times. Seemed like a nice enough old guy. Never knew his history.

 

All vinyl all the time.

[SF Bills Fan]

I once worked at Cavages Record store for a few months after I quit my overpaid UAW job and went back to college. It's easy to figure out exactly when it was because I have a vivid memory of trying to track a Bills game while working at the mall.

 

I was cash poor at the time, and I needed a few extra bucks for Christmas. A buddy talked me into going to a bookie and putting down $100 on a sure thing - the upcoming Bills/Cardinals game. The Bills were a 4 pt favorite and the Cards, as they always have, sucked. Easy way to get an extra 100 for the holidays - right? Wrong.

 

Bills got their asses kicked, 24-0, November 15, 1981. I working that Sunday at Cavages and I wasn't even able to see how the Bills were blowing it. VCRs were not in common useage yet, and I never did see that game. All I know is it cost me $110.

 

I haven't bet on a ball game since then. That same buddy tried to get me to bet on some game at the end of this season. I forget which one it was, but I told him "no way". It turned out to be a losing bet. I called and asked if he placed the bet. Fortunately he did not. We both occasionally recall the "famous" Bills/Cards bet of 1981.

 

The big records at the time (you never forget when you work in a record store) were Private Eyes by Hall & Oats, Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits, The Go-Go's Vacation, Journey's Escape, Rolling Stones Tattoo You, Stevie Nick's Bella Donna, and the self titled Foreigner LP. 

 

I vaguely remember seeing Charlie Cavage a few times. Seemed like a nice enough old guy. Never knew his history.

 

All vinyl all the time.

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Ha. I remember every album you just named except Stevie Nicks. I had all of them exept that one and Kenny Rogers.

[LabattBlue]

Back down Walden the other way was an Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips (that has been a Mighty Taco for at least 20 years), Uncle Sam's and even further down the street heading towards Depew was a Twin Fair that became Gold Circle and across the street from that was a Drive In Movie Theatre.

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Now you've got me wracking my brain...was the drive-in at Walden & Dick called "The Twin Drive-In"? I know there were two screens...didn't they refer to them as the East & West screens or have I completely lost my mind?

[buckeyebrian]

Now you've got me wracking my brain...was the drive-in at Walden & Dick called "The Twin Drive-In"?  I know there were two screens...didn't they refer to them as the East & West screens or have I completely lost my mind?

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Uncle Sam's - that takes me back. Saw a group there back in 68 or 69 - they called themselves the Chicago Transit Authority. Heard they shortened their name shortly after that. Hmm....

[stuckincincy]

Now you've got me wracking my brain...was the drive-in at Walden & Dick called "The Twin Drive-In"?  I know there were two screens...didn't they refer to them as the East & West screens or have I completely lost my mind?

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That seems vaguely familiar.

[Guffalo]

What about Henry's Hamburgers, That place was my all time favorite, once McDonalds and Burger king set up shop theyy were history.

 

I also used to work at Your Host, spent most of my money there too during the winter months after freezing to death in the cold, we'd go in and get a burger and hot chocolate, they are all gone now too.....