A Big K and a Chuck E. Cheese still tarnish the Minnesota retail landscape well into the 21st century
There is simply no room for Kmart in today’s retail landscape. On one end, we’ve got Target. Target has become way too upscale and pretentious over the past five or ten years (but I love them anyway). Target’s gotten all haute couture on us – why, these days you can buy a $200 leather jacket at Target! Whatever happened to Honors, Pro-Spirit, and Cherokee?
On the other end of the spectrum, we’ve got Wal-Mart, where fashion knows “No Boundaries”, the floors are dirty and the merchandise is in utter disarry. But they offer cheap prices, so the masses flock to the stores.
And where does Kmart fit in? Simple answer – it doesn’t. It’s a lost relic of the days gone by. Everything in the store just screams 1985 to me, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I haven’t stepped foot in a Kmart since then, and realized that not much has changed. I half expected the electronics department to be boasting VCRs as a great new technology. The merchandise might say “2008″ but the feel of the store says otherwise. It looks like an indoor flea market.
Shoppers are nowhere to be seen inside this local Kmart
We shopped at Kmart in the 80s because we did not have a Target store in our neighborhood until 1986. After 1986, all bets were off and shopping at Kmart became a big no-no. If you came to school and mentioned that you shopped at Kmart, you’d get your ass kicked.
The Pizza Shoppe has gone dark
Restaurants were in most Kmarts and were tucked away near the back of the store. I never understood the purpose of having a restaurant inside of a discount store. Did some people plan on making an afternoon inside of the Kmart store?
My memories are spotty about little cantina in Kmart, as my parents did not let us eat there because “We have plenty of food at home!!!” Thanks to Thrifty Mom, I will forever be deprived of the childhood experience of slurping an icee while walking through the Garden Center and removing all of the flower tags from the potted plants. I do remember that the eatery had yellow vinyl seating and brown brick walls which made it very dark inside. The restaurant was usually empty, with the exception of a lone grandpa inside, gumming on a donut, just waiting for the blue light to come on.
Later, most were converted to Little Ceasers Pizza (yum. I love Little Ceasers and miss it dearly). In the Coon Rapids Kmart, they couldn’t even keep the Little Ceaser’s name. “Pizza to Go” is the name of the game and it appears to be closed.
A neighboring Chuck E. Cheese is probably the reason why the Pizza-To-Go restaurant inside is closed
The most memorable aspect of Kmart is Blue Light Special, and I don’t even think they do that anymore. I didn’t hear or see one blue light in my entire visit to the store.
Kmart used to have a cart with a tall pole with a blue police light on top. The cart would be rolled into the aisle of the blue light special, a cattle-drive style announcement would be made over the intercom, the light would spin, and shoppers would stampede over to Aisle 4 to save 25 cents on Palmolive. Today, the Blue Light is a jolly cartoon character with bulging eyes that pops up in their TV ads, but I really don’t know its purpose. I think it’s their new mascot or something.
Kmart's got balls
As a kid, the checkout was the best part about shopping at Kmart. Even with a failed attempt at getting an Icee from the restaurant, we’d behave like saints as Mom trudged through up and down the aisles, shopping for various humdrum dry goods. It was all worth it because when we were finished, Mom would roll the cart up to the cashier and my brother and I would make a mad dash to the capsule machines! If we were well-behaved, we knew the odds were pretty good that Mom would pull a quarter out of her purse and let us gamble the coin away in hopes of a new superball or a slimy hand you could whip against the wall.
Kmart’s checkout was KID HEAVEN – rows upon rows of kiddie vending machines along the walls, filled with cheap plastic doodads. Clear balls filled with bouncy superballs, Runts candy, lucky rabbits feet, plastic charm bracelets, gum, jawbreakers, wacky walkers, sweet-tarts…and only 25 cents! The teaser card would draw you in with the promise of a gold wristwatch (which would no doubt turn your skin green), but most of the time, your bounty ended up being shitty plastic spider ring.
At this particular Kmart, I only noticed a few machines, but didn’t snap a picture. Kmart downsized the vending machine lineup to about 2 machines, not nearly the wall of dime-store baubles that I grew up knowing.
The coin-operated entertainment doesn’t stop at the checkout, folks. Outside, the spectacle continues with a musical carousel and thrusting dump truck.
A dump truck is great, but where is the mechanical bull?
It’s nice to see the ride-on toys still here. I’m quite surprised to see these mechanical eyesores still around; they look like lawsuits waiting to happen.
Kids these days can still beg their parents for a 25 cent joyride in a dirty plastic helicopter
At any rate, Kmart’s ship has definitely sailed. It’s probably only a matter of time before this place closes up shop for good. On my visit to this store, I saw maybe 6 cars in the Kmart side of the parking lot, all of which were probably store employees.
Enjoy the rest of the photos!
These filthy playthings still taunt and tease kids today
Most merchandise looks like it's been here for 30 years
I think this is supposed to be the garden center
The racks are packed full of goodies, but no one is there to buy anything
If Payless Shoe Source isn't in your town, Kmart's your next best choice for pleather shoes
Need the latest Martha Stewart collection but can't quite afford it? Layway is always an option!
A stop sign controls the chaos outside the Kmart store
The end is nearing
#1 by The Old Scowl on September 21, 2008 - 5:22 am
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That Chuck E. Cheese used to be a playplace for a slightly older set of kids. It used to be known as Widgets. It was one of THE teen places to go to in the 1980s for kids in the Twin Cities. I once saw a French teenager go there and table dance to the Beastie Boys “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”! Well okay. My sister and I brought the guy there, and he was surprisingly enthusiastic for a place that looked like a poor substitute for a discotheque.
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#2 by Greg on January 3, 2009 - 1:26 pm
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This strip mall is actually in Blaine. (Barely, by being just east of University Avenue.)
There was a K-Mart in Coon Rapids at one time on Northdale and Hanson. It has since become a Lifetime Fitness.
#3 by rayman on June 6, 2009 - 7:51 pm
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That nostalgic feel is why I like Kmart. You really need to look at their stuff. Even though I love Target, there seems to be something magical about Kmart. Their stores are not the best, but their not as bad as people say they are. They have great shoes and clothes.
#4 by Disco Studd on June 9, 2009 - 4:29 am
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Wow, can’t believe I missed this one! I’ve lived in various places all within 5 miles of this store for the past 21 years, and can’t honestly say I’ve set foot inside since 1995 (when I got my first apartment.) Amazing to see that it looks exactly the same as I remember it! About the only real memory I have of this place is one time I took a friend of mine there to buy a pair of winter boots right after the Thanksgiving Blizzard of 1991. I was trying to do a Rockford in the unplowed K-Mart parking lot in my 1980 Buick Skylark and I ended up snapping a CV joint in one of my car’s front axles!!! The K-Mart auto center was still in business, so I had them fix the car for me ($60 was almost half of what I made per week when I was a senior in HS, so that little bit of clowning around hit me in the pocketbook!)
The one thing I miss the most about this K-Mart has nothing to do with K-Mart itself, but with the restaurant that used to reside in its parking lot: Boston Market. They turned this one into Leann Chin (and also closed the one in Coon Rapids) so I believe the closest one to my house is the one in Roseville. Mmm, rotisserie turkey…
I remember the Chuck-E-Cheese here started out as such, but in the early 90′s it became Circus Pizza. When that chain went belly up, it reverted back to CEC. I took one of my nephews there a couple of years ago, and CEC is nothing like the ones I remember going to in the 80′s. The place is so bright and “airy” compared to the dark and dinginess of CEC circa 1984. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they serve beer there! Good thing too, as it’s a great way to drown out the taste of their absolutely horrible pizza.
#5 by Disco Studd on June 9, 2009 - 4:37 am
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Ooh, just wanted to add that Little Sleazer’s is making a comeback!!! They just opened a store in the former Starbucks on Hwy 65 and Main St. in Blaine. They’re large pizzas for only $5 (at that price, your only choices for toppings are pepperoni or plain cheese.) Just ask for a “Hot-N-Ready” pizza and you’re in and out in less than 3 minutes! I will say it’s pretty damn good pizza for only $5. Had to mention it after seeing the picture of the old Sleazer’s inside the Blaine K-Fart.
#6 by OLD GUY on October 20, 2009 - 11:33 am
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OMG! WIDGETS was amazing in the 80′s.
They just converted the chuck-e-cheese dance floor into a lame disco tech. But if you were 15-17 with no place else to go, it was amazing!
They need more places like that today in the burbs!
#7 by Casey on November 24, 2009 - 10:34 pm
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The pizza shop is actually called “The K Cafe” I’ve worked in that store for the past 2 years, and I smiled seeing it on here.
As for the blue light special, I’ve actually only had to do an announcement once, and that only lasted a few weeks.
The store has its days, but for the most part it is dead
#8 by chris on April 23, 2010 - 3:59 pm
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I used to love coming to this K-mart only for the possibility of a Little Caesar’s pizza- amazing stuff. With Circus Pizza next door, Boston Market and Toys-R-Us across the parking lot it was a little slice of heaven to a 5-year old. Everytime I go past this place now I can’t believe K-mart is still standing, much less still in business.
As noted above, I remember the old K-mart by CRHS off of Hanson and 10, now Lifetime Fitness. The only thing I remember about when it was K-mart was the second floor, even though it was only office space up there it was still interesting.