Surprise business closings in Massachusetts

[mdovell]

"How about Wear Guard. They were a big company on the South Shore that specialized in work clothes. "

They are still around. I worked for them back in 2001/2002. It is owned by Aramark that also owns Galls (they sell police training equipment) and Crest (hospital gowns etc). Wearguard has a business that switched mostly from selling work clothing to rentals.

The funny thing is they actually sold their irregulars though Building 19 for awhile. Well they closed (see below) and it added up. They kinda brought back the store out of their distribution center in Rockland on a weekly basis but I guess things slowed and now it's opening in october for a few days. Now I'm not sure if that means it's the *last* time they are doing this or what. I picked up a suit for about $6. Of course it took me about two hours to find the right size but hey for $6 on a day off it was a good deal.
https://shop.aramarkuniform.com/stat...dfactoryoutlet

Building 19 is kinda funny. They tried to make a rug store for awhile afterwards but it closed in less than a year. If you are looking for pretty much the same thing go further to the midatlantic.

Olly's is much like building 19. The ads look the same because well it's the same illustrator. Infact they even say "Good stuff cheap". I thought there was a copying but this was all OK between both chains. Ollies also went public is is now worth nearly 1.5 billion.
Get Good Stuff Cheap! | Ollie's Bargain Outlet

I still miss Quiznos. To be honest I later read what happened and their franchise agreement had they'd buy meats above market price, have no say in coupons which gave a ton of food away, no say in training, no say in advertising etc. There's still some around but it is nowhere near the numbers they had. The quality they have I think is well beyond Subway and if offered today would gladly pay for it again.

"Majority of items on Amazon are more expensive than on eBay or elsewhere on the Net, besides you have to pay taxes, unlike let's say iHerb."

That largely depends on what exactly you want. I used to sell books on both. If I wanted to sell for easy money Amazon is a faster sell by far. If wanted more and could take my time then it is ebay. Ebay still wins on rare items that there but that's also because there can still be the old auction concepts. Amazon is still large volume current mass market products. The sales taxes I don't think kill the sale and the shipping is largely not a big deal given prime. Does amazon dominate everything of online commerce? Not really. Gofundme and kickstarter should be considered and I doubt amazon would want to get into the insurance market. The sharing economy part also is lacking from them but it isn't a bad thing.

[in_newengland]

I'd almost forgotten about Building 19. It used to be sort of a fun to go there on a boring Sunday afternoon. Their signs were hilarious. A place that's sort of like it only smaller is Mr G's in New Hampshire.

ebay--as long as you check your seller's feedback score and read some of the feedback comments people have left and it checks out, you're fine. It was kind of risky for a while but not now. Most of the sellers now take returns anyway.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

Let's see. There was a place called Baja Fresh. One was in Stoneham and another was in Beverly? rte 1, I think.

It was Mexican take out. I usually don't do chain places but this place really did use all fresh vegetables and had decent prices as well. GONE. Yet there were others from this chain still in existence last time I checked.

It's still in California. There was one right down the street from my old office, but it closed too. HQ is in southern CA

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

It's still in California. There was one right down the street from my old office, but it closed too. HQ is in southern CA

Sheesh, they had good food and it was a great way to get fresh lettuce, tomato, and guacamole into you. So much fast food is junk but they had actual, real food.

I wish places like Taco Bell would close instead.

Now back in Northampton, the best little French restaurant ever, Beardsleys. That closed long ago but what a loss that was. Not to mention the St. Regis, which was gorgeous and upstairs they had coffee tables and comfy seating with food brought and set upon your coffee table while you listened to live music.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

It's still in California. There was one right down the street from my old office, but it closed too. HQ is in southern CA

theres one on the Delaware turnpike

[BostonBornMassMade]

Fire and Ice in Cambridge just recently

[Cape Cod Todd]

What is up with Friendly's ? The other night we were out in a group and looking to get something fast before a show. The guy driving pulled into Friendly's and I said "we are going to miss the show" that was 2 hours from then. The 6 of us went in and stood at the hostess desk that already had another couple waiting. We stood there for about 5 minutes with no greeting so we left and went to 5 Guys Burger.

A few of them have closed in my area and I wouldn't be surprised to the remaining ones shuttered. Nothing will kill a business quicker than poor service.