Great Nostalgic Places We Miss the Most in the Hudson Valley
Having lived in the Hudson Valley my entire life, I'm old enough to remember numerous businesses, stores and markets that have come and gone over the years. So with that in mind, figured why not talk about some of the stores that are the most missed here in the Hudson Valley.
The first store that comes to mind when thinking of places no longer in business is the one and only 'Blockbuster'. As a kid 'Blockbuster' was THE place I always loved going to. It was the premier place in the late 1990s and early 2000s to rent all of the latest movies after they had left theaters.
For me though 'Blockbuster was my favorite place to rent video games. Not to mention the amount of time my parents waited on me while I played games they had set up in the store like 'Super Smash Bros' or 'Pokemon Stadium'.
The next store on this list is A&P supermarket. A&P has a special connection to my family because my dad was a manager for multiple A&P supermarkets over the span of 20 years. My dad working for A&P also meant frequent trips to New Jersey, so every weekend as a kid my mom and I would pick a day on the weekend and go visit my grandparents but on the way to see them, we'd also stop in to see my dad at work. At the time A&P also competed heavily with Supermarkets like Shoprite and Stop & Shop all in an effort to offer customers the best deals in town as well as the best overall shopping experience.
Next up, we have a 'Radio Shack'. Radio Shack, I remember well because in my hometown, it was the unquestioned 'go-to' for any electronic needs. I'll be dating myself just a little bit here but, Radio Shack was the place where I got my first-ever CD Player. Not an iPod, a CD player. Wow, I feel old...
The entry on this list is a double whammy because they were located in the same place. Those places were KB Toys and Friendly's, formerly located in the Newburgh Mall.
Undoubtedly, Toys "R" Us was the pound-for-pound king of all toy stores for decades. However, KB Toys was the toy store that became synonymous with shopping malls across the country. Plenty of kids would find their new "favorite toy" from KB Toys, I was no exception.
Also, "Wonderball" as a 90's kid growing up, there was no better candy than "Wonderball". It was literally a chocolate ball and if you cracked it open, it held sour/sweet candies inside and KB Toys was the only place I remember getting them.
The last part of this double whammy is the one and only "Friendly's".
A trip to the Newburgh Mall could never be complete without trip to Friendly's. Whether it was just a quick stop for an ice cream cone or actually going into the restaurant and grabbing a delicious bite to eat, Friendly's was a must have before going back home. By the way, I still miss those Friendly's Chicken Tenders and can not forget the specialty drinks for kids. Were the specialty drinks just some soda loaded with insane amounts of sugar? Yes, yes they were but that never stopped us from drinking them or parents from buying them.