5 Stores We Thought Were Gone, But Aren’t

We've seen stores come and go over the decades around the Capital Region. Jamesway, Lechmere, Ames, Hollywood Video, Bon Ton, the list could go on forever.

Many stores that we thought to be defunct are actually still operating - albeit in a smaller capacity and probably in a location far away. But still, they exist.

1. Kmart

At its peak, there were somewhere between two and three thousand Kmart stores across the US. There were a number of locations in the Capital Region including Colonie, Rotterdam, Clifton Park, Latham, just to name a few. According to wikipedia, there are now less than ten Kmart stores that remain nationwide. The closest location appears to be in Westwood, NJ .

2. Blockbuster Video

Only one remains. If you want to make it a Blockbuster night, you'll have to travel across the country to the sole remaining Blockbuster Video store on Earth. Bend, Oregon is where you can still rent DVDs the old fashioned way. If you haven't already, check out The Last Blockbuster documentary on Netflix.

3. Toys R Us

There were probably more, but there was definitely one in Clifton Park and one on Wolf Rd. They shut down after the company filed bankruptcy in 2017. But, it was recently announced that Macy's would resurrect the iconic toy store inside their own store. Toys R Us can now be found in over 400 Macy's locations.

4. Sears

They were everywhere. Colonie Center, Rotterdam Square, Aviation Mall. And sears had everything - from clothing to appliances. Sadly, approximately two dozen full size Sears stores remain. The closest is in Newburgh at the Newburgh Mall. The former Sears Outlet store at Crossgates Commons now operates under the name American Freight.

5. Grand Union

Once gone and almost forgotten, but not anymore. Grand Union supermarkets were a staple around the Capital Region into the 90's and early 00's. They were taken over by Tops Markets shortly after. Now, what were twelve Tops locations are back to being Grand Union. Warrensburg is the nearest location.