In this episode, Stevenson and I trace the rise and fall of the stores that once defined American life. What starts as a conversation about how we got into podcasting turns into a nostalgic (and occasionally half-assed) business breakdown of defunct retailers like Blockbuster, Big Lots, and Toys R Us. We revisit golden ages, personal memories, and the moments when everything started to go wrong.

From mall culture and bookstore vibes at Borders to corporate missteps involving Kmart, the dot-com bubble, and uneasy partnerships with Amazon, we break down how shifting consumer habits and leadership decisions reshaped retail forever. Along the way, we touch on physical media, a brief Star Wars tangent, why buffets fell out of favor post-COVID, and how companies like Party City flirted with both success and collapse.

It’s a mix of nostalgia, cultural history, questionable analysis, and genuine curiosity about what happens when the places we grew up with quietly flip the sign to closed.

Note: Some of the research I did was in part due to the videos I watched of Bright Sun Films. If you liked this episode's topic, you should definitely check out more of his work.

Please also check out Stevenson's podcast That's Effin Weird on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro, What Got Us Into Podcasting 

4:16 - Defunct Stores, Blockbuster Discussion 

9:13 - Big Lots, Personal Connection 

11:03 - Why Big Lots Went Out of Business 

15:41 - Filing of Bankruptcy, Potential Revival

16:56 - Toys R Us Origins and Golden Age

18:13 - Toys R Us Memories

21:06 - Competition from Big Box and Online Retailers 

21:24 - Half-Assed Business Analysis

22:45 - Toys R Us files for Bankruptcy, Shutdown

24:01 - John Stamos, Disneyland Sign

24:37 - E-Commerce, Ever-Changing World

26:41 - Mall Culture 

27:22 - Why Malls Are Closing

30:17 - Repurposing Malls

31:30 - Borders, Origins 

32:39 - Bookstore Culture 

33:17 - Kmart Acquisition and Separation, Global Expansion 

34:06 - Missteps

34:31 - Dot Com Bubble, Stock Market Crash

35:17 - Amazon Partnership and Later Years

41:01 - Physical Media, Star Wars Tangent 

44:09 - Why Buffets are Falling in Popularity 

46:47 - Covid and Buffets 

50:34 - Best Products Company, Origins

51:30 - SITE, Best Architecture 

53:05 - Management Style, Peak

53:44 - Fall, Bankruptcy, and Best Stores Closure

55:58 - Party City, Why They Were Successful, Brush With Failure 

57:11 - Leveraged Buyout

57:39 - How Party City Fell Apart

1:00:44 - Staples Story

1:01:42 - Outro