Dollar Tree Is Not the Same Anymore

[Chevdove]

 

Dollar Tree Is Not the Same Anymore

 

I wonder if anyone has noticed the change that has happened in Dollar Tree. Should the owners change the name now because many products in the stores do NOT cost a dollar anymore. At first, the prices went up from a dollar to being a dollar and twenty-five cents ($1.25) but now it seems that the store has done a complete change.

 

Now, there are many products that cost much higher than a dollar. 

Why continue to call the store; Dollar Tree? 

 

Since this chain has been connected to Dollar General, then perhaps they will take ownership of Dollar Tree. 

 

 

[aka Contrarian]

Yes, the Dollar Tree in the mall that I frequent is  now a dollar twenty-five tree. And a house wares section has been added where nothing is under $3.99. 

And since mostly everything sold there is made in China, prices are only going to soar higher, thanks to tariffs and the trade war Trump has instigated with China.  > sigh< Another nail in the economy's coffin.

[Pioneer1]

Chev

 

Ahhh gurl this is OLD news...lol.
You just noticed this????

 

Prices have been up at the Dollar Tree for a few years now.

I still like it better than the Dollar General though.
The stores are typically cleaner and better laid out and the prices are still relatively cheaper.

 

I don't like those Dollar Generals.
First of all most things are rarely a dollar, and most of their items are just as expensive as Target or Walmart.
They also tend to be dirty and poorly organized.
More "ghetto" in their lay out and locations.

I hope the owners of Dollar General don't take over the Dollar Tree chain, that would be jacked up.


 

 

Cynique

Yes, the Dollar Tree in the mall that I frequent is  now a dollar twenty-five tree.

Who takes you?
 -Is it that same man you used to catch rides with and bought you groceries????

 

[Chevdove]

7 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

And since mostly everything sold there is made in China, prices are only going to soar higher, thanks to tariffs and the trade war Trump has instigated with China.  > sigh< Another nail in the economy's coffin.

 

Oh really!? It does seem like our economy is getting worse for the poor and it's happening fast.

 

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

Ahhh gurl this is OLD news...lol.
You just noticed this????

 

This change seems to be happening fast. It doesn't seem like old news to me, though. It's only been maybe 'not even two years' since the first change occurred and it became $1.25. 

 

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

Prices have been up at the Dollar Tree for a few years now.

I still like it better than the Dollar General though.

 

I think it's only been for about two years that this change has occurred.

 

Dollar General already owns Dollar Tree, I think and they always had one aisle with some products sold at Dollar Tree. But now,

Dollar Tree has added a lot of products that are much higher than $1.25.

 

So then, house ware products are now $3.99!

 

And the freezer now sale food around $5.00!

 

IDK, I wonder that soon, the Dollar Tree stores will start looking 'dirty' as you said and just like Dollar General.

 

I agree, as you said,  that some of the products being sold are better though, but I think that this is still a sign of a bigger change to come that will not benefit the poor. 

 

[Pioneer1]

Chev

 

 

This change seems to be happening fast. It doesn't seem like old news to me, though. It's only been maybe 'not even two years' since the first change occurred and it became $1.25. 

 

I noticed this some years ago but I'm not sure if it was 2.
It seems to me it was more than that....more like 5 or 6...lol.

I moved from one city to the next just before the Pandemic and I often use the move as a "time marker" for things.
I remember a Dollar Tree I used to go to marked up their prices to $1.25 and this was back in 2019.

Maybe it was just a regional thing though.

 

But I  like the very ATMOSPHERE of the typical Dollar Tree.

First of all that green and white sign makes it look "fresh"...lol.

And when you go inside the stores are usually big but the shelves are eye level or lower which makes it look wide open and pleasant to shop in.
Unlike those Dollar Generals where shit is typically packed up almost to dirty ass ceiling...lol.

Most Dollar generals are packed to the point you can't see from one aisle to the next.
 

I used to go OUT OF MY WAY to find the nearest Dollar Tree.
I'd pass by 5 different Orange-n-Red signs to find one White-n-Green one...lol.

[ProfD]

The Dollar Tree price hike to $1.25 or more has been in effect for several years now.  They used the pandemic to raise prices.

 

Family Dollar and Dollar General have always been charging more than $1 for items except when it's on sale or clearance. 

 

[Troy]

Call me a snob, but I've never been in a Dollar General and only in a Dollar Tree once. It is simply not a brand that I've knew living in NYC most of my adult life.  The Dollar Tree I visited in Tulsa I decided never to visit again.

 

A woman I dated once swore by them, but the appeal was lost on me and it never made it into the rotation of stores I would buy things from, so I have no idea what y'all are talking about 

[ProfD]

10 minutes ago, Troy said:

Call me a snob, but I've never been in a Dollar General and only in a Dollar Tree once. It is simply not a brand that I've knew living in NYC most of my adult life. 

It's all good.  Dollar stores are closer than Wal-Mart in some areas. Easy to run in and grab snacks and other products that aren't worth driving further away.

[Pioneer1]

ProfD

 

Family Dollar and Dollar General have always been charging more than $1 for items except when it's on sale or clearance.

 

Yeah, Family Dollar.
That was the other one I was trying to think of...lol.

 

Both of those stores were dirty and rip offs as far as I'm concerned.
Their actual products were about as cheap as any Dollar Tree but their prices were as high as any regular store.

 

 

 

 

 

Troy

Call me a snob, but I've never been in a Dollar General and only in a Dollar Tree once.

 

I wouldn't call you a "snob" for that.
(But I WOULD call you a "snob" for going to those Jack-n-Jill parties and other Black Elitist events that a lot of professional class AfroAmericans like to attend.
Now THAT will take a nigga from 'Hawwwlum and making him sho'nuff  boogie.....lol.)
 

 

The Dollar Tree I visited in Tulsa I decided never to visit again.
 

Now wait.....
I'm a little curious.
Lol...what was it about that Dollar Tree that turned you off so much that you just refused to go back into one????

 

[Troy]

43 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Lol...what was it about that Dollar Tree that turned you off so much that you just refused to go back into one????

 

I pulled up and my woman, at the time, when into the store to buy a couple bottles of wine.  She did not have her ID (she was in her 40s) and they would not sell it to her.  She left the wine on the counter.  I went in to buy the wine and the piece of poor white trash (pardon the slur but that she was) would not sell me the wine.  I was furious in a way that scared me upon later reflection because I could have punched her in her face.  I was reacting to what I perceived as pure unmitigated racism.

 

As a result, I decided that I would never give Dollar Tree a penny at any store, at anytime, in any timeline. F-em! 

[Pioneer1]

21 minutes ago, Troy said:

 

I pulled up and my woman, at the time, when into the store to buy a couple bottles of wine.  She did not have her ID (she was in her 40s) and they would not sell it to her.  She left the wine on the counter.  I went in to buy the wine and the piece of poor white trash (pardon the slur but that she was) would not sell me the wine.  I was furious in a way that scared me upon later reflection because I could have punched her in her face.  I was reacting to what I perceived as pure unmitigated racism.

 

As a result, I decided that I would never give Dollar Tree a penny at any store, at anytime, in any timeline. F-em! 

I'm not trying to be flippant on the situation but........
Why would yall choose the DOLLAR TREE to buy wine???

Now THAT'S gotten my attention more than the racist store clerk...lol.

I honestly didn't know the Dollar Tree even SOLD liquor.


BTW.....
Now a days, it's the policy of some stores that if you look under 50 they sometimes card you.
I know it doesn't make a lot of since, especially if you have a face or head full of gray.....but....
 

[ProfD]

9 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Why would yall choose the DOLLAR TREE to buy wine???

They were thirsty and looking for cheap soft drinks.

[Pioneer1]

12 minutes ago, ProfD said:

They were thirsty and looking for cheap soft drinks.

 

Man, ain't NOTHING soft about Cisco.
Boone...maybe, lol.

 

 

Troy

 

I....I......I'm just trying to understand this. 

Now...I need help on this one.


 

What kind of woman......had a well educated well established man like yourself running in out of dollar stores....trying to hurry up and buy cheap ass wine???????

What did she PUT on you when you went down there in Oklahoma????

[ProfD]

8 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Man, ain't NOTHING soft about Cisco.
Boone...maybe, lol.

Maybe Oklahoma is different is but I doubt the Dollar Store there is selling Cisco and Boone.  Probably a local spiked kool-aid calling it wine.

 

[Troy]

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

I'm not trying to be flippant on the situation but........
Why would yall choose the DOLLAR TREE to buy wine???

 

Wine is not considered liquor, so you buy it pretty much anywhere in places like OK and FL.  We lived in downtown Tulsa which is essentially a food dessert -- plenty of decent restaurants but not a single supermarket. As you said nothing is a dollar in the Dollar Tree   This is where the store was located, it appears to have been replaced by a more upscale grocery store brand. Good riddance. I hope that clerk is living in a homeless encampment 

 

Born and raised in an urban ghetto, I ain't above drinking cheap wine, but it was something along the line of Yellow Tail.  

 

 

 

[aka Contrarian]

Apparently things are different from place to place. The store I go to was called "Deals" before Dollar Tree bought and up graded it

I'm  with Chevdove in regard to price increase. The store I patronize didn't up its price to $1.25 until a little over a year ago. And I was surprised to hear about Troy's experience because alcoholic beverages aren't sold at my location.

Sounds like Dollar Tree just bought up a lot of independent dollar stores, and although the name changed and prices increased , when it came to goods and services it was business as usual. 

 

 

@Pioneer1your lame attempts at humor always fall flat because true wit is a play on reality. You and your generic ass, over-the-hill self continue to project your ghetto lifestyle on me because of your ongoing need  to bring me down to your level. Stick to spying on white dudes and deriving vicarious thrills from seeing other guys do what you are too  much of a loser to succeed at.

  

[Chevdove]

On 4/13/2025 at 10:15 AM, Pioneer1 said:

I noticed this some years ago but I'm not sure if it was 2.
It seems to me it was more than that....more like 5 or 6...lol.

 

The internet search reports that the change occurred in December 2021 and the stores began the price change in 2022.

 

 

On 4/13/2025 at 10:15 AM, Pioneer1 said:

But I  like the very ATMOSPHERE of the typical Dollar Tree.

 

Me too.

 

 

20 hours ago, Troy said:

We lived in downtown Tulsa which is essentially a food dessert -- plenty of decent restaurants but not a single supermarket. As you said nothing is a dollar in the Dollar Tree   This is where the store was located,

 

Oh WOW, that does look like a food desert.

It looks upscale, nice and clean. 

The 'DG' seems to be for 'Dollar General' and they own Dollar Tree.

 

[ProfD]

20 hours ago, Troy said:

Good riddance. I hope that clerk is living in a homeless encampment 

Bro, that relocatable, er, trailer chick really rubbed you the wrong way.

 

If one has a sense of humor, the funniest thing about racist folks is the poorest among them still think they are better than us.

[Troy]

@Chevdove that stores appears to have been rebranded since I left. 

[Chevdove]

20 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

Sounds like Dollar Tree just bought up a lot of independent dollar stores, and although the name changed and prices increased , when it came to goods and services it was business as usual. 

 

 

I checked the internet was completely surprised to learn that Dollar Tree began in Sumter, South Carolina, my maternal roots.

 

For years, I thought that the first store was founded in Chesapeake, Virginia right down the road where I lived and grew up. 

It was called 'Everything's A Dollar' and the headquarters was off of Military Hwy. But there were stores all over Virginia and 

North Carolina too. I thought that Dollar Tree had merged with that store chain. 

[Troy]

@Chevdove that stores appears to have been rebranded since I left. 

 

 

2 minutes ago, ProfD said:

funniest thing about racist folks is the poorest among them still think they are better than us.

 

It is not really funny because they are often the most virulent of racists.

 

2 minutes ago, Chevdove said:

I checked the internet was completely surprised to learn that Dollar Tree began in Sumter, South Carolina, my maternal roots.

 

I'm not suprised...

 

 

[Pioneer1]

Troy

 

 

I hope that clerk is living in a homeless encampment 

 

DAMN

What in the world....lol.
Man you STILL mad at that woman!

 

She must have really fucked your night up with homegirl!

When a sista gets mad enough to leave the wine (or anything else) on the counter and run back out to the car, SHE MAAAAAD....lol.



Born and raised in an urban ghetto, I ain't above drinking cheap wine, but it was something along the line of Yellow Tail.  
 

Yellowtails aren't bad.

When it comes to cheap wine, I'm more of a Reisling man myself.

Although this Ethiopian woman at work turned me on to some relatively cheap African wine called "Mead" which I'm really digging.

 

ProfD

Man, Troy ain't playing....lol.
Old racist heifer REALLY rubbed him the wrong way cuz I ain't NEVER heard him talk about anybody like that before!
 

Must have been a baaaaaad ass sista he sent into the store to "get the stuff" while he kept the car warm, lol.
....only for some old racist snaggle toofed biaaa' biaaa' to throw a money wrench in his plans, lol.

 

 

Maybe Oklahoma is different is but I doubt the Dollar Store there is selling Cisco and Boone.  Probably a local spiked kool-aid calling it wine

 

I don't give a damn what they call it, ain't drinking NO liquor that costs only a dollar.
Unless it's one of those little miniature bottles...lol.
 

Selling bottles of $1 liquor sounds like something off of a Netflix movie "They Cloned Tyrone"




 

Cyinque


your lame attempts at humor always fall flat because true wit is a play on reality. You and your generic ass, over-the-hill self continue to project your ghetto lifestyle on me because of your ongoing need  to bring me down to your level. Stick to spying on white dudes and deriving vicarious thrills from seeing other guys do what you are too  much of a loser to succeed at.

Lol....well if you think I'm such a loser then why are you constantly PM'ing me talking about this or that?

Why would a person seek conversation with a "natural born loser"???

You ain't fooling NOBODY but yourself....lol.
 

Chev
 

The internet search reports that the change occurred in December 2021 and the stores began the price change in 2022.

Sounds about right.
But it seems like it was even a couple years earlier than that, though. 

 

[aka Contrarian]

On Tuesday pioneer said:

..."If you think I'm such a loser then why are you constantly PM'ing me talking about this or that?

Why would a person seek conversation with a "natural born loser"???

You ain't fooling nobody but yourself."

 

@pioneer.  smh, you REALLY have convinced yourself that I feel something other than revulsion  for you.  I won't bother wasting a lot of words to discount your deluded conceit.  Suffice to say that I don't like you and I find you annoying, and your inability to accept this is an example of how your twisted mind works. Unable to deal with rejection,  you resort to making up lies to save face. This exchange between us would not be occurring if you hadn't injected your insulting remarks into a conversation between Chevdov and me, where you tried to portray me as a hustler hitching rides.

Your further saying  that I am constantly "PMing you talking about this or that" is a goddamned desperate lie, and you know it. I contacted you ONCE to request that you delete a statement I made that you quoted about a distant relative of mine, because I realized  it could cause hard feelings if what I said about her interracial marriage should by chance get back to her. (I knew asking this favor of you would come back to haunt me!) And your misinterpreting  this is an example of your approach to everything. That's why you're a loser because you exist in a made-up world where you write the script. This is evidenced by how you believe, as I have previously stated, that of all the guys on this board, ) would prefer a second-rate,cringe worthy  jerk like you to latch on to.

But - I know you'll remain in denial, unable to deal with the idea that what you imagine as being desire is actually disgust.  

(I'm also sure you'll conjure up a scenario in your numb skull that the reason I bad mouthed Gayle King was because I was jealous that you like her. That's how you roll; the distorted lens you view the world through.

Be assured, however, that in my morning channel surfing, I've been scowling at the wigs Gayle sports on her CBS show for years.) But dream on, you pathetic Loser.

[Pioneer1]

7 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

On Tuesday pioneer said:

..."If you think I'm such a loser then why are you constantly PM'ing me talking about this or that?

Why would a person seek conversation with a "natural born loser"???

You ain't fooling nobody but yourself."

 

@pioneer.  smh, you REALLY have convinced yourself that I feel something other than revulsion  for you.  I won't bother wasting a lot of words to discount your deluded conceit.  Suffice to say that I I don't like you and find you annoying, and your inability to accept this is an example of how your twisted mind works. Unable to deal with rejection,  you resort to making up lies to save face. This exchange between us would not be occurring if you hadn't injected your insulting remarks into a conversation between Chevdov and me, where you tried to portray me as a hustler hitching rides.

Your further saying  that I am constantly "PMing you talking about this or that" is a goddamned desperate lie, and you know it. I contacted you ONCE to request that you delete a statement I made that you quoted about a distant relative of mine, because I realized  it could cause hard feelings if what I said about her interracial marriage should by chance get back to her. (I knew asking this favor of you would come back to haunt me!) And your misinterpreting  this is an example of your approach to everything. That's why you're a loser because you exist in a made-up world where you write the script. This is evidenced by how you believe, as I have previously stated, that of all the guys on this board, ) would prefer a second-rate,cringe worthy  jerk like you to latch on to.

But - I know you'll remain in denial, unable to deal with the idea that what you imagine as being desire is actually disgust.  

(I'm also sure you'll conjure up a scenario in your numb skull that the reason I bad mouthed Gayle King was because I was jealous that you like her. That's how you roll; the distorted lens you view the world through.

Be assured, however, that in my morning channel surfing, I've been scowling at the wigs Gayle sports on her CBS show for years.) But dream on, you pathetic Loser.

"Rejection"????
In order for you to "reject" me that means I had to APPROACH your little tight-eyed ass if the first place.
If you don't QUIT with the nonsense....lol

But you shoooooo' took your time to type out that long ass response for somebody you think is a "loser" whom you find "disgusting"....lol.

Like I said, you ain't fooling NOBODY on here but yourself.

Well, atleast you admitted that you PM'd me.
But "once"???
You contacted me "just once"... Cynique????
Seriously???

((Pioneer1 smiles and looks away from the screen))

Ok....

I could say more but I don't want to hurt your little feelings (really your "ego") and have you threatening to leave the site like you did a few years ago.

I guess the other posters wou WE -wouldn't want that and enjoy your presence around here too much.

Mr. Disgusting bids you a nice evening. 
 

[aka Contrarian]

@Pioneer1 I repeat. You are a goddamned liar. And the figments of your warped imagination that spawn your wishful thinking  exagerrated  recollections just further contribute to my utter revulsion for you, and compound why you would be at the bottom of the totem pole were I to bestir my interest long enough to single out the real men on this site who have a lot  going for themselves. 

Now that we settled your status as a wanna-be-but-never-was, Just refrain from injecting  your uncalled for attention-seeking remarks into my  conversations with other people and no  future exchanges will be necessary. 

 

[Pioneer1]

Cynique said:
 

 

" you  would be at the bottom of the totem pole were I to bestir my interest long enough to single out the real men on this site who have a lot  going for themselves"


Since you think I'm a liar...
What did I lie about?
 

Seriously.

I can't speak for the other "real men" on this site but as for me....I'M COOL....lol
Pleeeeeze, I don't need you to "bestir your interests" in me.
"Bestir" them up for somebody else who may reciprocate them.
As far as I'm concerned, your funky ass juices can dry up....lol.

 

I just want you to show me the lies you CLAIM I'm telling on here.

 

[aka Contrarian]

 

 

"why are you constantly PM'ing me talking about this or that?"

@Pioneer1That above statement posted by you is based on a goddamned lie  inasmuch as I have not been  "constantly PMing you to talk about this and that". A few months ago I contacted you for the first time in about 15 years in order to ask you to delete something, yet you continue to perpetuate this lie.

I have no reason to seek you out to talk  because I'm not interested in anything you have to say.    So bug off, Loser.

[Pioneer1]

On 4/18/2025 at 7:39 AM, aka Contrarian said:

 

 

"why are you constantly PM'ing me talking about this or that?"

@Pioneer1That above statement posted by you is based on a goddamned lie  inasmuch as I have not been  "constantly PMing you to talk about this and that". A few months ago I contacted you for the first time in about 15 years in order to ask you to delete something, yet you continue to perpetuate this lie.

I have no reason to seek you out to talk  because I'm not interested in anything you have to say.    So bug off, Loser.

 -Ohhhhhhh.....for the FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS?????

First you claimed that you contacted....the "disgusting loser with nothing going on"........ONLY ONCE, lol.

NOW you're sitting up there with a wet mouth and hair all frizzy suggesting that you DID contact me before.....oh...oh...but it was over 15 years ago!!!!
Yeah....not recently, but many many years ago...lol.

So which is it Cynique?
Did you PM me ONLY ONCE?
...or do you do it EVERY 15 YEARS or so like Hailey's Comet????


Also, where are you getting this "15 years" shit from?
I haven't been ON here for 15 years....lol.
According to my profile I registered sometime in 2012 but I don't think I even dropped any posts until 2013.
I may be wrong, but I don't believe I did.
Anyway.......

I can point out YOUR lies all day long, but you haven't nailed down ONE of mine yet....lol.

Woman you need to quit....lol.
Seriously.
Just let it go Cynique

Like I said, you ain't fooling NOBODY but yourself with all that cussing and name calling....lol.

But for real, I was having a little fun with you but....I don't really want to hurt you like that so.
Let us not disrupt Chevdove's thread anymore.

If you don't post anything else about it, neither will I........ 

[aka Contrarian]

@Pioneer1

Nah, nigga. You aint gettin'off the hook, continuing to benignly cast yourself as the object of my "unrequited  affection" because you can't accept the idea that I do not and never have had a thing for you.  You dealin' with Super Bitch here, and I find your misguided condescending attitude ludicrous.

 Troy changed the format of this site in 2010,15 years ago.  So, that was an arbitrary time marker. That was when the new era began and new people started to come on board. In your desperate attempt to save face, you can quibble about how many years it's been  since I Iast had a private conversation with you  before a few months ago. But YEARS  is the operative word.  The point remains that you saying I am "constantly PMing you, talking about this and that" is not true, and that's why you're a goddamned liar. Thats why you couldn't get specfic and give examples of this claim, and resorted to accusing me of lying.

What I have finally realized about you explains a lot. You are a text book example of a narcissist, just like the devious  ego centric Donald Trump who can never admit he's wrong.

 

I'm done. Gotta go get a  Sympathy card from Dollar Tree. The price of their cards hasn't gone up. 

[Pioneer1]

 

 Anyway..............

 

 

 

Chevdove

This is a beautiful thread!

Great observation concerning Dollar Tree!

As I said earlier, I love the "atmosphere" Dollar Trees compared to Family Dollars and Dollar Generals.
Much cleaner and more organized.

As long as the prices stay UNDER $2.00....they're still worth my patronization.

 

[Troy]

Maybe I will check out the dollar tree store here in Tampa.  They are everywhere. 

 

I have driven all over the country and what I find surprising is that you can find a Dollar Tree in rural areas on country roads seemingly popping up out of nowhere.  Dollar Trees are to the boondocks as bodegas are to ghettos.

[ProfD]

14 minutes ago, Troy said:

I have driven all over the country and what I find surprising is that you can find a Dollar Tree in rural areas on country roads seemingly popping up out of nowhere.  Dollar Trees are to the boondocks as bodegas are to ghettos.

Absolutely.

 

Dollar Trees like bodegas serve the community. Especially when it comes to people of modest means whether it's money or transportation or any other deficiency.

 

Psychologically, there's something about getting items for a dollar or less that makes people feel like they're winning. Similar to lottery tickets.

[aka Contrarian]

The Dollar Tree concept is not a new one. Waaaay back in the day there were Dime stores aka 5&10 cents stores. And they occupy a special place in the annals of Americana. Millionaire Industrialist F. W. Woolworth made his fortune on these stores. They were especially popular during the Depression, as you can imagine, when a dollar went a long way.. 

[ProfD]

2 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

The Dollar Tree concept is not a new one. Waaaay back in the day there were Dime stores aka 5&10 cents stores. They were especially popular during the Depression, as you can imagine, when a dollar went a long way.. 

A half-century later, those stores were a fun spot for a kid with a couple dollars in his/her pocket.

[Troy]

I’m old enough to remember the 5 and dime stores.  As a child my recollection was that the stores were a bit more classy than the dollar tree brand

[Pioneer1]

I'm not sure if they were everywhere in the nation but in the Detroit area we had a cheap store called Kresge's.
It turned eventually turned into K-mart which IS nationwide.

 

But I remember the Kresge's as a kid where you could go inside and not only shop but dine.

Every store had a little hamburger stand where you could order burgers, fries, hot dogs, salads and other lunch foods.

Maybe it's because I was just a kid but I LOVED their cheap ass burgers...lol.
And this particular store used to put RELISH on their hamburgers instead of pickles...and I LOVED that shit, lol.
 

[ProfD]

1 hour ago, Pioneer1 said:

I'm not sure if they were everywhere in the nation but in the Detroit area we had a cheap store called Kresge's.
It turned eventually turned into K-mart which IS nationwide.

Kresge's was in DC too. The good ole days of *affordable* toys, candy and food.

[aka Contrarian]

The lunch counters in the FW Woolworth dime stores are right up there  with Rosa Parks and the bus boycotts when it comes to the history of the Civil Rights movement  during the 1950s. 

In the South, of course, blacks were not served at these eateries, and that's when the famous sit-in demonstrations  began. College students from all over the south organized and started showing up at these Dime stores, taking up spaces on the stools at the counters, requesting  to be served.

In the process of being refused, they were attacked, spat upon and dragged out by police but new teams would show up everyday. This went on for a whole summer as the movement gained national attention. It took a few more years before these Jim Crow laws were finally abolished. 

[Troy]

There used to be Woolworth stores in Harlem. The one in Spanish Harlem had a lunch counter too. They all closed by the late 60s, early 70s begin almost half a century of economic  blight followed by gentrification. 
 

3 hours ago, ProfD said:

Kresge's

Never heard of it. I looked it up and see that it was founded in 1899 in Detroit they all eventually became Kmarts.
 

There was one in Harlem on 125th St. it was operated under the name

S.H. Kress and that I do remember.

[Pioneer1]

3 hours ago, Troy said:

Never heard of it. I looked it up and see that it was founded in 1899 in Detroit they all eventually became Kmarts.

You didn't have to look it up....I told you that already.
But you didn't trust my "anecdotal" information that I arrived at by personal experiences and observation....and instead went with "official" sources....lol.

[Troy]

I wanted to know if there were any in Harlem. I don’t think you could’ve told me that my man.

 

Have you ever been to Harlem @Pioneer1?

[Pioneer1]

Troy

Yes sir, several times...lol.

Speaking of which.....

I wouldn't have been surprised at a Kresge or Woolworth's being in Harlem but I WOULD be surprised if they opened up a Walmart in Harlem.
Most stores like K-Mart and Wal-Mart and Costco like to open up stores by building their own buildings from scratch and Manhattan is far too dense and expensive for them to do that unless they turned it into a  "Walmart sky scraper"....lol.
 

[Troy]

Well, there is a Costco in East Harlem. In the Italian section right around the corner and down the block from Raos.

 

4 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Yes sir, several times...lol.

What did you like or dislike about Harlem?

[Pioneer1]

Troy

 

 

What did you like or dislike about Harlem?

 

I like the culture and convenience of Harlem.
Not only inside of Harlem itself but being in Manhattan proper you're only minutes away from "the world".
And like you said about Spanish Harlem and other parts of Uptown with their own cultures and flavors.
 

Also, like Los Angeles and even Atlanta to a lesser degree when you go to New York you often get to meet celebrities and famous people on the street from time to time...lol.

I met the rapper Mase (Mr. pie flippa nigga...crooked "I" sippa )* and Wesley Snipes on different occasions in Harlem!

I also like how you can walk down 125 and see Black folks from all over the globe selling shit and WILLING to engage in a conversation with you...lol.

The same Africans and Caribbeans who...in Chicago or L.A. wouldn't talk to you...when they're in Harlem:

 

 

"Hey my bruda!
How you doing my bruda!
I love to see my brudaz and sistren doing well in America!"

Ain't no tethers allowed in Harlem....unless they're driving a taxi and just picking up and dropping off people.
Better not step out of it bad mouthing Black Americans...lol.

I guess the bruthaz in Harlem MAKE Black immigrants ACT like they got some sense and get some "get right" when they operate among us....lol.

But I'm talking Harlem in specific.
I can't say the same for the rest of Uptown and New York in general where tethers talk shit about Black Americans all day long with impunity.


 

What I DON'T like about Harlem, is that...like most of New York City it's old and dirty and smells like sewage, lol.

 

Also, it seems in the past 20 years or so more and more of those  Latino ran "bodegas" have popped up all over the neighborhoods taking away most of the established Black American businesses.

When I first went to Harlem in the 90s...and it was changing then...but it seemed like you had more FBA Black owned businesses in the area and if you DID have a Latino business it was a BLACK Latino.
I haven't been to New York in over 10 years but when I was there it seemed like a lot of LIGHT SKINNED Latinos were moving in to that space.
More Mexicans, Columbians, and light skinned Puerto Ricans.

And it seems as if the Puerto Ricans in New York are getting "whiter" and "whiter" too, but that's a different subject...lol.

 

Next time I go back I want to check out that Schomburg library I hear so much about.

 

*Harlem slang for selling kilos of cocaine and drinking St.Ides liquor....lol

[Pioneer1]

I have relatives in both New York  (not in Harlem though) AND D.C.
Both of them have an abundance of rowhouses.

One thing about the rowhouses....I'm sorry..."Brownstones"....lol....in Harlem.
Atleast the front windows are high enough off the street that you usually don't see the heads of people walking past.

In D.C and Philly....many of the rowhouses sit so low on the ground that when you're sitting in the living room chilling with somebody all you see is heads bobbling back and forth across the front window and occasionally one of those head will turn around and LOOK AT YOU or peak into the room....lol.


 

[Troy]

I had a row house in Harlem and the people walking by was never a problem as you mentioned.

 

Most of the bodegas are owned by people of Middle Eastern descent.

 

when I was a kid, Black people did own grocery stores but those days are over.

 

my neighborhood grocery store was owned by a black man back in the day he sold pickles out of a barrel in the floor was wooden was saw dust on top of it. He tabulated what you owed by adding everything up on the paper bag with the pencil.
 

Eventually, a Puerto Rican own the place… I don’t know who owns it now doesn’t matter cause I have no reason to step foot into it today. 
 

Years ago, I remember Hector macho Camacho dancing in front of the store in front of a red sports car. He was from his Harlem people loved him.

 

Yeah, the Schomburg  is worth checking out, but don’t have high expectations is mainly a research library so unless you’re going there to see something specific… They have a book fair every year and have some good programming so I will wait for that if you’re planning a visit.

 

 

 

 

[Pioneer1]

Troy

 

 

I had a row house in Harlem and the people walking by was never a problem as you mentioned.
 

Right.
Not only does the first floor in most New York rowhouses sit up higher but most of them have basements where a portion of the room itself is ABOVE the ground level...lol.
You can stand down in the basement and look out of a window near the ceiling of it and see people walking by...lol.

New York was built with style.
Philly and Baltimore weren't, and it shows in the architecture and housing infrastructure.

 

Another difference that most New York row houses have elaborate STAIR CASES leading up from the side walk to the front door.

 

 

 

Most row houses in Philly and Baltimore DON'T.

The first floor sits flat on the ground with front door either on the ground or on the stoop which is only a few steps high.

Cheaply made compared to NYC.

 

 

Most of the bodegas are owned by people of Middle Eastern descent.

 

Ok....
I only been in a few and didn't really communicate with the workers/attendants like that to inquire their nationality.

When I first heard the word "bodega"...I thought "Latino" or Puerto Rican so before my cousins took me in one I thought it was a place where Puerto Ricans go to get their beans and rice, lol.

 

 

when I was a kid, Black people did own grocery stores but those days are over.

my neighborhood grocery store was owned by a black man back in the day he sold pickles out of a barrel in the floor was wooden was saw dust on top of it. He tabulated what you owed by adding everything up on the paper bag with the pencil.

 
Well...that's a little TOO far back for me.
But I do remember the "change over" in Detroit and it seemed like it happened overnight.

 

Detroit had a nice "sweet period" from about 1970 to 1982 where MOST of the small businesses in the neighborhoods were Black owned.
The riots had just ran most of the Whites out so Black businessmen took advantage of the vacuum.
I was a kid during that time and like you I remember going to the corner store for candy and there were Black men or Black women running it....often times with aprons on.

Soul Food restaurants on every block.
Black folks owned the gas stations too!

 

Then it seemed like one Saturday morning back in 1982....I walked down to the corner store and instead of seeing the older Black man with a bald head and red apron who used to call me (every Black boy really...lol) "young blood"....instead of seeing HIM I saw "whitish" looking dude with a nappy beard and one of those flowered Hawaian shirts on behind the counter counting money with some fat hairy arms.

He was too busy counting money to pay attention to me but I wandered around the store and saw a couple other dudes who looked like him and they were yelling at eachother in their own language.
But somehow he knew how to talk "Black talk" and greeted me, took the money, and finished what he was doing.

 

That was the beginning of the next 40 years of Middle Easterners taking control of the stores in Detroit's neighborhoods.

 

 

 

 

Yeah, the Schomburg  is worth checking out, but don’t have high expectations is mainly a research library so unless you’re going there to see something specific… They have a book fair every year and have some good programming so I will wait for that if you’re planning a visit.
 

I'll check it out for sure.
That's been on my list for a while.

Academic libraries are MY TYPE of libraries because they tend to have more research and historical books and less "fluff".
When I lived near universities, I would spend some Saturdays and Sundays with a cup of coffee RELAXING by hiding in the "stacks" and reading books.

[Troy]

14 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Philly and Baltimore weren't, and it shows in the architecture and housing infrastructure.

 

Yeah some of their row houses front door lead almost into the street.

 

17 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

"bodega"...I thought "Latino" or Puerto Rican so before my cousins took me in one I thought it was a place where Puerto Ricans go to get their beans and rice, lol.

 

Nah it is like a neighborhood 7-11 but better. You can get prepared food, lottery tickets, beer, potato chips, whatever it will cost more and you better check the expiration date, but in NYC you usually don't have to walk more than a block to hit one so they are convenient. 

 

22 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

I would spend some Saturdays and Sundays with a cup of coffee RELAXING by hiding in the "stacks" and reading books.

 

Yeah, nowadays if you are not a student you are not getting into any academic building on a NYC college campus -- Columbia recently blocked off their entire campus...  This is not good as these institutions of higher education are increasingly inaccessible to the public: increasingly elitist.

 

 

 

 

 

[Pioneer1]

It's funny how both "coasts" seem to have a different word for similar establishments.

Now in New York you'll call a jazzed up convenience store that offers a variety of goods and services a "bodega".
But in Los Angeles you can have the same thing and they'll call them "swap meets"....lol.

[Troy]

I though a swap meet was like a ghetto flea market.