Macy's has gone down several notches on the scale in recent years, being on a par with JC Penney's at this point.
I just noticed that Ruby Tuesday is also closing a bunch (around 100 if I remember right) of their restaurants in areas where they are not doing well. The one that was closest to us closed around a year ago, and some other restaurant is there now. I think that there are still at least two others around this area, and I have no idea how they are doiing or whether they will be closing, too. I really enjoyed their salad bar; but it was pretty much out of our budget, so unless we hd some sort of a discount coupon, we didn't go there often anyway.
I haven't eaten in one since the 90's. We had one in Merrillville Indiana. Don't think there are any here. I never eat out in fresno anyway. If I eat out, it's at my daughter or son's and they don't like many of those franchises like TGIF or Applebee's, etc. They have a few favorite restaurants and we always go there, unless I'm out at mall with my daughter then we will Have a quick bite somewhere but even then sometimes we go to the nicer places outside of the mall on Santana row or Nordstroms cafe.
Ever since Macy's Santa Claus started to send people to Gimbels....they have gone downhill! I like Walmart. A super Walmart in our area just did a Major up grade inside and out. Every part of the store. It will be great and more competitive with Giant Eagle.
Locally Sears and J. C. Penney went through the same thing as Macy's. Sad to see these giants going through such down-sizing today. Our Walmarts are doing okay locally no closing so far, which is good. I like the good prices I find at Walmart and glad they opened locally on Oahu. Sad to hear Macy's is down-sizing.
There was a department store called Gottchalks when I moved to Fresno but they closed a few years ago.
Things change so hopefully the people starting out in careers and life choose wisely since things are going in a different direction. We are all seniors and maybe like the way things are or have been but the future is not ours to worry about, it's up to today's youth to see which way things will go. The babies of today have iPhones instead of rattles. Time marches on wether we approve or not.
I think a lot of these stores over expanded when times were good, opening shops in every corner they could find, and are now coming to realize that there just isn't enough money in the marketplace to sustain them all. Of course many are shopping online, but there still seems to be plenty of foot traffic to keep the shops in the more popular areas. I'm tired of hearing about how great the economy is when so many are struggling, and large employers like these are shutting down at least some locations, if not closing entirely.
@Diane Lane - you're so right Its amazing how the US and Here are pretty much on the same level in a lot of respects
Times have changed over the years. The Mom & Pop stores, where many store owners lived over their businesses. That was fazed out, when insurance companies wouldn't cover the personal belongings of the owners. Many closed because of it. They couldn't afford the upkeep and taxes on living at their business, and having to pay outrages rent utilities whatever involved at a downtown business site. Let alone try to compete with the stores, like La Selle, a branch of Macy. Lamson. The only way of surviving was to be a specialty shop, and wing it on not having the insurance for belongings.Then the strip malls, and next the indoor malls. I seen the first indoor mall, that was built in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. What a sight, it was the most beautiful structure I'd ever seen. Now were Internet buying and also selling. Banking, paying bills, booking trips, reservations, buying plane tickets, renting cars.To me it was amazing, being able to book a boat trip for me and my kids and older g-kids to Key West. Hotel reservations. All done in my recliner, within an hour.