West Chester Giantnardi's and Tying Up Some Loose Ends
Basically everything in this post from before the Giant was stuff I had saved in a different place when I uploaded the rest of the sets they belong in. Rather than edit them into the posts they belong in, I think more people would see them if I just lumped them into a new one.
The Children's Place, KOPKing of Prussia's Children's Place store closed in early 2017. I'm assuming this was because of the rent price, since as far as I know the chain isn't in trouble. The space was quickly filled by a store specializing in "French Fashion for Kids". Yeesh.
Sterling Optical, KOP
Horrible picture, I know. I just assumed noting was going to change between this visit and next, so I didn't bother going back and getting a better picture before I left. Naturally, they decided to start remodeling within two weeks of this visit. I wanted the picture because it had some fabulously 80's mirrors and light fixtures, set on an intense purple background. Now it's gray and boring. Yeesh again.
Sears, Primark, and Co.
Primark's mall entrance in the old KOP Sears. I think they didn't change much structurally here, aside from cutting diagonally into the corners.
Strawbridge's/Macy's, Plymouth Meeting Mall
A look at the part of the store almost all of the remaining merchandise was gathered.
I feel like these lamps in the fixture sale were probably original to when the store opened. I would have gotten one, but they were more than I was willing to pay. However, unlike the TV in the next photo, I think the price assigned to these were fair.
$30 for a television most people would pay to have taken away from them. I'm gonna hazard a guess and say these didn't sell.
Exton Square Mall
Former Finish Line on the right, former Forever 21 on the right. Both of these have been closed a long time. Fortunately, the F21 was recently leased to a rather unusual tenant- somebody from either DIY Network or HGTV is going to turn it into a woodworking supply store that will also offer classes.
Kitchen Kapers, Exton Square
I was going to add a "Klosing" to the title but realized having 3 K's in a row would be in bad taste. This location closed shortly after this picture was taken, which was disappointing. I went to this store somewhat regularly. Moda (to the right) is also gone from here, but fortunately they just moved to a larger space on the second floor.
This was one of the last Genuardi's to open, in 2002. It had a slightly modified design to match the center. Giant picked this up in 2012. I visited once during the conversion process. Giant was remodeling the store, but it still had Genuardis' sign and was using their bags. I don't remember specifically but I think the merchandise was still Safeway-branded.
Entering through the food court entrance. I think the Starbucks was installed by Safeway when they Lifestyled this store.
I don't remember if the Genuardi's buffet was still here up until the end. Regardless, it's gone now.
Giant's décor doesn't look bad in here per se, but the arches made it hard for them to make the décor look like it's supposed to.
I think that clock is a holdover from the Lifestyle décor.
Green shelving, which dates back to when the store first opened. I thought Genuardi's only used this in the floral department, which this clearly is not. Rearrangement must have happened somewhere along the line.
These pictures were from my old phone, which could take good pictures if you held it still for a long period of time. Unfortunately, you can't really do that in the middle of a store without attracting attention.
The Pizza department. The only Giants that have these are stores that they picked up from Genuardi's. I'm curious to see what will happen with relocations, as a few Giants have already moved out of their Genuardi's and I'm not sure they brought the pizza oven with them.
PNC Bank branch. Unlike most supermarket banks, PNC's are full-service banks as opposed to just walk-up counters.
The bathrooms haven't been touched since the store opened! Hanging pendant lights like that would have been all over the store originally.
1N/Susquehanna/BB&T, West Chester, PA
This branch also opened in 2002. To match the center, it was done in stucco instead of their usual brick. Through a couple mergers, this is now BB&T.
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