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Tall_Kayak_Guy t1_jdmcd01 wrote

I remember when Home Depot moved in to our area, Channel Home Centers lost a lot of their business. Rickels then bought all the Channel locations. It seemed only a few months passed and Rickels had going out of business sales. It was sad that Godzilla stomped on the little guy.

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oldnjgal t1_jdmdadd wrote

I worked there in the 1970s. Had to close off the lumber department on Sunday due to blue laws.

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wessty1984 t1_jdmduix wrote

I think they had yellow carts for getting wood and my father called them banana boats.

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SailingSpark t1_jdmdx8b wrote

Rickels was the worst. We had a store near us, the joke was that as soon as an employee knew their department, they moved them to a new one. They deserved to go out of business.

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s55555s t1_jdmfndu wrote

I remember Freehold Rickels!

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wcs2 t1_jdmg6mg wrote

Rickel helps you do it better. Do it better with Rickel!

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snowball91984 t1_jdmg7kp wrote

I remember going to Rickle in south Plainfield every other weekend with my dad. He had a side business as a carpenter in the 80s and 90s. We’d go get a bunch of lumber and other supplies and stop at Dairy Queen on the way home.

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stickman07738 t1_jdmh8se wrote

LOL, Rickels brings back memories. I was shopping in Jersey City store with my stepfather (I was ~8 years old ) getting stuff to repair a fence. Our hands were full so my stepdad, place 5 nuts and bolts in his pocket. We paid for everything except he forgot the bolts in his pocket - we exited the store and they detained him for shoplifting - when the cops came - the cops made fun of the store manager essential calling him a f-ing idiot.

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jayradano t1_jdmixnf wrote

Used to love rickels and hechingers

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User-no-relation t1_jdmjuwz wrote

Entrance on the left? I can see why they went out of business

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Dfndr612 t1_jdmlcqn wrote

Owned by Supermarkets General Corp, which also owned Pathmark.

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imchasingentropy t1_jdmm5cp wrote

There was a Rickle right around the corner from me until Home Depot moved in. Never saw a business kill a competitor so fast.

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FantasticMrCuss t1_jdmogzo wrote

That Edison Rickels had a Mental hospital behind it, long before Target came, now there are apartments where it use to stand.

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heptapod t1_jdmpkoe wrote

🎶 Rickel helps you do it better! Do it better with Rickel! 🎶

"Here at the Floor Store, we make floor covering EEEEEEEEEEEEE-asy. I'm Cousin Brucie!"

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beeeps-n-booops t1_jdmq0op wrote

Rickels helps you do it better!

Do it better with Rickels!

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Dead_Is_Better t1_jdmsfm9 wrote

I remember the one in Brick on Chambersbridge Rd. There's a Best Buy and some other stores where it once was now. I also remember the Chanel store on Rt. 37 in TR. That's been a few things over the years but it's now a Stop N' Shop.

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dman928 t1_jdmv6la wrote

Great. Now I have the Rickel jingle in my head.

"Rickel helps you do it better.... do it better with Rick-el!"

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christok21 t1_jdmxh3x wrote

Anyone remember the jingle? It’s been in my head for 40+ years. “Rickel’s helps you do it better. Do it better with Rickel’s”

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YetiBeachRainbow t1_jdmxmxz wrote

Only your parents called it Rickels - like there was no S but in NJ the elders added it

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sparky1976 t1_jdmyp7f wrote

Every once in a while I'll find a rickles price tag on something in our shop and garage.

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mcgeggy t1_jdn0l77 wrote

I worked at the one in JC in high school in the 80’s. Made a whopping $3.35/hour!

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Spiritual-Stress-525 t1_jdn3xdc wrote

My dad spent many a Sunday morning browsing those aisles.

Thanks for the memory.

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Spiritual-Stress-525 t1_jdn4c6l wrote

Replying to mobster1 (#2,354,158)

They also converted Roosevelt hospital across Parsonage road into apartments.
I know there is the Veteran's home behind where Target is and the Nursing home on the hill, I don't recall the mental hospital behind the the Rickles site though.

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robertfcowper t1_jdn4w5s wrote

My father talks about Rickels all the time. The plaza in Union where it used to be will forever be "the plaza where Rickels used to be" even though that was like 30+ years ago.

I let myself get suckered in by a Facebook ad for a site selling retro brand t-shirts. Got my dad a Rickels shirt, possibly the best reception to a gift I've ever given him. (For us NJ folks they also had Bradlees, Caldor, Jamesway, Ground Round, Metrostars, and a few good others I can't remember.)

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voteblue18 t1_jdn4xq5 wrote

Omg I got dragged to Rickels on Long Island many times when I was a kid in the 80s. I hated it so much. BUT they had coin operated little rides in the front of the checkout and I was always allowed to ride while they checked out, so that was the upside!

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torino_nera t1_jdn602h wrote

Replying to taxi_drivr (#2,354,678)

There was one in Springfield on 22 where Bobs and Christmas Tree Shops is now, I remember that as a kid. Not sure if that's the one you're talking about but I remember they had a big sign

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kris1202 t1_jdn837o wrote

I remember the location on 35 in Middletown, now a Tractor Supply/Sonic location.

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mobster1 t1_jdn9yds wrote

Replying to Spiritual-Stress-525 (#2,355,766)

I have a link I found, first picture is the mental hospital with the rickets in front, then second picture, its the target where the mental hospital was, and rickels is the parking lot, (and you can see the little building where mattress firm and anthony coal fire pizza is) rickets and mental hospital http://images.yuku.com/image/bmp/1c416d284733520fe75472db77a2982a61ccfd1c.bmp

target now http://images.yuku.com/image/bmp/d2836016270848c43f9d58db05a5e9621fe0b039.bmp

found a small picture and the map, picture in left corner http://wikimapia.org/27369167/Site-of-Edison-Tuberculosis-Sanatorium-aka-Menlo-park-mental-institution

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Tall_Kayak_Guy t1_jdnf2ex wrote

Replying to taxi_drivr (#2,354,678)

I went to the Rickels in Randolph & Wayne a few times while they were closing. They were giving stuff away. Whole house, belt driven attic fan for $22. Gable attic fan for $5. Big boxes of nails, bolts, screws for .50 cents each.

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ColdYellowGatorade t1_jdnhyh7 wrote

Reminds me of Drug Fair. Are they even around anymore? Walgreens and Rite Aid just killed them.

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froggyjamboree t1_jdnj518 wrote

My sister worked in the office in SP. I think it was on Helen Street.

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MickCollins t1_jdnnrbo wrote

Replying to robertfcowper (#2,355,825)

Ground Round has made a small return, 10 locations open, most of them in states along the Canadian border (not sure why that is).

I remember my brother working in Jamesway in between...I want to say his freshman and sophomore year. When they closed it turned into a Frank's (a gardening store) and he worked there too, but did too much lifting for someone too small too be lifting without any muscle and screwed himself up for the rest of his life.

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MickCollins t1_jdnoc7r wrote

Replying to imchasingentropy (#2,353,654)

That was absolutely Home Depot's business model in the 80s into the 90s: straight "kill the competition".

When my family relocated to the shithole of Illinois in the mid 90s (don't get me started), there were a few Sears Hardwares around. Like an extension of the Sears Hardware Department with sometimes some extra stuff depending on the size.

On one long road (we'll say the Illinois version of Route 22, just shittier because Illinois) there were three such locations. Home Depot built locations literally across the street from all three of them.

Within two years all three locations had closed.

I didn't shop at Home Depot for a long time until I absolutely had to because nothing else was around except for Lowe's.

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_Twistedhalo_ t1_jdnpd48 wrote

What about Hechingers (home improvement center ) ?

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Whalers7997 t1_jdnpu3y wrote

Rickel and Channel were the spots back in the day for dads.

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VelocityGrrl39 t1_jdnsx0r wrote

I got lost in the Freehold Rickel when I was like 5. Ended up outside the store and a nice lady helped me find my mom.

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JerseyGeneral t1_jdnt3sv wrote

We had a Rickel on 18 in East Brunswick that became a Village Hardware and when Home Depot rebranded them it just became a home Depot. It was shut down in 2008 when Home Depot closed several underperforming locations in the wake of the housing market collapse.

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therankin t1_jdnucyh wrote

"Rickel helps you do it better, do it better with Rickel."

Still remember that jingle from my childhood.

Also, r/nostalgia

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robertfcowper t1_jdnx3o7 wrote

Replying to bsidetracked (#2,358,683)

Oh man, Charlie Browns. Salad bar was nice, I wish more places had that still.

Just remembered Bennigan's too. I can still taste their turkey sandwich, they were two decades ahead of the pretzel bread trend.

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ImNotJon t1_jdny7uo wrote

We had one in my town growing up. The lights were always out, so it was the Ickel Me Enter.

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MickCollins t1_jdo1qdd wrote

Replying to robertfcowper (#2,358,444)

Nope. A state over, in fact; just visited Middlesex area a lot because both grandparent sets were around there as was extended family. But we lived close enough that most of the stores were the same. But yeah, almost guaranteed to be the same Frank's.

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squigglechaos t1_jdo2276 wrote

rickels had whole house kits - my grandfather built a house from one in the 90s, and it’s still standing lol

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PurpleSailor t1_jdo7776 wrote

When I was a kid a trip to Rickles and Channel Lumber was a monthly tradition with dad.

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Mightyjohnjohn t1_jdoa123 wrote

I still have a screwdriver on my keys that I bought at Rickel.

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kanshakudama t1_jdok6aw wrote

Rickel helps you do it better. Do it better with Rickel.

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No-Horse987 t1_jdoxe6k wrote

Between Channel Lumber and Rickel, I thought that Rickel's had more stuff that you would usually need. If you wanted plywood or timber, you went to Channel.

This thread brings back memories. Now I can't get rid of that Rickel radio jingle out of my head.

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TheOriginal_858-3403 t1_jdp2l7s wrote

Replying to FantasticMrCuss (#2,353,954)

Before that it was the "Middlesex County Tuberculosis Sanatorium" or something like that. I remember there was an office in the original building that had a large vault door in it that had that painted above it. The vault was so large that they made it into someone's office. This was in the mid 90's.

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ShalomRPh t1_jdp58yg wrote

Replying to Dfndr612 (#2,353,565)

Makes sense, there was one on 59 in Monsey NY that shared the same physical structure as a humongous Pathmark. Now it’s a kosher supermarket (Evergreen), Amazing Savings, and a bunch of smaller stores.

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robalesi t1_jdpl93c wrote

Yeah but what y'all know about Hechinger?

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InSannyLives t1_jdpxyh8 wrote

Went here many times as a kid. When the Target opened Phil Rizzuto was there signing autographs.

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IOFIFO t1_jdq3ol4 wrote

Just the font of that neon sign triggers all sorts of nostalgia for me.

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ZealousidealGift9126 t1_jdqafr9 wrote

There were both a Rickels and a Channel in totowa near 46 from what i recall. I think the Rickels is now FORMAN MILLS!

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LongWindedInNJ t1_jdqe6cv wrote

We went to Rickel in Hazlet when I was a kid. To this day, my father slips about half the time by saying he has to go to “Rickels” when he means he’s going to Home Depot.

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LongWindedInNJ t1_jdqf6wa wrote

Replying to robertfcowper (#2,358,444)

Franks brings back memories. I grew up in Holmdel and there was once a Frank’s Garden Center on the northbound side of Rt35 in nearby Hazlet. It was closed and subsequently abandoned lot for as long as I can remember: mid/late 80s through maybe the late 00s? I think it’s a Lidl now.

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TenCentCherryCoke t1_jdqf9lb wrote

I worked at the Rickel on 17 north in the ‘70s and it was my job to tie paneling onto the roofs of cars. No one else knew knots.

One customer bought 20 fifty pound bags of Sakrete concrete mix and tried loading it into his Gremlin.

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jerseyborn733 t1_jdqj80m wrote

The store closed in the 80s became a target in the 90s

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bknavratil t1_jdqpruf wrote

Oh wow I remember going to Rickels with my dad when I was a kid.

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bmd201 t1_jdr5hyj wrote

Replying to farfacogin (#2,371,145)

remember going there as a kid in the late 80s vaguely. the one thing that i always remembered was walking in the entrance and it smelled like popcorn from that one stand and some booth to buy and sell gold.

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cttime t1_jdrlqu8 wrote

TIL it was called Rickel and not Rickels

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