31 once-beloved chains that no longer exist in the Lehigh Valley and beyond (2024)

By Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com

Lehigh Valley and northwestern New Jersey residents have their favorite chain eateries, stores and other businesses, but as time goes on loyal patrons know many will disappear before they can even blink.

History has shown just that.

Main Streets once bustling with department stores, eateries and five-and-dimes are no longer. Some popular names have been bought out, others have merged and several have simply disappeared.

Here are 31 chains that no longer exist in the Lehigh Valley on beyond. We stuck with mainly national chains but listed a couple regional favorites. Many will take you back decades. They're all hard to forget.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann | For lehighvalleylive.com

Woolworth

The F. W. Woolworth Company, also known as "Woolworth's" or "Woolworth," was a retail company and one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime stores. The first store was opened by Frank Winfield Woolworth in February 1878 in Utica, NY. When that store failed, a second store was launched in Lancaster and shortly after, Frank Woolworth brought his brother, Charles Sumner Woolworth, into the business.

It grew to be one of the largest retail chains in the world through most of the 20th century, but increased competition led to its decline beginning in the 1980s, while its sporting goods division grew. The chain went out of business in July 1997, when the company decided to focus primarily on sporting goods and renamed itself Venator Group. By 2001, the company focused exclusively on the sporting goods market, changing its name to the present Foot Locker, Inc.

In the Lehigh Valley, the F.W. Woolworth Company by 1920 had prominent stores on both Third Street and Main streets in Bethlehem, according to the Bethlehem Press. There was also a location in downtown Easton.

In 1993, Woolworth closed variety stores at the Parkway Shopping Center, Allentown, and Crest Plaza Shopping Center, South Whitehall Township The locations were among the 730 stores nationally to shut down, according to the Morning Call newspaper.

According to the report, other locations during the 1990s included Whitehall Mall in Whitehall Township; Quakertown Shopping Center in Quakertown; downtown Bethlehem; 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township; and Hillcrest Shopping Center in Lopatcong Township.

Reuters photo

Steak & Ale and Bennigans

Steak & Ale and Bennigans were American chains of casual dining restaurants owned by parent company, privately held Metromedia Restaurant Group of Plano, Texas.

S&A Restaurant Corp, and three dozen other entities including various Bennigan's and Steak & Ale affiliates,submitted Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions in July 2008, seeking to sell all assets.

Bennigan's Grill & Tavern was founded in 1976 and had roughly 300 restaurants in 32 states while Steak & Ale was founded in 1966 with an unclear restaurant count at the time of the filing, according to Reuters.

Bennigan's Chief Executive Officer Paul Mangiamele announced in aJune 2016 news release Steak & Ale restaurants would be making a comeback in Mexico.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a Steak & Ale location at 325 Stoke Park Road, in Hanover Township, which is now Prime Steak House. There was a Bennigans along Schoenersville Road in Hanover Township; and 2835 Lehigh St., in Allentown, however, the Allentown location shut down because of the owner'spreviously reported health issues.

AP Photo

Kids "R" Us

Children's clothing retailer Kids "R" Us, a subsidiary of Toys "R" Us, was launched in New Jersey and Brooklyn in 1983. The chain folded in 2004, closing about 146 stores, according to the New York Times.

In the Lehigh Valley, a white pages search shows a location once along MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township. The next closest location to the Lehigh Valley might have been a store next to Toys "R" Us in the Blue Star Shopping Center in Watchung, Somerset County, NJ. Don't confuse it with Babies "R" Us, which is still operating.

Courtesy photo

Hess Department Store

Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown.

It began in 1897 with a single store, known as "Hess Brothers," founded by brothers Charles and Max Hess. The chain later grew to about 80 stores in 13 states at its peak, according to reports in the Morning Call and New York Times.

By the 1970s, Hess's opened branch stores in the Palmer Park Mall in Palmer Township, Westgate Mall in Bethlehem, Phillipsburg Mall in Pohatcong Township, and North Whitehall Township. At its high-water mark, the chain totaled 78 stores from New York to Georgia, according to The Express-Times archives.

In October 1979, Crown American, a developer and owner of hotels and shopping malls, bought the Hess's chain, according to the Morning Call.

The mid-'90s brought cutbacks, closings and loans. In 1994, Bon-Ton bought the chain and took over the flagship store. May Department Stores Company bought other locations. Fourteen months later, the chain shuttered.

The iconic Allentown store at Ninth and Hamilton streets is where PPL Plaza now stands.

The next closest location to the Lehigh Valley was in Lancaster.

Jersey Journal Photo

Sleepy's

Hicksville, NY-based Sleepy's was founded in 1931, and by 2014 had 1,050 stores nationally.

Mattress Firm, the largest mattress specialty retailer, announced in November 2015 it would acquire the chain for $780 million, according to the New York Post.

Most of the former Sleepy's locations, including stores in Bethlehem Township, Palmer Township, Lower Nazareth Township, Whitehall Township, Allentown and Phillipsburg are now "Mattress Firm" stores.

AP Photo

Crazy Eddie

Eddie Antar, the electronics kingpin who once presided over a retail empire spanning four states, was known for his frenetic television advertising and a seemingly crazed pitchman.

He called his prices "insannnnne" and consumers believed Antar could beat any competitor's price in electronics or home entertainment. The over-the-top late-night TV ads and aggressive tactics came at a time when manufacturers fought hard to set retail prices.

Headquartered in Edison, NJ, Antar grew his company to 43 stores in four states. But the empire later collapsed like a house of cards in a multi-million-dollar securities fraud, as reported by NJ.com, our sister website.

Antar was skimming profits, cheating the IRS and scamming customers in what was then described as the biggest retail financial fraud in U.S. history by adding imaginary stock and falsifying accounts to make it look like sales were surging.

Antar fled the country in 1990 and remained a fugitive until his arrest in Israel in June 1992. He died at age 68 in September 2016.

The closest stores to the Lehigh Valley were in Willow Grove and Philadelphia.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

HHGregg

Electronic and appliance chain HHGregg on March 2, 2017 announced the closure of 88 stores nationally.

About 1,500 jobs are expected to be eliminated, including the store in the Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall Township, which has since closed.

The chain continues to operate an estimated 132 stores nationally.

Robert J. Riesbeck, the company's president and CEO, said in the news release the company "worked tirelessly over the past year" to return the affected stores to profitability. He cited "changes in the local retail shopping landscape" as one of the reasons why the stores couldn't be turned around.

AP Photo

Zany Brainy

The national chain of specialty toy stores was known for selling educational and multimedia products aimed at children. Merchandise included games and puzzles, books and audio cassettes, arts and crafts, stuffed animals and musical instruments.

FAO Inc., which owned Zany Brainy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2001, securing $115 million in financing to pay down its debt, according to CNN Money.

The chain then operated 187 stores in 34 states, according to CNN. Among them in the Lehigh Valley were stores at the corner of MacArthur Road and Grape Street in Whitehall Township, as well as a Phillipsburg area location.

AP Photo

Sharper Image

Sharper Image was founded in 1977 as a catalog business and later became known for selling electronics, ionic air purifiers and futuristic gadgets.

The California-based company filed for bankruptcy in February 2008 and closed all 184 of its retail stores.

The chain had no stores in Pennsylvania, but closed stores in Bridgewater, Somerset County, NJ; Short Hills, Essex County, NJ; and Edgewater, Bergen County, NJ.

The name later was bought at auction and licensed products currently are being sold through several Lehigh Valley retailers, such as Bed, Bath & Beyond, Walgreens, Target and The Sharper Image's website.

AP Photo

Linens n' Things

Clinton, NJ-based Linens n' Things was a retailer of home textiles, housewares and decorative home accessories. The chain operated 571 stores in 47 states nationally.

The retailer began closing under-performing stores in October 2008.

In the Lehigh Valley, stores were along Route 22 in Greenwich Township and off MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township. The next closest location was at Route 22/Route 31 in Raritan Township, Hunterdon County, NJ.

The Wiz

The Wiz, also known as "Nobody Beats the Wiz," was a chain of electronic stores across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, as well as a few stores in Canada.

The chain filed for bankruptcy in 1998, shutting down a remaining 17 stores and listing $354.6 million in debts and $318.2 million in assets, according to aNew York Times report.

By January 1998, the chain was bought by Cablevision Corp. for about $100 million, according to the New York Times. But Cablevision still went on to permanently pull the plug, closing all stores in 2003, according to the Daily News.

A Newsday report in September 2003 stated competitor P.C. Richard bought The Wiz's assets for $1.8 million. The purchase included the Wiz's names, logo and intellectual property.

As of January 2018, the Wiz's website at www.thewiz.com redirects to a P.C. Richard page showing items with "Nobody Beat the Wiz" deals.

The closest Wiz stores to the Lehigh Valley might have been in Philadelphia in the mid-1990s. Based in Carteret, locations in New Jersey also included a Somerville, Somerset County location.

AP Photo

Howard Johnson's Restaurant

Founded by Howard Johnson, the restaurant chain was one of the largest in the United States throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with more than 1,000 combined company-owned and franchised outlets, according to published reports.

Today, the Howard Johnson chain's former hotels and motels are part of Wyndham Worldwide and no restaurants remain.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a restaurant on Route 22 in Greenwich Township and the next closest might have been at 25 N. West End Blvd. in Quakertown. Both were transformed into Bob's Big Boy restaurants by 1986, according to a Morning Call newspaper report.

File photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Laneco

Laneco was a supermarket chain operating in eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey and at one time, operated four types of stores: Food Lane, Laneco's, Laneco SuperCenter, and CR Pharmacies, which were often located in Laneco Supercenters.

Laneco was founded by Raymond A. Bartolacci Sr. in 1946. The first store opened as Paramount Foods in Southside Easton. Bartolacci's empire thrived and eventually grew from the Food Lane grocery stores to Laneco grocery/department stores. The chain spread throughout the Lehigh Valley, into Warren and Hunterdon counties, and beyond this immediate area.

Laneco was known for carrying a store brand of grocery products called, "Why Pay More?" The logo was a smiling woman holding a receipt in one hand and cash in the other, according to a Lehigh Valley historian.

The chain eventually merged with Wetterau in 1983, then was acquired by SuperValu nine years later, in 1992. All stores closed in July 2001.

Laneco had around 16 stores at the time of its closure with many purchased and converted into other supermarkets, such as Giant and Redners. Aharts took over a few locations in Allentown and Phillipsburg.

Other locations in the Lehigh Valley included Forks Township, Wilson Borough, Palmer Township, Coopersburg, Coplay, Lehighton, Wind Gap, Lower Nazareth Township and South Bethlehem. There also were Clinton and Readington Township, Hunterdon County, NJ locations.

New Jersey Advance Media file photo

Sports Authority

The sporting good retailer announced in May 2016 it would be closing 463 of its stores nationally.

The Colorado-based company then entered bankruptcy due to more than $1 billion in debt. Rather than attempt to re-organize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Sports Authority decided to hold an auction shortly after the announcement.

Stores in the Lehigh Valley that closed included Northampton Crossings in Lower Nazareth Township and at the Whitehall Square Shopping Center off MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.

Others stores closest to the Lehigh Valley that closed included Raritan Township in Hunterdon County, N.J., and Montgomeryville in Montgomery County.

File photo |For lehighvalleylive.com

Circuit City

During its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, Circuit City was thesecond-largest U.S. electronics retailer after Best Buy. Founded as Wards Company in 1949 in Richmond, Va., it changed its name to Circuit City in 1984.

After struggling for years, it closed its remaining stores in March 2009. As of late 2008, there were 19 locations in New Jersey.

In the Lehigh Valley, there were locations in Bethlehem Township at the Southmont Shopping Center and just north of the Lehigh Valley Mall along Grape Street in Whitehall Township.

The electronics chainannounced Jan. 15 it would be giving the business venture another go.

Circuit City plans to sell products in kiosk and through a store-in-store concept. Showrooms will open on a yet-to-be-determined day, our sister website, nj.com, reported.

NJ.com Photo

A&P

The Montvale-NJ-based Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was a chain of grocery stores for more than 150 years before going out of business in November 2015.

From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States — and until 1965, the largest U.S. retailer of any kind, according to nj.com, our sister website.

The company was founded in 1859 as the "Great American Tea Co." in New York by tea and spice merchants George Huntington Hartford and George Gilman. Sales reportedly began to decline in the 1950s and by the 1970s, the supermarket chain struggled in efforts to combat high operating costs.

The chain underwent an out-of-court restructuring in 1982, and that same year the A&P name was replaced in the Philadelphia area by Super Fresh, according to philly.com.

The company acquired several chains after that, but continued to struggle in updating outdated stores. In December 2007, it aquired 141 Pathmark stores for $1.4 billion, taking out a reported $475 million in loans. A year later, the stock market plummeted and consumer spending sank, according to the report.

The company by 2010 filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection and again, in 2015. By December 2015, all the chain's supermarkets were sold or closed.

In the Lehigh Valley, locations include stores in Washington Township, Blairstown, Wilson Borough and Bethlehem. There was also a Hampton, Hunterdon County location.

Some Pathmark locations also closed as part of the bankruptcy filings, including supermarkets in Lower Saucon Township, as well as in the Walnut Plaza along Route 145 in Walnutport.

Hermans World of Sporting Goods

The sporting good retailer had 117 stores from Massachusetts to Virginia when it filed for bankruptcy in 1993, according to the Daily News.

The company filed for Chapter 11 protection with claims totaling $208 million after the chain was acquired by a group of private investors, according to the report. Experts told the Daily News the chain couldn't compete against strong rivals, such as Modell's and the Sports Authority.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a location in the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township, according to the Morning Call newspaper.

AP Photo

Chi-Chis

Founded in 1974, Chi-Chi's was a Mexican-restaurant chain operating in the United States and Canada up until it filed for bankruptcy in 2004, according to a Journal Times report.

In August 2004, a $42.5 million bid by Tampa Bay, Fla.-based Outback Steakhouse was accepted in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Outback purchased the designation rights for 76 Chi-Chi's properties, which included its furniture, fixtures, equipment and liquor licenses, according to the report.

The sale reportedly followed one of the worse hepatitis A outbreaks in American restaurant history in November 2003 at a Chi-Chi's in the Pittsburgh area. Four died and 660 others contracted the illness, eventually traced to green onions at the Chi-Chi's at Beaver Valley Mall in Monaca, Pa., the report states.

The Beaver County Health Department (BCHD) and Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDOH) investigated and learned through interviews all case patients had eaten at the Chi Chi's restaurant at the Beaver Valley Mall in the weeks before becoming ill, according to Food Safety News.

Outback then reportedly sold the bulk of the former Chi-Chi's properties to Kimco Realty Corp., a New York-based real estate investment trust company. A Chi-Chi's brand of Mexican-themed grocery foods with an emphasis on salsa remains today at local supermarkets.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a Chi-Chis location at Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township in the early 1990s.

That restaurant also had a hepititis case when an Allentown resident ate at Chi-Chi's at a time when a worker was infected with hepatitis and the patron later was diagnosed with the virus, according to the report.

File photo

KB Toys

KB Toys was a chain of mall-based retail toy stores across the United States.

It began in 1922 as a family-owned candy store and operated at its peak, more than 1,000 stores across all 50 states, before closing its doors in 2009, according to multiple published reports.

The company,Reuters reported,filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004 and initially had emerged from bankruptcy in 2005 after selling itself to Prentice Capital Management Inc. Retailer Toys "R" Us later acquired the remains of KB Toys, consisting mainly of its website, trademarks and intellectual property rights, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In the Lehigh Valley, there were KB Toy stores at both the Palmer Park and Lehigh Valley malls, and at Bethlehem Square in Bethlehem Township. In New Jersey, there was a location at the Phillipbsurg Mall.

File photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Borders Books and Waldenbooks

Michigan-based Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer that filed for bankruptcy in February 2011, according to mlive.com. It owned Borders and was a subsidiary of Waldenbooks.

AWall Street Journal report attributed the company's demise to competition from Internet retailers and being burdened with too much debt. The company then operated 640 Borders stores, employed 18,100 people and carried $1.293 billion in debt amid declining sales and expensive leases -- and assets of $1.275 billion, according to mlive.

In the late 1990s, Waldenbooks had more than 900 locations, as reported by The Ann Arbor News.

Despite a purchase offer from Private equity investor Jahm Najafi, Borders was not able to find a buyer acceptable to its creditors before its July 2011 bidding deadline, mlive reported.

All stores were then liquidated later that month and rival bookseller Barnes & Noble later acquired Borders's trademarks and customer list, according to a Crain's Detroit Business report.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a Border's Books location along Route 145 in Whitehall Township. The next closest location was in Flemington, Hunterdon County. A Waldenbooks closed at Palmer Park Mall in January 2011.

Other local Waldenbooks stores at Phillipsburg Mall and South Mall in Allentown closed in early 2010 as part of a downsizing. There also was a location at the Bridgewater Commons Mall in Bridgewater, Somerset County, NJ.

Caldor

The Caldor Corporation was a discount department store chain founded in 1951 by Carl and Dorothy Bennett, who blended their names together to form its name.

It quickly became a retail giant, earning $2.5 billion in sales in the 1990s. But despite its successes, Caldor in 1995 was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after finding itself unable to compete with the lower prices and wider selections at other big-box stores, such as Kohl's, Target and Wal-Mart, according to the New York Times.

A federal bankruptcy court judge in February 1999 gave the go-ahead for Caldor to sell 33 of its stores to Kohl's and another 12 stores to Wal-Mart, the New York Daily News reported.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a Caldor store in the Lehigh Shopping Center on West Union Boulevard in Bethlehem, according to The Express-Times archives.

File photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Bradlees

Bradlees was a chain of discount department stores founded in New London, Conncticut in 1958, but went public in 1992.

The company initially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 1999 before going bankrupt again in 2000 and closing all 105 stores and three distribution centers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to a Reuters report.

The stores were once owned by grocery chain Stop & Shop, in which several shopping centers housing a Bradlees also housed a Stop & Shop Supermarket. This ended when Stop & Shop spun off its Bradlees Inc. in 1992, according to the New York Times.

Bradlees, similar to such stores as Caldors and Target, was known for its snack stands and counters inside the stores.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a store at at Bethlehem Square in Bethlehem Township and the next closest location might have been at Bridgewater Commons in Bridgewater, Somerset County, NJ.

File photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon

Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon is a casual dining restaurant chain, remaining in Ohio, North Carolina, Michigan and Illinois, according to its website.

The first restaurant was opened in October 1989 in North Carolina and had more than 100 locations by the 1990s, according to online court filings.

In August 2006, Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon Inc. agreed to be acquired by a Dallas-based private equity firm for more than $600 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Today, there are nine locations listed in those four states.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was aLone Star Steakhouse in Palmer Township and along Grap Street in Whitehall Township. The next closest location might have been in Bridgewater, Somerset County, NJ.

Seamans Furniture and Levitz Furniture

Seamans Furniture was founded by Julius Seaman in 1932 with its first store in Brooklyn, NY, according to areport about his son, Carl's death in April 2009.

The chain was in business for more than seven decades until it merged into Levitz Furniture by 2005 in an effort for Levitz to emerge from bankruptcy, according to the New York Times.

Levitz Furniture at the time was the second-largest national home-furniture retailer and in existence for nearly a century before filing for bankruptcy in 1997 and again in 2005.

The chain was co-founded by Leon Jerome Levitz of Lebanon, Pa. in the early 1900s. A reportdiscussing Levitz' death at age 101 in November 2016 states Levitz and his brother, Ralph, opened the first Levitz Warehouse Furniture Showroom in Allentown in 1963.

The reason behind the bankruptcy filings, according to news wire reports, was a dwindling cash supply for the chain amid years of losses. At the time of the first filing, there were more than 100 stores on the east coast, Texas and California. The chain went on to liquidate what was left of its merchandise by autumn 2008, according to the LA Times.

The store was known for its tag line, "You'll love it at Levitz."

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a Levitz showroom along MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township and another Seaman's Furniture store also along MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, according to a Morning Call report.

AP Photo

B Dalton

B. Dalton Bookseller, also known as B. Dalton or B. Dalton's, was a retail bookstore chain founded in 1966 byBruce Dayton, who also helped launch Target. Dayton also was the last of five brothers who inherited their father's Minneapolis Dayton's department store.

B. Dalton at its peak was one of the largest retailer of hardcover books in the United States, with nearly 800 stores before being bought in 1986 by Barnes & Noble, according to a New York Times report. The chain was located primarily in shopping malls, competed with Waldenbooks, which was owned by the Borders Corp.

Published reports indicate Barnes & Noble continued to operate the chain before liquidating the remaining stores around 2010.

The closest B. Dalton to the Lehigh Valley might have been a Harrisburg location and there also was a Somerville, Somerset County, NJ location.

South Jersey Times Photo

Fashion Bug

Bensalem-based Charming Shoppes Inc. was the owner of Fashion Bug, which at one point, was the company's sole brand with more than 1,000 national stores.

The company in March 2011 announced it would close 240 of the company's unprofitable stores, including more than 120 Fashion Bug locations, according to the Morning Call newspaper.

The report stated at the time Charming Shoppes operated 2,064 retail stores (also including Lane Bryant and Catherine's Plus Sizes) in 48 states. By 2012, the company and assets merged with the Ascena Retail Group.

In the Lehigh Valley, the company at that time had eight Fashion Bug stores.

Express-Times archives show there was a Fashion Bug at North Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown; in the Lehigh Shopping Center in Bethlehem; in a Wind Gap shopping center; Hillcrest Mall in Phillipsburg; and Pohatcong Plaza on Route 22 in Pohatcong Township.

Lane Bryant stores remain at the Northampton Crossings Mall in Lower Nazareth Township; and Whitehall Mall in Whitehall Township. Catherine's Plus Sizes remain at 3712 Easton Nazareth Highway in Lower Nazareth Township and the Whitehall Mall in Whitehall Township.

Orr's Department Store

Orr's of Easton was founded in 1868 by a pair of brothers, Luke and Joseph Orr, who sold dry goods at the East Northampton Street store . Their younger brother, Matthew Orr, and his brother-in-law, John Johnson bought out the other two brothers in 1873 and moved the store to 308 Northampton St., according to the Morning Call newspaper.

Stanley Bixler in 1907 acquired the store from Matthew Orr's widow. Bixler is credited in transforming Orr's into a full-fledged department store, expanding and adding on a second floor, according to the report.

Orr's opened in Bethlehem by 1955, but after its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, the chain reportedly failed to keep up with the decline of Bethlehem's downtown scene and ultimately closed in 1993. The building was renovated into an indoor mall, Main Street Commons.

The Easton location also closed in 1991, as well as Farr's shoe store, and both sites were renovated to house The Crayola Factory and Two Rivers Landing.

Orr's also had locations in Phillipsburg, Flemington, Hunterdon County, NJ, and Chester, NJ.

Courtesy Photo

Kinney Shoes

The G.R. Kinney Corp. was a shoe manufacturer and retailer from 1894 until September 1998.

The shoe chain was started by George Romanta Kinney, whose father ran a general store in New York. The father became indebted when his generosity in giving credit to local residents brought financial hardship and George vowed to repay his father's debts, according to a USA Today report.

In 1894, George saved enough to buy a New York-based Lester retail outlet and went on to open stores in Corning, Wilkes Barre, Ithaca, Readingand Binghamton. By 1916, Kinney became the largest footwear chain in the country, and a year later added his 56th store, according to the report.

Foot Locker in 1965 bought the G.R. Kinney Shoe Corporation. The chain closed in 1998, but morphed into Foot Locker stores, according to the company's website.

In the Lehigh Valley, there was a Kinney shoe store location at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Whitehall Township, according to the Morning Call newspaper.

File photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Final Bow

Another popular Lehigh Valley chain will be leaving for good come spring.

Teavana stores, known for their variety of teas and premise-made blends, and high-end brewing and drinking accessories, plans to close all 370 locations. It's owner, Starbucks Coffee Co., made the announcement this past July after releasing financial and operating results for the third quarter of its Fiscal Year 2017.

In the Lehigh Valley, the casualties include the store at the Lehigh Valley Mallin Whitehall Township.

What Did We Miss?

Have memories of a favorite chain that shuttered in the Lehigh Valley in year's past? Tell us about it in the comments section.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.