Massachusetts

Bradlees grew from a single store in New England into a regional discount chain owned for years by supermarket operator Stop & Shop. Popular across the Northeast for apparel and household goods, it pitched itself with the slogan 'You've got a friend at Bradlees.' Caught in the same 1990s squeeze that felled rivals Caldor and Ames, Bradlees filed for bankruptcy, briefly reorganized, and finally liquidated its stores in 2001.

Child World, with its sister stores branded Children's Palace, was for a time the nation's second-largest toy chain behind Toys 'R' Us. Many of its stores were unmistakable — built to look like castles, complete with turrets — and packed with toys, bikes, and games. Fierce price competition with Toys 'R' Us and discounters, plus heavy debt from a buyout, pushed Child World into bankruptcy, and it liquidated its stores in 1992.

William Filene's Boston department store grew into a New England institution famous for its downtown flagship and, especially, for Filene's Basement — the bargain cellar whose 'automatic markdown' system cut prices the longer goods sat unsold, sparking legendary scrums at the annual bridal-gown sale. The full-line stores were folded into the May Company and then converted to Macy's in 2006; the separately owned Basement chain struggled on before closing in 2011.

Hills was a discount chain that thrived across the Ohio Valley, Appalachia, and the Midwest, beloved for its snack bar, layaway, and an in-store soundtrack many shoppers still remember. The chain was especially known for its enormous toy department and its annual hype around hot holiday items. After emerging from a 1990s bankruptcy, Hills was bought by rival Ames in 1998 and its stores were converted, ending the Hills name in 1999.

Howard Deering Johnson built a roadside-restaurant empire from a single Massachusetts soda fountain, and by mid-century its orange-roofed restaurants and motor lodges lined America's new highways. 'HoJo's' was famous for its '28 flavors' of ice cream, fried clams, and a dependable family menu for travelers. The interstate era that built the chain eventually passed it by; the restaurants dwindled for decades until the final one closed in 2022, though the Howard Johnson hotel brand lives on.

KB Toys began as the Kaufman Brothers wholesale candy business and reinvented itself as a toy retailer, becoming the dominant toy store inside American malls — small, densely packed shops with stacked boxes, blowout sales, and a knack for hot holiday items. As big-box discounters and Toys 'R' Us pulled toy shoppers to standalone stores and the web, KB's mall model lost ground. A 2008 holiday season and the recession finished it, and KB Toys liquidated in early 2009.

Lechmere started as a Cambridge, Massachusetts tire and radio shop and grew into a New England chain selling electronics, appliances, and housewares, anchored by its landmark store at Lechmere Square. Famous for green-stamp promotions and a wide selection, it was a go-to for stereos and TVs across the region. Sold to Montgomery Ward in the 1990s and folded into its electronics concept, Lechmere was liquidated in 1997.

The Feldberg family's Zayre — Yiddish for 'very good' — grew into a major East Coast and Southern discount chain through the 1960s and '70s. Its real legacy is corporate: Zayre's management launched the off-price spinoffs T.J. Maxx and BJ's Wholesale Club. In 1988 the company sold the troubled Zayre discount stores to Ames and renamed itself The TJX Companies, building an off-price empire while the Zayre banner itself vanished.