Name places in your area that remained vacant for a long time or that are still vacant.

Ames- Closed 2002. Still vacant.

Kentucky Fried Chicken- Closed 1981. Remained vacant until 1994.

Ponderosa- Closed 2007. Still vacant.

Dominoe's- Closed 1992. Remained vacant until 2000. Vacant again.

Movie Theater- Closed 1973. Vacant until 1995.

Pharmhouse- Closed 1998. Vacant until 2000.

Little Caesar's- Closed 1997. Vacant until 2001.

KMart- Closed 1998. Remained vacant until 2003.

Osco. I don't remember when it closed, but it's still vacant. Gotta be close to 10 years.

We have a BK that's been empty for several years.

Luby's Restaurant was closed six or seven years ago and the building is still empty.
Krystals Restaurant was closed a couple of years ago and the building is still empty.

Ames- Closed 2002. Still vacant.


Actually, the entire Ames chain folded at the end of 2002

There's a Chi Chi's right by my office that closed at least 6 years ago and it's still vacant. :eek: Then there's a Bennigan's right next door and the future of that chain is still up in the air. :eek:

I remember Ames - I liked that place. Does anyone else remember Zaire's, Hills, and Gold Circle?

The building that housed Tower Records until it closed nearly two years ago is still vacant.

There's a Chi Chi's right by my office that closed at least 6 years ago and it's still vacant. :eek: Then there's a Bennigan's right next door and the future of that chain is still up in the air. :eek:

I remember Ames - I liked that place. Does anyone else remember Zaire's, Hills, and Gold Circle?
We got lucky with our Chi Chis...they tore it down and built something else.

I also remember the Pick N Pay supermarket that closed in 1989 and stood vacant until the entire plaza it was in was torn down in 2002 to make way for the new Lowe's to be built. I still miss the little plaza, but they really let the old place run down. :(

Kroger -- closed circa 1999. Vacant for a few years, then converted into a worship center.
Kmart -- closed circa 2002. Still vacant.
Target -- closed 2003 (new store built far away). Vacant until 2006.
Save A Lot (food store) -- closed circa 2004. Still vacant.
Pep Boys -- Two locations closed 2007-08. Both still vacant.
Steak & Ale -- closed 2008 (now vacant, part of the Bennigan's closings)

Other small-to-medium sized places have been taken over by the Family Dollar and Dollar General chains. They tend to move into buildings abandoned by the chain drugstores.

Burger King closed around 2002 or 2003 and is still vacant. It's actually really overgrown now and pretty depressing to look at :( My friends and I went there a lot, so it's sad to see it all boarded up and covered by weeds. Now the closest BK is about 20 minutes away.

We also had a Friendly's that closed up in 1998 and was vacant up until a few months ago, when it was torn down and converted into a Commerce bank.

And there's also a United Artists Movie Theatre that has been abandoned since 2001 or so. It's so creepy to see the old sign that advertises the movies and to see a HUGE theatre like that just totally abandoned. I am not sure WHY they closed (I mean, we still have small theatres that are in business even though places like Loews are in command...United Artists was a pretty big place itself). It may have been a fire or something that forced them to close up.

There's a few more, but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

^ I LOVED Friendly's!!!! Once was a time there were 3 in my area - one by our house, one by Grandma's house, and another across town. Now none of them are there anymore. :( That place ROCKED!!!!

there's a bakery next door to us that closed a few years ago, and the building's been vacant ever since.

There is a hotel in my area,a pretty big one thats been closed many years.. There are ppl working on it but its still closed...

And I didnt realise the taco bell in my town was torn down .. I think they are gonna rebuild it into that new disgusting design all Taco Bells are now!!

Totally not family friendly.. NOT FRIENDLY ANYTHING!!

You should see the redesign of the burger king in my area!!!

Used to be warm and loving in that lobby.. NOW ITS STALE AND DISGUSTING IN THERE!!

There a Walgreens in a small mall that closed about a year ago and building vacant. A Shaws grocery store closed. that was a shame for many people could walk but heard store not doing enough business. A Dunkin Donuts closed in 2020 and owner of the property just letting the building sit. I don't understand how they can remain untouched for years. Would think the cities or town would push owners to do something.