All the Stores You Loved in the ’90s That No Longer Exist

Limited Too/Getty s

Remember before the internet, you had to shop at the mall for your JNCO jeans and Steve Madden shoes? Tragically, most of the ’90s best stores are out of business now, so we’re rounding them up in one list in the name of nostalgia.

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Blockbuster

Can you believe that we used to have to go to a physical shop to view a movie?

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Blockbuster

FYI, there is still one Blockbuster. It’s in Bend, Oregon, and it’s a big tourist attraction.

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Borders

Borders was a popular hangout spot for teens in the 1980s. Bankruptcy has taken the beloved spot with it.

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Borders

This is so sad to see. Why must the “EVERYTHING ON SALE!” signs be in those terrible colors?

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Circuit City

Known as the only place you can buy extension cords.

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Toys “R” Us

This beloved childhood store declared bankrupt in 2018 but is making a comeback.

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Toys “R” Us

Like a phoenix rising from the ’90s mall ashes, Toys “R” Us opened a flagship store at the American Dream mall in 2021.

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KB Toys

What was a trip out to the mall without your mom buying something for you at KB Toys?

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Too limited

The cool-kids-only Aka where you could buy all your clothes until the time you were old enough to shop at The Limited. There were so many sporty tees before athleisure.

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Too limited

My brain can’t even process all the things happening in this photo. But I’m pretty confident I owned and proudly rocked that purple fluffy scarf.

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The Limited

Nineties teens and tweens know how significant it was to graduate from Limited Too To The Limited.

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Linens-N-Things

One of the great joys of life was going to Linens-n-Things to buy linens…and maybe an expensive trapper keeper binder while you were there (which I guess is what they meant by “n-things”).

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Mervyn’s

It’s not exactly a shock that Mervyn’s—once a mall staple—closed down. I mean, it was the place you’d go shopping when you were a grandma.

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Miller’s Outpost

Poor Miller’s Outpost was big in the ’70s and ’80s, but it just could never be as cool as The Limited in the ’90s no matter how hard it tried.

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5-7-9

Technically, there may still be one or two 5-7-9 stores. But not in the way it was when we were kids, when you couldn’t enter a mall without seeing it.

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RadioShack

RadioShack used, in every neighborhood of America, to be the only place where you could get those clear plastic landline telephones. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2017; things have never been the exact same since.

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Sharper

The best thing about a trip is going to Sharper with your friends to try out all the massage chairs.

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Sports Authority

Aka is the place you bought your most expensive soccer shoes.

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Tower Records

Do you remember when CDs were first sold? I don’t remember.

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Tower Records

Tower Records was, however, a cool place.

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Virgin Megastore

Here’s another iconic spot to buy music that simply couldn’t stay in business once everything moved over to the internet.

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Woolworths

This was basically the original Five and Dime. It was the original Five and Dime.

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Delia*s

No other store was more important to ’90s girls. Exhibit A: ITs INSIBlE uSE of FoNT.

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Delia*s

Exhibit B: The store’s very specific taste in jewelry, including this necklace of a Yoo-hoo bottle cap.

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Software Etc.

This might not come as a surprise to you, but Software Etc.—the original home of GameStop—leaned in super hard to gadgets and gaming.

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Kinney Shoes

Kinney Shoes was the name of Kinney Shoes before Foot Locker was available in every American mall. I mean it literally: Foot Locker was actually rebranded as Kinney Shoes. These would be perfect for an adult woman in 2022. They’re cute!

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Source: elle