2000's Timewarp: ABC Warehouse, Southgate, Michigan

This post will look at retail in Southgate, Wayne County, MI.
ABC Warehouse #???
18605 Eureka Road, Southgate, MI
Driving distance and time from downtown Detroit: 16.9 miles, approx. 24 minutes
I mentioned in yesterday's post that I'd write something today to make up for that post, and this is the make-up post. At least you'll have something to read as long as you are forced to stay home.

For readers unfamiliar with ABC Warehouse: it is a regional appliance, furniture and electronic chain founded in Center Line in 1963 that today has nearly 50 locations throughout Michigan and parts of Indiana and Ohio. The western end of Southgate is home to one of these stores. ABC Warehouse is the last of what was, at one time, Detroit's "Big Three" appliance/electronic store chains, with Highland and Fretter each shutting down their chains in 1993 and 1996 respectively.

It is unknown how long ABC Warehouse has operated in Southgate, but they've been operating since the 1980's, originally in a smaller strip mall creatively named ABC Warehouse Plaza, with parts of the building backing up right next to Eureka Road. This strip mall was demolished and rebuilt in the same location in 2001, and still kept the ABC Warehouse Plaza name, and thus this current store began it's business.

As we head inside, you'd be wondering if they have remodeled to keep up with the times. You'll be surprised.
Our few interior photos of this store come from the back of the sales floor. The rearmost corners of the store feature a pair of small alcoves. This one, located in the back right corner of the store, houses auto supplies. The entrance is marked with (unfortunately) non-working "Car Audio" neon.

Audio equipment is in the back left corner alcove, and is similarly marked with non-working "Home Audio" neon. Also visible is a glimpse of some sort of throwback...

And now, the main reason you came to read this post: yes, this is the same decor package that this store has had since it reopened in 2001. This blue band runs across the entire perimeter wall of the store and displays various products that ABC Warehouse sold back in 2001. Noticeable right away on the band are VCRs and tapes, which shows how dated this decor has become.

As we move towards the front, here's some more of the "product train." Pagers are definitely another artifact of the early 2000's world, and arguably, to an extent, CD players.

Matt Burb signing off as we conclude this short post, until next time....
Location: 18605 Eureka Rd, Southgate, MI 48195, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Great Lakes Crossing Outlets, Auburn Hills, Michigan

Image
This sign appears at all four of the vehicular entrances into Great Lakes Crossing Outlets. This enclosed outlet mall located about halfway between Detroit and Flint currently features nine anchor tenants. Sorry for the massive lack of updates...well over a year, to be exact. But anyways, back to our regularly scheduled program... Great Lakes Crossing Outlets (which will be abbreviated as GLX for the remainder of this entry unless when the full name must be used) is a massive enclosed outlet mall (true to it's slogan, "Michigan's Largest Outlet Center") located in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan, featuring 180 stores and nine anchors. This is perhaps one of three locations that contribute to Auburn Hills' significance-along with the city being the location of Chrysler's world headquarters and the Palace of Auburn Hills, the home arena of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. The site, located approximately halfway between two Automotive Revolut...
Read more

Southland Center, Taylor, Michigan

Image
One of Southland Center's two marquee pylon signs. This one is located at the southeast entrance, the other pylon sign may be seen in the background to the right. The center, the last of Detroit's "Land" malls, is currently anchored by Macy's, JCPenney and Best Buy. Many metropolitan areas have at least one area that's ignored a lot and Metro Detroit is no exception. In this case, that area is called "Downriver." It is a collection of 18 Wayne County communities that are located south and southwest of Detroit, extending down from that city to the Monroe County line. It's history almost parallels Detroit's, like it's major city, Downriver was a major area of French settlement in the 18th century. Today, Downriver is unlike anywhere else in the region, which transitions from the oldest houses in River Rouge, Wyandotte and Trenton to the postwar tract homes in Allen Park, Southgate and Taylor to the rural-ness of Romulus and Flat Rock. H...
Read more

Meijer #35, Taylor, Michigan

Image
This post will look at retail in Taylor, Wayne County, MI. Meijer #35 14640 Pardee Road, Taylor, MI Driving distance and time from downtown Detroit: 16.9 miles, approx. 20 minutes This Meijer store opened on July 19, 1977 as a Thrifty Acres store, the first in the Downriver area of Wayne County. It's trade area includes almost all of Taylor, far western Southgate, half of Romulus and far northern Brownstown and Huron Townships. When it opened, it originally would have looked like this , with a very 1970's interior, including a kids-based "Oasis" section in the center of the store. Due to concerns for safety and responsibility, the "Oasis" would be removed by 1985. In 1991, this store had a major exterior and interior remodel, with the exterior repainted gray with a red band and this logo over the entrances. Interior overhead signage was replaced with red-colored signs for the grocery and health & beauty departments, and green-teal for t...
Read more