I hate to see corporations close because of the loss of jobs for the Average Joe worker there. However I suspect that within 2 years Starbucks will be gone. Over expanded way too much!
Also I will always associate Sbarro with the Jerusalem terror bombing of August 2001. Sorry to see the go.

Ripper on February 9, 2009 at 2:22 pm

In the Northeast I have seen the following electronic appliance stores bite the dust over the years
1. Nobody Beat the Wiz
2. Newmark & Lewis
3. Topps
4. Crazy Eddie
5. CompUSA
6. Lafayette Radio
7. Circuit City
How long before P.C. Richard & Son and Radio Shack bites the dust?
Also the following book store chains have vanished
1. B. Dalton’s
2. Doubleday
3. Brentano’s
4. Scribner’s
5. Walden’s
I would not be surprised if Border’s (which is in financial trouble) bites the dust and Barnes & Noble gets a monopoly.

Ripper on February 9, 2009 at 2:26 pm

I don’t like to see people lose their jobs either, but most of these companies won’t be missed; junk food, casinos, maybe the stimulus package (sic) can be used to set up some manufacturing companies that will be able to make it on their own by being efficient and state-of-the-art. Most of the at-peril companies represent decadance. Even the book stores, superificially a loss of intelligence and erudition may not be what they seem. Bookstores with rare exceptions, have really been dumbing down in recent years. Borders for example — fewer books, and more books with pretty covers that can take up more room in the display cases, rather than using the book racks to insert books so that just the binder is showing. People used to be able to evaluate books by looking at the binders and looking through those that looked interesting. They didn’t need to have loads of picture covers facing them.

c f on February 9, 2009 at 3:00 pm

Hi Debbie,
I live in Las Vegas….and I can tell you that Station Casinos will not be disappearing anytime soon. Yes, they will be entering Chap. 11, but, from all acounts I have read, they have a very smart plan and should be out of bankruptcy by late summer….if not sooner.
I can see Sirius being snapped up by one of the dish companies….in fact Echostar (DishTV) is making a big play for them….and since their stock value os next to nothing….they may have a tough time fending them off.

Gottrocks on February 9, 2009 at 3:41 pm

Not Station Casinos. They have some of the best table odds in Vegas. Best room bargains in Vegas. I really can’t believe it, this is where a lot of the locals gamble. However I did visit one this summer and it was dead. There were about 40 cranes putting up large casinos all around Vegas. Hate to be those investors.
Office Depot has gotten rid of a lot of its store brand items. I went there two weeks ago and got unbelievable deals on office supplies.
K-Mart had to resort to layaway because so many people are broke and maxed out their credit. I think layaway was the prudent way for people with limited income to acquire products they didn’t have all the money for. It also instills a discipline of putting money down for something when you don’t have the means for it. Our generation lost all the monetary discipline with credit cards that were handed like Halloween candy.

californiascreaming on February 9, 2009 at 4:02 pm

I can’t believe that Rite Aid would go under–how does that happen? Every day you turn around–there is another brand new one built on the most expensive real estate corners around. I would be shocked if they went under–look at how much money is in these drugs they dispense to the aging med consuming populace. How many meds does the average 60 old American consume each month?
Chrysler–it might be glommed up by some other company, Fiat is the latest company to consider, we’re told. Bankrupt–totally gone, no way. There is too much there to let it just vanish. The valuable part will be snapped up by somebody and the name will continue–as will Jeep and Dodge–with their best products still being available–but many will disappear because they are losers.
Once the Sirius XM (single provider) format has had time to gel, it will hold on. Remember, Sirius and XM were in a death match for the first 5 years or so. Now, as a single brand–I can’t see how this format of consumers paying $10-15/mo for a nationwide footprint, commercial free on 70 channels, plus all the other simulcast cable crap is going to lose demand. Sat radio is just growing pains–and at worst, some conglomerate will glom them up–like AOL Time Warner or Disney or Fox–the format will live on. I just hope we can still get a lot of commercial free music on so many channels.

BB on February 9, 2009 at 6:26 pm

No, not Krispy Kreme! One of my favorite childhood memories was watching them make the doughnuts and eating them warm off the line.
Sirius stock price has decreased since that Stern creep was contracted. Something’s fishy.

49smudge on February 9, 2009 at 8:31 pm

Sirius better not go out of business. I wouldn’t be able to get through the day without Seth Rudetsky’s Big Fat Broadway. Brava!

LoveAManInAUniform on February 9, 2009 at 8:31 pm

Debbie, aside from your movie reviews, which you could just present to me in person, none of those businesses offer anything worth saving. This is like a forest fire, where old stuff gets burnt up and next spring new stuff pops up and eventually you can’t even tell there was a fire. Two points here: 1) I had a bunch of especially useless comments to post over Shabat but held back as per my new rule and 2) I think Jihadists are probably behind these Aussie forest fires.

Anonymous1 on February 9, 2009 at 10:17 pm

Citi & Bank of America should already be gone. The two will bankrupt the rest of us if the feds continue to bail them out. Deposits are insured by the FDIC. Flush these sorry bums down the toilet. The Nanny state is determined to keep them afloat at our expense. Obama is the one guy on earth that can actually make Bush look good. Go figure.
http://bonzerwolf.livejournal.com/

bonzerwolf on February 10, 2009 at 10:54 pm

Conan O’Brian said the other night, “Not only will Crispy Cream be dead by the end of the year, so will its customers”.
As for who is at risk of going under, I’d say travel agencies, jewellry chains, and hotel chains are hanging on with their finger nails right now. I’m betting that many of them don’t have much more staying power. There will be a number of well know charities that will fold their tent as well. ACORN will be fine, however. The Dems will make sure they are adequately funded to continue their fraudulent work.

SydB on February 11, 2009 at 11:19 am

Debbie – I have become a user of Smart Bargains, which I think is connected with Loehmann’s. Is this the case? Sorry to hear about Loehmann’s – used to love going there when it was in a nearby town. Aside from Loeehmanns, there’s TJMaxx and Marshalls, two more places that are fun because their bargains are good. I know they are both in the same corporate structure, but what company owns them? As for Radio Shack – don’t see them as going under because they are handy and have electronics, big and small that are not easily available locally. I always see people in there when I go in for some minor item, like blank DVDs or a new recharger for my cell phone – and they sell cell phones as well. Kind of like a local drug store selling frequently needed items.

Jamieos on February 11, 2009 at 3:02 pm