Benny's, Woolworth and Caldor: Gazette readers share memories of Taunton stores they miss

While Taunton made a name for itself and strengthened its economy over the years with various manufacturing businesses, retail hasn’t been too far behind when it comes to holding an important spot in the city’s history.

While there was a period of time when major retailers closed up shop and downtown took a major commercial hit, businesses pack Main Street and the Green today, just like their predecessors did.

Some have held on this whole time, albeit in different forms, like New York Lace. Today it’s a well-established and popular bridal/formalwear shop. In its previous life, still as New York Lace, it was a store.

Taunton Daily Gazette reader Lynn Nichols remembers:

“I was driving through the center of Taunton two weeks ago and it was bittersweet. I was taking my mom to memory care, as she has late stage Alzheimer’s,” Nichols said. “I looked up to see the old New York Lace sign on the building where my mom would take me for special shopping trips.”

While it is bittersweet to have to say goodbye to places we used to enjoy spending time in, we asked Gazette readers to share their fond memories of some of these places.

Here are the Greater Taunton area stores that Gazette readers wrote in to say that they miss the most.

Benny’s

Most of the readers who wrote in said that they miss Benny’s.

One summed it up best when they said, “They had everything.”

At Benny’s, you could get auto parts, lawn furniture, kids’ toys, some school supplies, and hey, why not a candy bar while you were at it.

Founded in 1924 in Providence, Rhode Island, Benny’s would go on to have 31 stores, spread across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Taunton was home to Benny’s first, on Court Street, and then on to Broadway in 1931.

In 1962, Benny’s moved to Raynham, where it would be a steady retail presence for more than 50 years.

All good things come to an end, and so did Benny’s: In September 2017, owner Arnold Bromberg announced the closure of all Benny's locations around New England.

The Raynham location on Route 44 officially closed its doors on Nov. 30, 2017.

Today, the spot is home to Harbor Freight.

Woolworth

While it wasn’t a local company, Woolworth was also once a huge presence in Taunton.

Often referred to as “Woolworth’s,” the first stores opened in 1879. In the 20th century, Woolworth was one of the largest retailers in the world.

Reader Cori Kenney, in an email to the Gazette, said, “I absolutely miss Woolworth’s and Bradlees. My parents used to take me to the store when I was a little girl. I used to think that they were a kid’s paradise! Stores were huge and you could literally find everything!”

The company was a pioneer of the five-and-dime store.

They were also famous for their lunch counters, which in turn were the site of landmark Civil Rights sit-ins, beginning in Greensboro, North Carolina, to protest racist segregation policies.

According to “A History of Taunton Massachusetts,” by Dr. William Hanna, Woolworth’s Taunton location closed in 1989.

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Bradlees, Zayre and Caldor

For shoppers who wanted to find a little bit of everything, the Greater Taunton area has had plenty of options over the years.

There were discount stores like Zayre — often called Zayre’s, part of a proud New England tradition of adding an ’s to store names — which would later become Ames. Today, Ames in Raynham is also gone. Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture is there now.

Similar stores, like Bradlees and Caldor were also popular in the Taunton area.

There was a Bradlees at the Mill River Place, and then one at the Silver City Galleria mall. That was replaced by Dick’s Sporting Goods, and, eventually, the entire mall would close and be demolished. All Bradlees stores were closed by March 2001.

What today is a U-Haul and shares a plaza with Ocean State Job Lot, across from Hannaford, was once a Shaw’s. And before that, it was Caldor. At one point earning more than $1 billion in sales, the chain was hit by financial troubles in the 1990s, and all 145 stores were closed by May 1999.

However, for some employees of the Taunton Caldor, their store still lives on, after a fashion. There is a public Facebook group, Caldor store #69 Taunton, ma, where former Caldor employees can get together and reminisce.

B.E. Stanton, Pobers, Goodnow’s and Foster’s

Readers also wrote in to remember some of their favorite clothing stores, like Pobers, which used to be on Main Street in Taunton. That company was dissolved in Oct. 1983.

Then there was B.E. Stanton, which was once part of the building that housed the historic Star Theater.

One Gazette reader recalled B.E. Stanton, and the wardrobe piece that got away:

“My mother would take me back-to-school shopping there. One year I was about 10, and I saw the most awesome shirt ever. It was $14; not in the budget in 1976 — that was expensive. Of all the things I have gotten through the years, I will always remember this one … the one that got away, because my great-grandmother took me there months later to buy this shirt (multi colored swirl with a hood), and it was sold!”

There was also Goodnow’s Clothing Store, which closed in 1992, according to "A History of Taunton Massachusetts," by Dr. William Hanna.

One reader recalled something particularly special about Foster’s Men’s Clothing, which Hanna writes closed in 1995: “They had cool suits and a good tailor’s right in the place; really can’t find stores around here like those anymore,” this reader told the Gazette.

Confections at Fanny Farmer

Food memories are also powerful ones, and candy is no exception.

This Gazette reader had some fond memories to share about the treats to be found at Fanny Farmer:

“When shopping downtown I always stopped in to buy their famous fudge. Vanilla was my favorite. The clerk would cut one pound out of a slab, then she would wrap it in wax paper and weigh it on the scale then box it. I was saddened when it closed.”

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Pierce Hardware, Charles Bean Music Company, and Baron Brothers

Household items, from the entertaining to the practical, also factored into readers’ memories.

Some readers recalled Pierce Hardware, which appeared on postcards of the city as far back as 1900, according to Taunton MA – Postcard History on Facebook.

Readers also recalled the Charles Bean Music Company. Eastern Music would eventually occupy its spot on Weir Street for a while.

Charles Bean, an acclaimed trumpeter for the U.S. Navy Band, had five Charles Bean Music Company locations: Taunton, Worcester, Quincy, Westerly, Rhode Island, and one in St. Petersburg, Florida. He started his company in 1958, and it was dissolved in 1990. According to his 2009 obituary, the Charles Bean Music Company serviced most of the schools in southeastern Massachusetts.

In 2004, a nearly century-old city business had a catastrophic fire: Baron Brothers Furniture on Winthrop St. was a total loss after someone started a fire in the rear of the building.

Capt. Robert Bastis, who was a lieutenant with the Taunton Fire Department at the time, recalled in a 2019 story that the fire was “out of control” and the situation was “all hands on deck.”

“It was all we could do to keep the gas station from burning,” he said.

Stan’s Variety and Taunton convenience stores

Last but not least, readers had a few memories to share about variety and convenience stores.

Stan’s Variety on Somerset Avenue has gone on to have many other lives, including time as a deli and a Portuguese market, among others.

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Gazette reader Carolyn Basler wrote in to recall special times at a market on Kilmer Avenue:

“The little market at 9 Kilmer Ave., owned by the Eddy family, but my memory is of the time when it was run by Eddie Trucchi. …. It looks different now and has been occupied by other businesses through the years. … As children in the early 1950s we had a number of neighborhood stores where we could purchase our penny candy. A visit to Eddie's store was special for me. As I entered he would begin singing ‘Carolina Moon.’ It didn't matter who I was with or how many people were in the store. It is a very special childhood memory for me. There are other stores from my youth that have disappeared, but this is my favorite and most vivid memory.”

Taunton Daily Gazette/Herald News copy editor and digital producer Kristina Fontes can be reached at kfontes@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton area stores we miss: Benny's Woolworth Caldor Baron Brothers