Roy Wilhelm: Fremont shopping centers gave way to strip malls

In the early-to-middle 1970s, the city directory listed seven “department stores” in Fremont.

Associated Buyers on Stone Street is the only one still serving people of the surrounding area. Maybe it’s the neighborhood store approach?

Others included Montgomery Ward, Joseph’s and J.C. Penney, all on Front Street in downtown Fremont.

Mr. Wiggs was in the Potter Village area on Oak Harbor Road, but Buckeye Mart and W.T. Grant were the only two listed as actually being part of a shopping center: Buckeye Mart in Potter Village and Grant’s in the Fremont Plaza Shopping Center on East State Street.

It seems amazing how much those two shopping areas have changed in the 50 years that have passed since the early 1970s.

A view of the original Walmart store, which opened in 1990 in the shopping plaza on East State Street in Fremont.
A view of the original Walmart store, which opened in 1990 in the shopping plaza on East State Street in Fremont.

The eastside Plaza included A&P Food Store, Pic-Way Shoe Mart, Gala Kapri Beauty Salon, Olan Mills Studio, Stephanie Rae’s Figure Salon, Fremont Plaza Coin Laundry, the House of Fabrics and Gray Drugs in addition to Grant’s.

I’m no economist, but the list seems to have included stores well equipped to serve the customers on the east side of town.

Times change, I guess, and the changes at Potter Village on the westside sure show that. Not many of the stores that were part of what was then an approximately two-decades old shopping center are still there.

In addition to Buckeye Mart, the big stores were Great Scot and Woolworth’s. Foodtown, which was normally viewed as being part of the shopping center, I guess, was technically not, but it was right there.

Other Potter Village stores and businesses in the early 1970s included Bel-Aire Cleaners, Gala Kapri Beauty Salon, Modern Finance, Guppy World, Gift Horse, Osterman Jewelers, Terri-Tyler, Crosby Shoe Store, Barry’s Delicatessen, Ebert’s Meats, Hobby Center, Village Toggery, Joann’s Fabrics, Lee’s Shoe Store, Fremont Paint and Wallpaper Company, Western and Southern Life Insurance, Village Launderette, Gus’ Shoe Repair, Village Barber Shop and Village Wig Salon.

It certainly provided a variety of shopping experiences for people and included many businesses with solid roots in the city. Today, there are mostly new or different businesses that offer shopping opportunities.

Now, of course, there are “strip malls” north of town. While Joseph’s, Penny’s and Montgomery Ward served as “anchors” to help attract shoppers to the downtown area 50 years ago, today, Walmart does that along Ohio 53.

Fortunately, the downtown area now features a variety of businesses that draw customers for different shopping experiences. If you haven’t been there in a while, you should check it out.

Roy Wilhelm started a 40-year career at The News-Messenger in 1965 as a reporter. Now retired, he writes a column for both The News-Messenger and News Herald.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Fremont shopping area cycle from downtown to plazas