Loyal customers saddened at closing of five-and-dime

The S.S. Kresge store at the corner of N. University and State Street will close forever Saturday.
O 0 O '
a C Oslng 0 ive-an - lme
By KAREN GRASSMUCK Miller and Dungey are among the many who are
News wsmess nsromn saddened by the closing of the S.S. Kresge store at
'U
, the corner of North University and State streets.
El More photos, A4 They eat breakfast together nearly every week-
° °
day at the store, which would have celebrated its
Sam Miller, 69, an Ann Arbor maintenance man, 50th anniversary this November.
chewed thoughtfully on his white toast and straw- Friday will be their last breakfast there, since
berry jam at the lunch counter of the S.S. Kresge Kresge’s will shut forever on Saturday. All cur-
store on State Street. His co-worker, Lester Dun- rently remaining merchandise has been signifi-
gey, 59, looked wistful. . cantly reduced - and “there’s not much left,”
“I guess we’ll feel a little lost . . . until we find a said store manager Chris Ferguson of Canton. -
new place,” Miller said. On June 1, K mart Corp. sold 76 stores to
Dungey nodded in agreement, silently scarfing McCrory Corp., based in York, Pa. The McCrory
his $1.19 Sunrise Special -- one egg, 'two pieces of stores are the nation’s largest five-and-dime retail
toast and bacon. """""""“""""""""""""""""""""""""
“Yeah. You can’t beat this with a stick.”

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_ i NEWS PHOTO ' NAT EHRUCH
Diners crowd the Kresge cafeteria at lunchtime. A slice of Americana never to be seen again in
Ann Arbor. l 4 4 »
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CCNTWUED FROM >‘\`i°' "~ ‘if i V-_= 52231; -_-_
<=hain- A Sv°keSW°man f°r K mart CVDH
Said the Kresge division did not fit
into their plans. he ..,_
i Leslie K°*e» 3 SP°keSW°meI1f°1` "”-
K mart, Said the State Street
Kr¢Sg<~=’S'iS 0116 °f 20 that Will wt be %%qj'f“’~? 't__
S014 t0 M¢Cr01'y COPD-» Whi¢h Was
HD* interested in the l0¢a¢i0I1- Kvia ~
the Stvre had been Profitable in re’
cent years. i
Ten °f the 20 Kresge Stores not
S0111 to M<=Cr<>ry are still open, and
K M3ft`L`,Wiii._ Qvnfinue to Operate
*° °°“" VrV. inf?
operate one? “It was a 35ji5ij§g§;§;§j1;3g§:§;E;;;;gE§§;£j523353255 -1‘;.;- . _ ;ggE523E5;1E3EIE2E;i1E§E=E§u;E;E=:=E2:1:1:2;I:1:2;=:=:1: '_1:=- ;:=:= .2:2:1.=:V:<:1 ' ~1:‘-ff= : '- ifzlziiiiiifiiii’-' -_1"2` V~2' - ' °5v~4: -1-=~=
corporate decision,” said Kota. . . . N
As a business transaction, the Lester Dungey and Sam Muller en|oy one of their last Kresge
sale of the 76 stores is small pota- breakfasts'
tges fer K mart, a $23_8 billion egr-' ments - rugs, brooms and stuff?” (Borders) that kicked them out. It
poration, which has about 4,000 re- asked Jessie Berkan, a 20-year em- was K mart that decided to close us
tail outlets inthe United States and ployee of Louise’s Flower Shop down,” said Ferguson, who will be
Canada. nearby on State Street. “They transferred to a K mart in Livonia
As a symbql, hgwever, the eles- don’t have cars - they can’t drive when the store shuts for good.
ings of the stores that used to claim out tv K mari 011 Maple Road- . .
they sold “nothing over io cents” Where are you going to get a Styro- But “mt mssed °f a" W1" be the
represent the end of an era of re- f0amCl1PWh91iY0\1n9€d ii°?” luncheon qounter’ Where U`M em'
tailing in this natign, and in the Berkan and Mark Wanless, who Pmyees sipped coffee °n their
state_ owns an electrolysis clinic on State breaks and countless students and
In their heyday, the Kresge gqr- Street above Marty Walk(-3l"S, WeI‘€ Ingfchangs gobbledii meal at me
poration had four ofthe five-and- S0 upset by Kresge’s Sh\1id0WHihai a es W ere a ”° lppmg P°“°Y
'dime stores in Ann At-ber; down- they collected 800 signatures on pe- was Standard-
town at Main and iwaghingtgn titions trying to convince K mart to “It’s a nice atmosphere, good
streets, gn gampus at South State keep the store open. food and reasonable,” said Dun-
Street, in Arbgrland and in the “We feel we need a dime store in gey. He noted that he liked the
Westgate Shopping ¢enter_ this area,” Wanless said. Although cooks, too, who know, him by name.
t The ¢l0Sing of the State Street 19. Wanless bitterly said he thought “I hope they can find jobs,’? he
catidn angered many me;-ehantS,_,___gthe owner of the building, TornBor- said., ' _ > " 2 _
who feel that the store is an impor- ders, WaS at fault f01‘ 110i allowing But Dungey shrugged perhé S
fan* e“eh°f~ effefing inexpensive Kresge ‘° Stay the remainder °f in realization that he willinow haiie
food and essential merchandise for their l€aS€, which €XPiI‘€S in 1939, sto spend $2 95 for a bacon cheeSe_
University of Michigan students K1‘€S8€’S manager Chris F€1‘8l1S011 burger that cost hirn $1 80 at
Stggking apartments and dgnni- said it W&SIl't BOI'd€I`S’ d€CiSi0I`l. Kresgeas °
tgry meme ' “I don’t think they (Wanless, , '
“Where are they going to get Berkan, and others who signed the “Calif Si0P P1`0gfeSS» I 8l1eSS»" ,
what they need for their apart- petitions) understood that it wasn’t Said Dungey