Memorable City Businesses are History

I wrote an article for the newspaper and it was published Saturday. This article is about some of my favorite Greensboro businesses that no longer exist.

Unfortunately, the comments on the newspaper's website are pretty negative so I'm a little disappointed about this. But, here we go.

I have been a proud Greensboro resident my entire life and have had the opportunity to watch businesses come and go. However, this interesting privilege has many drawbacks.

I was a kid in the early to mid- 1990s and would go to the old Carolina Circle Mall, shop at the many Kmarts, eat at Sally’s Hot Dogs and Western Steer on High Point Road, and play miniature golf at Putt-Putt Golf and Games. The ’90s were a very nice decade for our city.

Unfortunately, many of the places I grew up going to no longer exist. The only Kmart left has downsized considerably over the past years, leaving nothing but a shell of its former self. Where did Little Caesar’s Pizza and the store’s grocery section go?

There’s one place where you can still play miniature golf, Celebration Station on Wendover Avenue. Mini golf is a dying trend, but many people here still enjoy it. The problem is Celebration Station isn’t only dedicated to miniature golf, which just about ruins the feel.

I won’t forget going to Sally’s Hot Dogs for the first time in 1994. I remember my first footlong hot dog. They had a wonderful variety of food and a fun Pac-Man arcade machine. Unfortunately, Sally’s closed in the early 2000s. Some foreign restaurant uses its building now.

I remember Western Steer having just about everything, including a full buffet. It closed in the mid-1990s and was demolished. A doctor’s office is in its space.

And, of course, there was Carolina Circle Mall. I would go to the mall to ride the carousel many times a week, as well as eating at the large food court, shopping at Montgomery Ward, and seeing movies at Circle Six. The mall was demolished in 2005 and a Walmart is in its place, which includes no interesting features at all.

Greensboro needs some new businesses for people to hang out and have fun. Emerald Pointe is only open five months a year and costs $30. Think about that.