Shopping at the Five and Dime Stores

Let’s travel back to the good old days of the five and dime stores that were grouped closely together on Front Street in downtown Belleville.

It’s just a few weeks before Christmas; the store fronts are beautifully decorated; the streets are teeming with shoppers and all the shop doors are open for business. Santa is waving from the double doors of Woolworths, freshly baked cookie aromas are escaping from the open doors at Kresges, Mrs Dawson is playing Christmas carols on the organ in the front windows of Zellers and the Christmas toy train is travelling in circles inside the Metropolitan store. The much anticipated Santa Claus parade is over and the fragrant smell of delicious hot chocolate lingers in the air. Come on Belleville; lets go shopping at the 5 and 10¢ store!

SS KRESGE opened its doors in downtown Belleville at 260-264 Front Street in 1930 and changed our local shopping experience forever!

In the good old days when coffee was a nickel and a big slice of apple pie was 25 cents, Kresges was the epitome of a true five and dime store with everything from the creaky wooden floor sounds, Bubble Gum machines with plastic ring prizes, coin operated riding horses and weigh scales which were brought outside when the weather was good.

One of the long time employees was Marg Novenski who many remember as being a bit ‘grumpy’ which was just a front for one of the kindest women I had the pleasure to know and became my friend. My mom, Hazel Smith worked alongside Marg for many years and I overhead some great conversation and bits of local gossip behind the well remembered lunch counter, which ran along the north side of the store.

The red vinyl stools were designed to swivel in a full circle . Cakes and pies were showcased in glass domes and metal soda holders were used to hold paper dixie cups for the fountain pop drinks. Many of us school kids could be found after classes eating our fries and gravy and browsing this magical store that featured food to microwaves and everything in between.

As shopping habits changed, employees dropped from 60 to 20 and Kresge’s became aware that a downtown store and a Quinte Mall store could not co exist and sadly it closed its doors for the last time in 1986.

WOOLWORTH DEPARTMENT STORE

This long standing business was built in 1914, located at 242-246 Front Street in downtown Belleville and unfortunately there is very little history available for it.

I remember the layout being similar to Kresge’s, the smell and feel of the old hardwood floors and an entrance from the double front doors all the way to the public parking lot on the river. It was called Worth Mart Discount Store in 1965 and underwent a big renovation by adding a 32 seat lunch counter, food service, air conditioning and 4 check out counters.

In 1980 they did a major renovation including an updated expanded mens and ladies wear departments, sewing supplies and camping equipment The name was changed to Woolworth Value Mart in 1987 when the company installed a new line of clothing and advertised all national brands at discount prices.

The store was closed in 1989.

One elderly lady shopper was asked why she was buying a cart full of light bulbs She replied ; “they are just so cheap I couldn’t resist them”

ZELLER’S STORES

Belleville’s downtown Zeller’s store opened just a few years before the start of World War 2 and our city had a population of 14,500 residents.

Belleville’s brand new radio station CJBQ, announced on air in 1945 that Zeller’s FINALLY had a stock of nylons in! Nylons were rationed and virtually non existent during the war and as a result it created total bedlam for the employees when the store opened that morning The normally genteel shoppers were grabbing nylons out of their neighbours carts , shoving them down their bras and running back for more. It was a mob scene that scared the employees so much, they called for help and locked away the nylons!

Mary Crago, an employee working at the time, tells another story of a certain police officer who walked the Front Street beat and was known to sneak a cookie or two as he strolled past the store. Every year at Christmas he would drop a sizeable donation off to the store Santa Claus with a note which said ‘thanks for the cookies Santa’.

It was the type of store that commanded  good manners from sales staff and customers alike. Employees were discouraged from calling their regular customers by their first name while working in the store. The store paid close attention to detail and had an employee dress code that consisted of pastel shades for spring and summer and nothing flowery. In winter the colours would change to black or navy blue. They also had a resident pianist named Mrs Dawson who ‘tickled the ivories’ on occasion during the holiday season. Saturdays were very busy as local farmers and air force personnel flooded the downtown area to shop and visit the market. Store hours were 9 to 6 daily, 10 pm on Saturday and closed all day Sunday Sundays and Wednesday afternoons.

Zellers worked closely with other Front Street stores to make sure the customer found the perfect outfit for a special occasion even if it wasn’t available at Zeller’s. Long time employees had formed a close knit family atmosphere and celebrated special occasions and team events together. They even had a bowling league and were sad to see !he store close its doors in 1973.

Top Discount Stores took over the location but closed its downtown location when a new Zeller’s store opened in mid 1990’s just west of the city limits.

METROPOLITAN STORE

Everyone called it the ‘Met’ and this small but mighty store contained over 40 sections of merchandise including men’s and ladies fashions, cloth material, foot wear and even goldfish and birds!

One could literally find everything from soup to nuts at this versatile location including pitchforks, shovels, sprinklers, wrenches, saws, dolls, model cars and everything in between.
There was an oiled hardwood floor and a raised office area in one corner of the building plus a second floor that was not used. Business hours open till 9 on Friday night and closed Wednesday afternoon and Sundays. The staff consisted of four full time and 2 part time employees.

It was a favourite shopping spot for me as a young mom because I could pick up almost anything on my way home from work. Location was convenient and the store was well laid out and very organized. Their favourite saying was,’YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND IT AT THE MET’ – and I did! This downtown treasure trove of ‘everything’ was a fixture on Front Street from 1929 to 1974.

Thank you for browsing the 5 and 10¢ stores in the Downtown District with me
(Click on the photos at the bottom of page to see more photos)