Gone but not forgotten

Just reminiscing about the old businesses in Melrose. Do you remember these? Do you have a great memory of them?

- Come back Inn (torn down now, was located at 19th & Lake St)

- Jack In The Box (replaced by Lucky Dog)

- Ground Round (I think that was the name of the restaurant, was located on North Ave by Menards, replaced by, I believe Condos)

- Polk Bros (the furniture store now replaced by Menards, burnt down) I was there when it was on fire, like a tourist attraction going on.

Any other places you can remember?

How about tom naples part of hospital
shoppers world next to naples
Roller rink now a gas station
Dom the hot dog man with the cart
Hasty grill 18th and north now empty
Leyden Motel now walgreens
Mel Park drugs now a liquer store
Terrano's Deli 18th and division now empty
Amlings now aldi's and Value city
Cock Robin now a parking lot
Butches Beef now a parking lot
Melrose Park Bank 17th and lake soon to be torn down
Star slide and batting cages 1st and north now has denny's and a strip mall
Skip's drive in now Mcdonalds
you have any more you can think of

Riviera bowling alley
Melrose Park show
the confectionair on 19th
the north avenue drive in on 5th and North
John Scotch's junk yard on 25th Lake
O Henrys hamburgers on North
Best of all.. the little league fields on 25th an Lake

Trese wrote:

Just reminiscing about the old businesses in Melrose. Do you remember these? Do you have a great memory of them?
- Come back Inn (torn down now, was located at 19th & Lake St)
- Jack In The Box (replaced by Lucky Dog)
- Ground Round (I think that was the name of the restaurant, was located on North Ave by Menards, replaced by, I believe Condos)
- Polk Bros (the furniture store now replaced by Menards, burnt down) I was there when it was on fire, like a tourist attraction going on.
Any other places you can remember?

Comeback inn is gone??

What did they do with the Bear?

sunset stables on 5th ave

Madigans in the Winston Park Plaza

Foodtown on 19th ave

Does this mean someday the adult bookstores will be gone too ?
I doubt it.
You don't see them leaving on their own in any town.
The one business a town can do without usually does not go belly up unless its forced out.
But it can be done. The bookstores in Zion and Palatine were driven out.
I would love to see some of the old businesses come back. But i would love it even more if these adult bookstores would leave.

Original Village Idiot wrote:

Does this mean someday the adult bookstores will be gone too ?
I doubt it.
You don't see them leaving on their own in any town.
The one business a town can do without usually does not go belly up unless its forced out.
But it can be done. The bookstores in Zion and Palatine were driven out.
I would love to see some of the old businesses come back. But i would love it even more if these adult bookstores would leave.

OVI, this is my thread, please stick to the topic, I did not create it for you and your issue. If you can't comment about the topic on MY thread, please don't.

Scooter wrote:

How about tom naples part of hospital
shoppers world next to naples
Roller rink now a gas station
Dom the hot dog man with the cart
Hasty grill 18th and north now empty
Leyden Motel now walgreens
Mel Park drugs now a liquer store
Terrano's Deli 18th and division now empty
Amlings now aldi's and Value city
Cock Robin now a parking lot
Butches Beef now a parking lot
Melrose Park Bank 17th and lake soon to be torn down
Star slide and batting cages 1st and north now has denny's and a strip mall
Skip's drive in now Mcdonalds
you have any more you can think of

Oh wow, Tom Naples, I remember going there with my mom.

MelroseParker wrote:

sunset stables on 5th ave
Madigans in the Winston Park Plaza
Foodtown on 19th ave

How can I forget Madigans..that was my first job..LOL and Foodtown- going there with my mom.

I also remember going to Wags restaurant in the plaza.

Also 31 flavors ice cream on the corner of 19th and Lake St.

I think the only business that has been around for a long long time is Dunk Donuts and Squires flowers on Lake

Elmwood_Guy wrote:

<quoted text>
Comeback inn is gone??
What did they do with the Bear?

They demolished it, now an empty lot (eww). I remember going there and throwing the nut shells on the floor and eating their signature Kodiak burger.
Don't know what they did with the bear.

I also remember the police station was located right next to the school before they expanded the school, next to Jack in the box.

I am on topic.
After all the adult bookstores did replace another business.
And besides i don't restrict anyone from posting on my threads.
You're free to post on my threads just like i can on yours.
Topix is an open forum board.

There was an article in the Chicago Tribune right after they closed Comeback Inn. It was probably around July 2004. I remember cutting it out and send it to my sister. The family had gone thru some illnesses and I think the kids didnt want to go on. There was talk of auctioning off the bear, but I dont know if that happened. I really liked that place. Went there as kid and then when I was a legally drinking adult.

Wow Skips brings back memeories too. My Sister and her boyfriend would let me ride in the back seat and tag along to go that place. Coc Robin was always a stop as well after we went to see my Dr. at Westlake Hospital (where I was born).

I remember being taken to Amblings to the Haunted House there at Halloween. That had to be in the mid to late 60's.

Palmere's pizza now a Mexican seafood place
Chicken House now Gabriel's
Pudgies Popcorn
Rags-a-line knife sharpener
Mosquito spraying truck
The cannons at Melrose Park School
Del Bello's Beef
Ramona's Pizza (I won't say what's there now because you know who will chime in.

But Hey...Q's Pizza is still there right? Hows the pizza there?

Remember the square ice cream scoops at Cock Robin?

How about Slicker Sams when it was only a small beef stand?
Holloway House Cafeteria and The Millionaire's Club
Home Department Store
Hersey's Shoes (remember how we used to xray our feet?)

Dora's Pizza on 11th & Lake

Wow, some I don't remember. Slicker Sams I do. And of course Amling's haunted house, I used to go there every year.

The Mosquito trucks too, the smell as they were going down the street. I also remember the ice cream trucks that used to come around. Don't see those anymore.

There also was a small arcade in the plaza that I remember.

Oh, I can't forget Dora's pizza on Lake & 12th. We used to go there all the time after school and hang out and play the two video games they had in the back.

MelroseParker wrote:

sunset stables on 5th ave
Madigans in the Winston Park Plaza
Foodtown on 19th ave

i loved the stable and bought a lot of clothes at madigans, also the home store on broadway

Many of those places are sorely missed but some needed shutting down. The old Butch's Hot Dog joint near 15th and Lake in the 60s had a massive roach problem for years in a decrepit building, and the Henry's Hamburger stand on North Ave was temporarily closed down at times because of filth and insects.