Now that I’m past the pesky winter cold that thousands of us had to varying degrees over the past few weeks, I can continue the Valley View mall saga – read part one here. First of all, thanks to Andy Merritt for calling my attention to the Shell station that was on the corner next to the McDonalds that I didn’t mention in part one.
It occurred to me when I was thinking about the Target being there before VV mall that it was arguably one of the first super Targets. From inside Target, you could walk through a small cafeteria area to the grocery store on the other end of the building. At one time – or another – Target owned the grocery store. At other times, it had different owners.
When it stopped being a grocery store, it was the original site of the Chuck E. Cheese that is now down the block – connected by concrete to the ill-fated VV mall. It was a few other things over the years, but they escape me. I’ve slept since then. But it was an experience in that grocery store that led to my song Supermarket Wreck of ’75. Which I still end a lot of my shows with.
But back to the issue at hand, it could very well have been one of the first super Targets by design. An experiment, as it were. If you were around then, you remember there was always a sense of change when you went into the store. People greeted you cheerfully and there always seemed to be something new or different. But at the time that sense of change was felt a lot.
The irony of this post just occurred to me. I’m writing about the Target being one of the only businesses there before the mall was built. And it will be there after the mall is gone.
Peace be with you.
