BIGMallrat

Gottschalks always felt like a retail mystery to me—one of those strange blips on the department store timeline. Though the name had long been known in the Central Valley since 1904, it didn’t make its curious debut in the Bay Area until 1989. And when it did, it raised a few questions: What is a Gottschalks? How do you even say it? And why does their logo have a daisy on it? Was this a store or a gardening catalog? Naturally, I had to investigate. Their first Bay Area store bloomed quietly at Antioch’s Somersville Towne Center—though back then, it was still clinging to the name County East Mall. Freshly remodeled with enough mirrored ceilings to make Narcissus himself swoon, the mall looked ready for a new era. As for the new anchor? Well… meh. It was fine. It had clothes, cosmetics, cookware—but this was 1989, and department stores were already starting to either evolve or unravel. Gottschalks didn’t quite scream “future.” It barely whispered “present.” Still, I was told ...

You didn’t   shop   at Mervyn’s. You   lived   at Mervyn’s. Okay, maybe not literally—but if you grew up anywhere in the Bay Area from the ’70s to the early 2000s, there’s a good chance your socks, school clothes, and maybe even your prom dress came from that magical beige-toned land of affordable clothes and lite music. It's also pretty likely your first charge card came from Mervyn's, too. It’s hard to explain Mervyn’s to someone who didn’t grow up with it. It wasn’t fancy like Macy’s, but it wasn’t all polyester chaos like Kmart either. Mervyn’s was solid. Sensible. Slightly carpet-scented. It was the go-to department store for families who didn’t need glitz—they just needed Levi's, bath towels, and a three-pack of Mervyn's brand underwear. The entrance: doors to another dimension I remember those tinted glass doors so vividly. You’d walk in, and the air would change. Cooler. Buzzier. Fluorescent and filled with the faint smell of perfume and cotton blends. Rig...