Whatever Became of...The Boys Markets?

Above, the Hawthorne, California Boys Market store in the 1950s.

Back when I was a kid, my family used to shop at a supermarket on Vermont Avenue near 120th Street called The Boys in Los Angeles.

What I remember the most about it was that I was able to buy Aurora Plastics' Universal Pictures monster models (Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolf Man, The Mummy, etc.) in the store's toy department and saw Bozo the Clown (Vance Colvig) there.

Above, The Boys Market logo.

When we moved to Hawthorne, we shopped at Thriftimart or Ralphs, even though a Boys Market was there.

Then, in the late 1980, The Boys began to disappear.

According to LAist:

The Boys

Shortly after his father died, teenage Joe Goldstein and two of his brothers began selling fruit door-to-door to support their Boyle Heights family. Soon, they set up a produce stand along Telegraph Road in East Los Angeles. Folks would say they were going to visit "the boys'" stand. The name stuck. By the time the brothers opened their first market on the site in 1924, they were joined by another brother. By 1931, they'd opened what was billed as their first full-service market at Monte Vista St. and Avenue 55 in Highland Park. That market later served as the company's headquarters through the 1980s. The Boys turned their focus from suburban to urban locations, growing to 54 stores. The business stayed in the Goldstein family until 1988, when American Breco Company bought it. A year later, some suburban store names were changed to Market Basket, evoking a prior SoCal chain with the same name, that had only departed a few years earlier. Just 18 days later, American Breco merged into the Yucaipa Company (sound familiar?). A few stores still operated as The Boys as late as 1993. Then, the name faded into history.

To read more about bygone L.A. stores, go here. 

Albuquerque La Mesa RV and Camping World

Above, La Mesa RV in Albuquerque. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last week, I had to take Jess to the Albuquerque Airport for her return home. I stayed overnight at the Route 66 RV Resort so that I could bring The Beast in for service at the La Mesa RV dealership a few miles away.

I had set an appointment for service two weeks prior for 11:00. I got there a little big early, when worked out great as another customer was late for his appointment.

After checking in with Monte, I waited in their waiting area near the service counter. It consists of a number of small tables and chairs with free Wi-Fi. They have free water, coffee and popcorn for waiting customers. They also have a small supply store near the waiting area.

It is well-known by RV enthusiasts that some RV dealers refuse to service RVs of people who hadn't bought their rigs at that dealership or they are put at the end of line in favor their purchasers. Fortunately for me, I bought The Beast at the San Diego La Mesa RV, so I am considered a purchaser at their Albuquerque location and I am in their database.

Above, the Albuquerque Camping World on Route 66. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The service work was done within two hours after my arrival and I plan on going back next month to fix a problem with the awning (a leaning telephone pole "rubbed" against the awning as I was parallel parking a few years ago and I didn't see it, and that part of the awning is now separating a little thanks to the wind). The work didn't cost an arm and a leg, for which I am grateful.

Before going to La Mesa RV, I stopped in at the nearby (about a half mile away on Route 66) Camping World to browse and pick up a couple of things. The store is nicely laid out and merchandise is easy to find.

Plenty, Scarce or Non-Existent In New Mexico

Above, the Black Bear Diner in Tarzana. There are no Black
 Bear Diners in New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Many restaurant chains, stores and banks that I've taken for granted in California are either plenty, scarce or non-existent in New Mexico, I've found.

Chase Bank is nowhere to be found in Albuquerque. The nearest one to Gallup, New Mexico is about 135 miles away in Show Low, Arizona.

The nearest Macy's department store is in Albuquerque. It is the only Macy's in New Mexico.

There are at least two R.E.I. stores in Albuquerque.

There's a Wells Fargo Bank in Gallup.

There seems to be a good sushi restaurant (from the reviews I've seen) in Gallup. It is called Zen Sushi & Steak.

There's two Denny's restaurants in Gallup as is one Cracker Barrel restaurant.

There's a Safeway supermarket in Gallup, but no Von's, Ralphs or Kroger's. There's also an Albertsons.

There's no Black Bear Diner restaurants in New Mexico. There's some in Arizona, but not along the Interstate 40 corridor.

In 'N Out Burger has locations in Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. It has not begun to plan to locate to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the near future because current expansion is focused on Texas.

There are no Tommy's Hamburgers in New Mexico.

There is a La Mesa RV dealership in Albuquerque. This works well for me since I bought The Beast at their dealership in San Diego.

There's McDonalds, Arby's, Carl's Jr., Long John Silver's, Taco Bell and Wendy's restaurants in Gallup.

There's several Subway restaurants in New Mexico, including one in Jamestown.

Thankfully, there are three movie theaters in Gallup.

The nearest airport with actual airlines to Gallup is in Albuquerque.

There is a minor league team in Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Pacific Coast League, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.