For many people, going ‘down the town’ on a Saturday was a bit of a weekend ritual.
Whether you were dragged with your granny and bribed with a sweetie for watching the television that night, you were meeting a friend for a coffee or you were popping in to pick up a new outfit for a night out – the town was always bustling with activity.
It wasn’t a Saturday without bumping into a friendly face, going home to your family and asking, “Guess who I met in the town?”
Yet, over the years, this Saturday tradition has died out as more shops closed and online shopping became the way forward.
We asked Tele readers what shops they miss the most in Greenock town centre, and here are just some of your answers.
What Every Woman Wants
What Every Woman Wants was a British chain of discount stores, with ladies from every corner of Inverclyde flocking to the shop on West Blackhall Street.
Before it closed in the early 2000’s, the store was dubbed as “bringing fashion to Greenock at prices that people could afford".
January sales were usually a big hit with Greenock shoppers at the store that was later called 'What Everyone Wants' - with many making their way to the treasure trove to make the most of the ‘everything must go’ discounts.
Café Leo
It wasn’t a Saturday in the town without heading to Leo’s to get a burger and chips.
It was a place of good food at good prices.
You would always meet someone you knew and sit across from each other on the narrow tables having a chat.
Bakers Oven
Another favourite of our readers was the Bakers Oven.
A British bakery chain with a branch here in Greenock, people have fond memories of their tasty snacks – especially their chips and gravy.
Woolworths
Arguably Britain’s most dearly missed retailer, we all got our hopes up last month when rumours broke it may be returning to our high streets only for it to prove a hoax.
The store, famous for its pick ‘n’ mix sweets, children’s clothes, homewares, CDs and DVDs went into administration in 2008 and the Oak Mall has never been the same since.
There was nothing greater than going in, choosing a new CD from the wall of music and then catching a cheeky kid trying to steal a bit of fudge from the pick ‘n’ mix.
Rhythmic
It was the end of an era when the shutters came down on this much-loved one-stop-shop music store in the town.
Greenock’s last ever record shop closed for good in 2012 after it became a casualty of online streaming and internet sales.
The shop was often queued out with people buying new releases by big name bands and for concert tickets.
Au Naturale
Everyone who was anyone shopped in this bargain bonanza down at the Waterfront Retail Park.
The homeware store was a treasure trove, with people spending hours trawling the aisles to ‘do up their living room’.
Internacionale
Was it really a Saturday as a teenager if you didn’t immerse yourself in the world that was Internacionale? Terrible covers of chart-topping songs played as you browsed the shelves for plastic heels, gigantic hoop earrings and shimmery lip gloss.
Everyone who was anyone had a pin badge from here on their school bags too.
What are some of your favourite memories of Greenock town centre? Tell us in the comments below.
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