Re: Funky electronics chain Fry’s is no more (Seattle Times)

[Chuck Guzis]

On 2/24/21 6:11 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote:

> But, I remember the old days, when they had lots of "computer people"
> food items, and even Jolt cola.

You're forgetting Canfield Diet Fudge Chocolate Soda--I remember
customers wheeling out dollies of the stuff.    The idea was simplicity
itself--traditional computer stores had very high sales margins.  John
Fry figured that if he could run a store in the middle of Silicon Valley
with thin margins (like the grocery business), it was a shoo-in for
success.  They also had various snacks to appeal to the lunchtime crowd.

I still have quite a few bagged connectors from Fry's with the
red-and-white labels.  In 1983, how could you beat 59 cents for a
gold-plated card edge connector?   Lots of parts on pegboards;
occasionally a factory rep would show up during lunchtime to demonstrate
a piece of test equipment.   One of the few retail establishments that
stocked VME cards.  Fry's flogged a lot of Everex stuff in the PC
department.

The cashiers, of course, were minimum-wage and so had no idea of what
was passing in front of them.  But the sales people were little better,
so if you knew exactly what you wanted, it was a glorious place.  If you
were looking for information, not so much.

This was all at the flagship Sunnyvale store.   Somewhat later, they
opened up stores in Fremont and Palo Alto, which were quite a bit more
polished.

But this is when Silicon Valley still hosted outfits that actually made
things...

--Chuck