Cooks Corner in Brunswick was destination shopping!

For me, I'll always have a soft spot for the Service Merchandise at Cooks Corner.

Service Merchandise

Back in the '90s, I bought one of those old cabinet stereo systems. You know, the one where all the components are stacked? The record player, cassette player, and receiver were all behind a glass door you pushed to open and close. I loved that stereo. I thought I was a real mix master with my TWO cassette decks. Two! I miss that weird ordering process of Service Merchandise.

Sears

This was THE place for back-to-school shopping and a lawnmower. I still remember the 'tough skin' brand jeans I grew up in. And if you go way back, nothing was better than the Sears catalog.

KB Toys

KB Toys was like the little cousin of Toys"R"Us, but it was just as awesome when you couldn't make it to the big store. Plus, they had all sorts of toys out that you could play with.

Bookland

There was something sweet about Bookland. They had a great kids section, and that cafe for coffee was perfect. If it was still around today, it would be the perfect place for hipsters to have coffee while working on their podcasts.

FYE

For Your Entertainment. I had no idea the store was still around. It's not in Maine, but New Hampshire, and there are a couple hundred locations. Going through CDs, posters, and snarky keychains was the best. Now they have Funko Pops, whatever those are.

Friendly's

If I was shopping at Cook's Corner, I had to get a patty melt at Friendly's. They used to have these deals where a small sundae came with meals. It was obviously decades ago when I could eat a patty melt and not gain ten pounds, followed by a tiny hot fudge sundae. Those were the good ol' days for several reasons, but many were at Cook's Corner.