No More Days For Mothers.

I really should have posted this yesterday when my clever title would have been more topical.  Oh well.



Several weeks ago I had heard talk that the Saskatoon outlet of Mother's Music had changed hands. 



My visit last Thursday proved this was true, and the new owners were kind of a surprise to me.  It's Long and McQuade, a music chain that's the closest Canadian equivalent to the US Guitar Center chain.  They bought out all the Mother's outlets, as well as the parent Gordon Price Music of Edmonton.



L&M already have a store in Saskatoon, this large "big box" style outlet on 43rd Street.  So it will be interesting to see what happens to the new location over the next few years.  Will it be run as an ongoing proposition?  Or is the current building leased, and the 8th Street location doomed to closure when it runs out?  I doubt they'll tell me.

Mother's Music has prevviously appeared on this blog.

All Day, And All Of The Night.

This is a shot of the Preston Crossing Sobeys store.  The sign indicates that like the other Saskatoon stores of the chain this location is now open 24 hours a day.  I'm skeptical of any of them getting much business at 3 in the morning, but the Preston Crossing location seems especially unlikely to given its isolation.  No one is likely to drive past the store and stop in on impulse.  Still, Sobeys decision to go 24 hours is an example of the slowly expanding number of 24 hour businesses in Saskatoon, such as a couple of outlets of Shoppers Drug Mart and the drive through windows at McDonalds.

Secret Agent?

Joe 90's Auto Sales has been located at 8th St. and Louise Avenue for several years.  I wonder if other Saskatonians besides me recognise a more famous use of this name.  Joe 90 was a 1968 Gerry Anderson production about a 9 year old boy who, via a special pair of glasses, could perform any skill programmed into them at an expert level, and used this ability as a secret agent.  This was the last of Anderson's series to primarily use "Supermarionation," Anderson's trademarked term for highly sophisticated marionettes, and used in previous series such as the cult classic Thunderbirds.

The Tramp Departs.

After several decades in Grosvenor Park Centre on 8th Street the east side location of Tramps Music and Books is closing May 31st.



In recent years the store was located at the east corner of the west side arm of the building.  Over the years I bought quite a bit of stuff from this location.



This shot was taken while I took one last ramble through the paperbacks.

Tramps will continue to have a presence in Saskatoon, with the downtown store at 244-1st Avenue North remaining open.  Hopefully it will continue for a good long time.

Out Of Gas.

Located at the corner of 8th Street and Louise Avenue, this used to be a Shell gas station, but it closed at the beginning of the year. 



The pumps were removed almost immediately.  It's a reasonable guess that this gas station will never open again.

A Winning Hand.

As someone who plays poker online I quite like this sign for Anderson's Transmission with its quad Aces theme. After all there are few better hands in many types of poker than quad Aces. Yellow on the other hand isn't a colour I associate with poker.

Back In Action.

Following up on a previous post here's the front of Esteem For The Home, which is now open again. As you can see they've once again responded humourously.

Humour In Adversity.

On the afternoon of October 10th a vehicle crashed through the front window of Esteen For the Home, located in the College Park Mall.



Although the accident forced them to close up shop until further notice they did manage to find a humourous way to address their misfortune.

Left Behind.

Readers Nook, a bookstore located on 8th Street, closed at the end of 2008. When it closed the sign above was buried under a mound of snow and was left behind by the owners. With the snow gone it is visible once again, and was in this position when I went to take a look the other day.

Readers Nook, and its previous incarnation the Book Nook, was previously located a block away in a much more visible location. Its less visible location in recent years, combined with the arrival of first McNally Robinson Booksellers, then an outlet of the Indigo book store chain, presumbly led to its demise. It's hard for a small independant like Readers Nook to compete with a big box outlet like McNally Robinson.

Here's the sign that was located above the doors of Readers Nook, including a neon figure reading a book.