The Observation Deck

Anybody know anything about Uptown Mart and it's replacing of UDF on Detroit? Seems to have come out of nowhere and doing a Google search reveals nothing.

Apparently one chain bought another.

I asked someone behind the counter. That's what they said.

Matthew Lee wrote:Anybody know anything about Uptown Mart and it's replacing of UDF on Detroit? Seems to have come out of nowhere and doing a Google search reveals nothing.

All of the UDFs in Northern Ohio have been acquired by Uptown Mart.

It will be the end of insane ice cream deals, and perfect chocolate malts!

They have already re-branded their stores in Columbus.



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Thanks for the info. I not only will miss UDF as the store but also the name. Uptown Mart just sounds like a cheaper 7-11.

Matthew Lee wrote:Thanks for the info. I not only will miss UDF as the store but also the name. Uptown Mart just sounds like a cheaper 7-11.

Matt


While I admit that Star Mart instead of Convenient makes one feel like it is slipping away.

Dollar Stores for Neisners.

All I could find on Uptown, seemed like the neighbors loves the stores and were glad they were in their neighborhood.

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Uptown sounds so Upbeat!

I'm surprised at how little news coverage this has, especially for so many stores impacted in NEO.

If you Google "Uptown Mart" UDF, this thread is the first return.

Perhaps a case of "much ado about nothing?"

That lot was once a fine Sohio station before it became a UDF. It was owned and managed by the same family that also owned the current Sunoco (then Sohio) station at Hilliard and Madison.

Stan Austin wrote:That lot was once a fine Sohio station before it became a UDF. It was owned and managed by the same family that also owned the current Sunoco (then Sohio) station at Hilliard and Madison.

I find it to be so charming when old-timers like Stan (err ... Mr. Austin) chime in here on The Deck with historical tidbits and perspectives. ( don't know how he does this from his rotary phone.

Peter Grossetti wrote:I find it to be so charming when old-timers like Stan (err ... Mr. Austin) chime in here on The Deck with historical tidbits and perspectives. ( don't know how he does this from his rotary phone.

You would have loved the school board building walk-through, or at any rate the brief introduction before it began.

Mr. Favre apparently has great store of this kind of material. He recounted a number of such local historical notes, and seemed like he could have continued without difficulty.

Lakewood history walking tour, anyone?

Stan Austin wrote:That lot was once a fine Sohio station before it became a UDF. It was owned and managed by the same family that also owned the current Sunoco (then Sohio) station at Hilliard and Madison.

Morrow family owned it?

This came up at coffee this morning one of the people remember their dad working at a gas station there.

I could remember the Sinclair Station where Cork and Bottle is, and Soho at West Clifton, and the Gulf Station at Larchmont on Detroit.

Peter, Stan upgraded to a smart rotary phone.


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My dad Clifford Mager had the Sohio at Wyandotte and Madison, Hilliard and Madison, 202nd and Lorain, and others at different times. And if you remember Car Care stations from when Sohio divested retail as part of a consent decree to obtain ownership in Prudhoe Bay, he had the Car Care station (former Sohio) at Berea and 117th, and others. The best property was 202nd and Lorain, as this was before I-90 and I-480 were built, and so it was the corridor on which to drive west and even get to the Turnpike.

I rode my bike to get to work at 202nd and Lorain, and it was indeed uphill both ways. I did the 3.3 miles in 8 minutes one time. No mini-marts, these were two-bay service stations, for the most part full-serve when I worked there. I can still squeegee a windshield better than you, in any weather. He paid 2x to pump gas on Christmas, and I bought myself a Snap-on phillips #2 screwdriver to better replace license plates every April for tip money (you gotta have good tools...). Cigarettes in the machine were $0.30.

You guys are cracking me up with the rotary phone jokes.

fwiw, I personally know one individual who has and uses a rotary phone, and he's not much older than I am. (He owns the Bookshop.)

I read somewhere that you get much better voice quality with a rotary. The cell phone makers regard voice quality as an afterthought.