Tears all around today over the demise of C-Mart. I thought you’d enjoy some readers’ favorite memories and thoughts on the situation….This is from Debbie:
“Donna, I loved your C Mart eulogy. One day, my husband Howard was shopping at C Mart and as a joke brought me home a paperweight for my office which says “Because I Said So.” I immediately recognized the Pottery Barn box (I’m not sure he had ever heard of Pottery Barn!), and after grilling Howard, discovered that they had tons of Pottery Barn merchandise. As was the case with the designer bags and clothing, they obtained the merchandise after Hurricane Katrina. So we went back, and I was very excited to discover they did indeed have tons of great stuff — dishes, telephones, clocks, linens, hardware, lamps, bathroom containers, and on and on. Some of the dishes they had were the same ones as I was using, so I bought every serving piece, bowl, tray, etc. that goes with the set. I am not the most patient of people, but I did brave the long lines to buy my Pottery Barn treasures at half price. And they brought out new stuff for weeks — so I think we went back 3 or 4 times and kept finding more great stuff. What fun — we will definitely miss C Mart.As I’m writing this email, it has become clear to me that a Congressional bail-out of C Mart is in order.”
This from Susan in Forest Hill:
“I remember C-Mart when it was in a dark and odd-smelling building near Main St. in Bel Air. It was like a wonderful treasure hunt to walk along the aisles full of one-of-a-kind clothing and items. Then they moved to Forest Hill and it was still odd-smelling but brighter and larger and it was still like a treasure hunt. One time I found a silver designer gown with an orange crayon-looking mark across the front. The original price tag on the gown was $485.00. I bought the gown (which fit like a glove) for $20.00 and took it to the dry cleaners thinking if they couldn’t get the mark out, I would cut the dress apart and use the material for pillows. They got the mark out for $7.00! I felt so gooood. I had a designer dress for $27.00! It didn’t matter that I didn’t have anything (like the Academy Awards) to wear it to – ever! C-Mart should have never moved to Joppa. It looked too much like a department store and smelled too good. They tried to sell lots of very expensive leather furniture that was in poor condition and the prices were too high to make any of the damaged items worth owning. The thrill of the treasure hunt was gone. The old store in Forest Hill is still vacant. They say you “can’t go back” but I wish someone would turn the pages, start the book over and begin again in Forest Hill.”
Hamilton's Habitat 