I’m This Old: Remember Shopping at Two Guys?

It's funny what an old price tag can make you remember. I haven't thought about the Two Guys retail stores in years, but I found an old box of ammo that my Grandfather purchased back in the 1970's over the weekend, and right there on the front of the box was a Two Guys sticker. Man, the memories came flooding back.

Get our free mobile app

Two Guys From Harrison, eventually shortened to Two Guys, was a chain of discount retail stores founded in 1946 by Herbert and Sidney Hubschman in Harrison, New Jersey. Two Guys was a general department store, with groceries, hardware, major appliances, toys, sporting goods, and more. Eventually, the brothers expanded the Two Guys empire to over 100 locations throughout the US, mostly in the Northeast.

I used to shop at the Two Guys in Waterbury, it was located on Wolcott Street, right across from the old Naugatuck Valley Mall. My grandmother used to fire up the Oldsmobile and take my younger brother Steve and I to Two Guys, the Naugatuck Valley Mall, and Child's World on Chase Ave, and spoil us with an assortment of new toys.

I loved going to Two Guys to try and find Star Wars action figures, get a new Tinkertoy set, and check out the new games for my Atari 2600. My grandmother always found a new blouse, and picked up whatever .22 ammo my grandfather needed obviously.

Two Guys stores started to disappear in the late 70's, after parent company Vornado made bad business decisions. In late 1980, Vornado was bought out by a real estate investor, after he figured out that the land that Two Guys stores stood on was more valuable than the stores themselves. Two Guys was completely done by 1982.

I remember Service Merchandise, and K-Mart moving into the former Two Guys space on Wolcott Street in Waterbury. Now? It's Porter & Chester Institute and Ollie's Bargain Outlet.

Which Two Guys did you used to shop at?