Gone But Not Forgotten El Paso Businesses – We Miss Our Top Six

Cassidy - "I was very young, but I miss The Popular. I saw my first puppy in the window that Santa delivered to me on Christmas morning!"

Mario - "I remember it being the first place that gave me a Credit card!  $50 dollar limit!

It brings back the memory of My Mom and brothers all  jumping on the 'SCAT' Bus from central . Walking in, having someone Open the door for you , we would walk into the 'Chocolate shop' that  they had .. and if you asked nicely they would give you a taste  of the morsels that they made that day ... YUMMY , Plus on weekends they gave away free popcorn!

I also remember getting my Levi's 501 Jeans and 2 OP (ocean pacific ) t-shirts !! for the LOW LOW price of $25.99 AWESOME !"

JT - "I discovered Del norte Sporting Goods in the late 60's, it was my safe haven when my mom spent the day shopping downtown. It was a sporting goods store in the basement of a large building downtown (I can't remeber the building name). You could find anything for any sport you could imagine, every employee seemed to have played every sport and they always had time for 10 year old sports enthusiest.

I shopped there until the late 70's.

I did not realize how far ahead of their time they were until they were gone. Then 'super store' craze started and chains reminded of del norte sporting goods...without the hometown feel and service...'those were the days'."

Steve - "Ardans is where I bought my first ever Coleco table top hockey game in 1982. New York Rangers vs Philadelphia Flyers. Best...Game...Ever!

A close second: Del Norte Sporting Goods, because they had the best old NFL pennants that you couldn’t find anywhere else in town."

Andy - "The store I wish was still in El Paso is Cashway.  It was your classic locally owned hardware, all purpose store that always had friendly service.  Whenever my grandma would pick me up from school she would always go to Cashway to pick up some hummingbird food.  She would always get me a candy bar and soda which is as good as gold to a little kid.  Of course their prices couldn't compete with the Wal Mart/Home Depot's of the world."

Johnnie - "I remember going to Cashway a lot with my dad. My mom seemed to have a never ending list of projects for my dad, since he can pretty much do anything. Woodwork, electrical, flooring, roofing, A/C...we spent a lot of time and money in that store."

Brad - "I used to have the best waterbed ever! It was the best bed I ever had, and I swore I'd never sleep on anything except a waterbed.

And then I got married.

I miss my waterbed."

Johnnie - "I remember when I began coming to the west side to attend UTEP and looking for somewhere nearby to have lunch. I discovered this little shack on the corner of Mesa and Executive called Mr. Sub. It didn't look like much, but the sandwiches there were the BEST! Great french fries, giant sodas...I was in sandwich heaven, and then stuffed and sleepy in class. It was awesome, and cheap!"

Courtney - "Mr. Sub! (it's now a FedEx Office) Great subs! I went there a lot when I first came to El Paso, cause they had huge subs and I could save some for later. This was back in the days of a starving DJ, and I could only afford to eat once a day."

Courtney - "I used to love the City Limits restaurant. The one place I'd go to treat myself. Great view and a Prime Rib that was off the charts! I wouldn't eat all day so I could have the biggest portion they offered."

Johnnie - "I remember they would have $1 rib night every single week! Huge ribs, not these tiny things you get at most places now."