Quote Originally Posted by EastsideAl View Post
Sad to see it go. Despite Danny's usual spurious nonsense, Gibb's was an extremely classy store whose knowledgeable staff helped introduce many an eastsider to the world of good wine, etc. Tim McCarthy, who later opened Cost Plus over by the Eastern Market, got his start there.

They held on there on Gratiot much longer than most of the surrounding businesses, and for a long time they sponsored sports teams, etc. for kids from the surrounding neighborhood. I well remember going in there with my father on many a Saturday afternoon and having a long palaver with Tim over which wines were both a good drink and a good buy. When I was a younger kid we would also stop in across the street at Alexander & Hourning to pick up some of the German-style meats that my mother loved so much.

So, that's another whole piece of my youth gone, but, really more importantly, as pointed out elsewhere here another part of the real street-level urban fabric of our city gone forever.
Boy you really hit the "nostalgia button on the head" for me EastsideAl.... is Tim still at the Cost Plus location, or has he retired and let others [[his son?)... run the place?

As for Gibbs, they still are located in Detroit... at the Pointe Plaza location on Moross. I just talked to the owner last week.

I too used to go to Alexander & Hornung's with my parents every Saturday for German meats many years ago. Also used to go to Montgomery Ward's up near 7 Mile & Gratiot, I can still remember the building and its' 1 story annex. And across Gratiot was Old Country Imports where the old German lady [[Lucy Evans), who always had alcohol on her breath, always wanted a kiss on the cheek from the kids. Also remember Robert Hall clothiers a block over.

I too liked that yellow facade to Gibbs. So it was porcellain... it almost looked like Vitrolite to me...

And then there was the Ramona Theatre, and the City Barber College.