the return of zellers + my first time visiting the new store

Zellers. For Canadian shoppers, that word has a lot of memories attached to it. Growing up, Zellers was a staple. Every town had at least one. With the bright red colour out front, it was hard to miss, even if you didn't happen to shop there. I remember buying too many CDs in the electronics department, purchasing some of my earliest drugstore makeup in the beauty section, and eating cake at the Zellers Restaurant. Ahh, how simple life seemed back then. When Zellers closed in 2012 to make way for Target (RIP Target in Canada), it seemed that the brand was gone for good. Surprise! Zellers is back. Well, sort of. There are now Zellers locations inside of various Hudson's Bay stores. Recently, I was able to check out one of those locations for myself. 

To be honest, a stop off at Zellers was not on my to do list. However, when I went to visit my family for the day, my parents decided that it was worth the drive. Away we went to indulge in a little bit of nostalgia. It wasn't hard to find the Zellers store within the Hudson's Bay location. There were red footprint stickers on the floor that you followed all the way to the store-within-a-store. The actual Zellers portion was about half a floor. There were home goods, clothes, toys, furniture, pet supplies, and lots of other discounted items. It was actually refreshing to see some reasonable prices for a change! Over the last little while, the cost of everything seems to have increased again and again and again. A lot of those everyday items (and small splurges) are becoming more difficult to justify. Maybe this is the perfect time for a place like Zellers to shine. 

It was definitely an experience to wander around a Zellers. Truthfully, it was a bit surreal considering the fact that the stores closed about a decade ago. Sadly, there was no Zellers Restaurant, but I did hear that certain locations have a food truck that offers some old-school Zellers menu items. Pretty neat! As for the location that I visited, it was really busy. Interestingly enough, Hudson's Bay itself had only a handful of customers in the rest of the store, but the Zellers section was pretty popular. There were several tables of Zellers themed merchandise, but sadly, little remained. I had my heart set on a red Zellers hoodie, but those were all gone. There were some red Zellers t-shirts left, but only in small and extra small sizes. On the plus side, I was able to find one Zellers themed item to take home with me as a memento. It was actually the last in that style, so I lucked out.

As you can see, the t-shirt that I brought home with me was ultra nostalgic. On the back, there is a small Zellers logo in classic red and white. On the front, there was a small Zeddy Cub Club I.D. Card picture on the upper right corner. It was simple and understated, but it was really all that was available for me. Plus, it was in my size and was only $12 CDN. I love that there was a shirt with the Zellers mascot, Zeddy. So adorable and fun! I just wish there had been a Zeddy Bear to purchase or that the image on the shirt was a bit larger. (What can I say? I'm a more is more kind of girl.) I'm not sure when or if I will be able to visit Zellers again in the future, since it kind of depends how long the brand sticks around this time. That being said, I am still hopeful that there will be some more cute and nostalgic Zellers merchandise in my future. I love all things nostalgic. 

All in all, it was a fun experience visiting this Zellers location. There was so much to look at. It was also nice to remember how things used to be and to create some new memories at the same time. Who knows what the future has in store for this Canadian discount brand, but at least we are able to appreciate Zellers a little more the second time around. 

Have you done any shopping lately? What stores make you feel nostalgic?