Your memories of the old Texas department store

Gympodie

Hi

I walk past the old Texas car park regularly during the week, and it makes me nostalgic. What a store that use to be, you could find anything in there. You could spend hours roaming around, anyone remember the Yellow Rose cafe on the top floor? I believe it was the first building to have an escalator in the midlands. I may be wrong but I don't think there are any in Offaly today - over twenty five years later. There was such a great ambience in its heyday.

Anyone have memories of the old Texas department store?

Joeseph Balls

Gympodie wrote: »

Hi

I walk past the old Texas car park regularly during the week, and it makes me nostalgic. What a store that use to be, you could find anything in there. You could spend hours roaming around, anyone remember the Yellow Rose cafe on the top floor? I believe it was the first building to have an escalator in the midlands. I may be wrong but I don't think there are any in Offaly today - over twenty five years later. There was such a great ambience in its heyday.

Anyone have memories of the old Texas department store?

Texas FM 😂
Was some decent bargains in it alright. Wonder what condition inside is in now...

medoc

I remember the adverts in the Tribune that were always printed upside down. And the Texas Tom is crazy adds on Radio 3.

I see Texas Tom is going into the property development business now on the Charleville road.

Mena Mitty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058196035/your-memories-of-the-old-texas-department-store

I was walking up the street a few weeks ago and spotted an old Texas sign on the gable wall of the what used to be the Paddy Field restaurant.

RINO87

I remember texas being in the other building - what became Lifestyle sports at one point. I was only small but I distinctly remember the "wooden" smell from all the old crates that they used for lining the walls and the floors in the Denim section - my sister would regularly be dragging me in while she was trying on jeans, instead of looking after 5 year old me!! They moved that "wooden crate" motif over to the larger store when it opened, which I thought was cool. The old building started out small but I seem to remember it expanding into different rooms every time we visited. It was fairly all over the place.

It was the first place I remember having those tags on clothes/alarm thingys at the doors. The tags were massive grey yokes, and the alarm at the door would constantly trigger so no one took any notice of them anyway!

The new "Big" Texas.... what year did that open? Holy god we thought it was the bees knees!! I bought the 100% kids album there which I think came out in 1995. The CD's were just inside the door on the left IIRC. I remember getting a wrangler blanket jacket on the same trip.

The ceilings got progressively lower each floor that you went up....

Christmas in there was mayhem.....

The "moving stairs" first time seeing one outside of Dublin. Still find it hilarious that they only went up, and you had to walk down yourself!

"Texas FM" as mentioned before, which I found nuts altogether! It was also blasted out of speakers at the front of the shop.

"Dangerous Prices" in the big warehouse on the left after you went in the front door - IIRC this wasn't there when the "big" texas originally opened, and when it did it really cheapened the place - they had all sorts of knock off tat that eventually found its way into the main shop. "Johnny Brubaker" was one knock off brand that was in the Style of Tommy Hilfiger...

Mena Mitty

The music store inside the front door was a branch of Heartbeat City iirc with a limited choice of stock due to space constraints.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058196035/your-memories-of-the-old-texas-department-store

believe it was the first building to have an escalator in the midlands. I may be wrong but I don't think there are any in Offaly today - over twenty five years later.

Yes there is in the place that used to be Heatons whatever its called now. They have one for only going up but none for going down lol.

Also does the shopping centre in Portlaise not have one? Been ages since I was out there.