Old School Burlington Memories on Route 3A

I recently had a chance to drive Route 3A in Burlington, Mass., and, sadly, everything is gone that I remember from growing up there my first seven years, as well as when working in the area early in my career.

Gone are Almy's Department Store, Dale Pharmacy, Gianelli's family restaurant, Barbo's Furniture, Captain Pizza, IGA supermarket, Kemps hamburger stand, the Fish House seafood market and restaurant, Mister Donut and Sun Luck Chinese restaurant.

Most of these businesses were situated in a plaza that, to this, day remains nearly fully occupied. That's a good thing, but I do miss the older stores at the plaza, particularly Dale Pharmacy where my dad and I would walk from our small red ranch home to buy baseball cards and candy bars.

Sweet Ginger Asian restaurant is now located in the former Sun Luck spot and is admittedly a better restaurant than its distant predecessor.  Dunkin' Donuts took over from Mister Donut, the latter which I always liked better. Dale Pharmacy is now an Indian supermarket and looks like a quality business -- nice to see the old tile floors remaining intact there! The Almy's area is now a Shaw's Supermarket.

Old Schoolhouse Ice Cream and Yogurt is one of the current cornerstones of the plaza, serving excellent ice cream, sandwiches and soups. They would have fit in well with the family-oriented mix back in the day -- great to see them thriving in their mix of modern and old-fashioned ice cream parlor ways.

Does anyone remember this older version of Route 3A in Burlington? What are your favorite memories there? What do you like about the new Burlington on Route 3A?

Caldor, Strawberries, Ken's Deli and Papa Gino's at the Middlesex Mall, Burlington, Mass.

Photo source: Pleasant Family Shopping (Facebook)

Anyone remember the Middlesex Mall in Burlington, Mass., before it became the Middlesex Commons? This place had everything I could ever need: Caldor for general department store shopping, Strawberries Records and Tapes for records, Ken's Deli for a good corned beef sandwich and Papa Gino's for pizza. Parking was a snap and a Market Basket later opened up to sell groceries at its famous rock-bottom prices. The Middlesex Mall proved that just a few stores could cover all the bases -- for a college kid driving a decrepit Ford Escort, that is!

The Middlesex Mall clearly wasn't designed by the beautiful people set of the architectural world. This was a no frills, community mall with a small indoor corridor. Within a mile of the huge Burlington Mall, one had to wonder if the developers had a lack of vision opening the Middlesex Mall so close to one of New England's finest malls. For a long stretch, the vision worked before becoming a bit more expanded and refined as the Middlesex Commons shopping and dining complex.