When I was younger, Long Island seemed oddly resistant to chain stores, or at least the standalone types that couldn't be contained by a shopping mall. It was a big deal when, during my high-school years, the Island got its first K-Mart. Wal Mart didn't arrive in the 516 until 1995. After that, a series of big-box complexes rushed in, as did new streets to lead people inside their hulking parking structures. (I still have to swallow hard before I can give people directions that incorporate "Corporate Drive.")

It might be this weird arrested development that makes me a bit romantic over the suburban chain store.