[Suburbia Lost] W3BK
It’s been a minute since I’ve added anything to the Suburbia Lost series, so, here’s four more entries:
Spirit Halloween (Formerly Sam Ash) - Springdale, Ohio:
As a kid, I’d regularly rotate between three Cincinnati-area music stores: the Buddy Rogers in Fairfield, the Guitar Center in Forest Fair Mall, and the Sam Ash in Springdale—the last being where I once bought a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder and a guitar.
The Buddy Rogers would eventually close and the Guitar Center would flee the dying mall for a new location: the other side, of the same building, as Sam Ash. The rival stores supposedly even shared a backroom separated only by a chainlink fence which ran from floor to ceiling. Employees working for competitors could apparently even talk to each other through it.
At least, that’s how the story went.
Looking at Google Maps now, I don’t think those high school rumors were true (thanks, Ben). The stores appear to have been close by, but in completely separate structures. Nevertheless…
…Guitar Center still lives and it outlasted this particular Sam Ash. One which closed with the rest of the chain in May 2024 as the company faced bankruptcy. By September, it was a Spirit Halloween.
Long faded even before Spirit Halloween arrived, the logo of the MARS Music chain still remained on the concrete out front even after this particular location had become a Sam Ash.
Mars/Sam Ash-era tiles seen inside the building during Sprit Halloween’s temporary tenure.
Taco Bell - Edgewood, KY:
Like some of the other Taco Bells featured in this series, this one was decommissioned after a brand-new location opened just down the street. Unlike those other examples, though, this one hasn’t been repurposed. At least not as a local restaurant. When I first came across it, some guy was selling Donald Trump merchandise in the parking lot.
Also—this mural at a nearby (still operating) McDonald’s:
<3
Quaker Steak & Lube - Florence, KY:
Buffalo/chicken wings have become a culinary, cultural hallmark whose reputation extends well beyond the dish’s humble beginnings as a sports bar snack. Declaring one’s preference for preparation and style can ignite both conversation and argument as demand for the dish has become synonymous with the ebb and flow of the global economy. This isn’t a new phenomenon, but the popularity of the cuisine only continues to rise. Quaker Steak & Lube wasn’t the first brand to center its identity around chicken wings, but the chain did boldly declare the phrase “BEST WINGS USA” in its marketing. Whether or not that was true is a matter of conjecture, but public opinion didn’t seem to agree when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
This Cincinnati-area location, however, lasted for eleven years. Closing in January 2024, it cited the Covid-19 Pandemic and the reconfiguration of a nearby state highway as the reasons for its closure. It now sits empty across a parking lot from The Florence Mall, a shopping center that’s still keeping on beneath an iconic water tower that famously had to be re-painted to say “Florence Y’all” instead of “Florence Mall.” The landmark even inspired the name of a local baseball team when the “Florence Freedom” became the “Florence Y’alls” in 2020.
Quaker Steak & Lube is still an active company with two other locations in the greater-Cincinnati market, all of which feature similar designs. Notably, the retro-inspired “EAT” signs and muscle car theming reference an era of roadside culture that these types of “casual dining” chains helped snuff out.
Burger King - Kings Mills, Ohio:
When I was ten and Wild Wild West starring Will Smith was in theaters, all I wanted was a pair of the movie-inspired sunglasses that Burger King was offering as a promotional item. For some reason, I remember the sunglasses being very popular and my mom having to call around to different BK locations because I wouldn’t shut up about wanting them. We eventually got a pair from a location in the Tri-County Mall food court.
Did you know that Will Smith turned down the role of “Neo” in The Matrix so that he could be in Wild Wild West? This is largely derided as a poor career decision, however, I truly believe that “W3” (as I’m sure true fans call it) is the superior movie. Say what you will about the plot and the giant, mechanical spider, but at least that movie was never taking itself too seriously. In a way, it’s a lot like Burger King—the fast food chain that’s always a second, third, or fourth choice, yet, one that’s keeping it real with the cheapest DoorDash delivery fee. In the end, you didn’t just settle for flame-grilled fantasy, you made a good choice. Probably even got a surprise onion ring in your fries too! An experience as satisfying as half-watching W3 on a free streaming service with commercials. Enjoy discussing those disappointing Matrix sequels while sitting in an agonizingly long McDonald’s drive-thru line—I’ll be listening to my cassette version of the W3 soundtrack and sporting the sunglasses I still have.
So, right after I initially wrote all that, I went looking for my W3BK sunglasses and couldn’t find them. I know (hope) they’re somewhere, but for now, I did manage to find my “Music Inspired by the Motion Picture Wild Wild West” cassette.
Except, sadly, it was just the empty case and I couldn’t find the tape..
I know (hope) it’s somewhere. Nevertheless, I ordered some Burger King and photographed the case with my dinner:
While discussing the mystery of my missing sunglasses with a friend and coworker the next day, she mentioned that she actually had a pair in her car! As it turned out, her son had also once coveted these movie marketing items and after all these years—Jodi had been keeping them around her various vehicles as emergency spares should the bright sun strike an unprepared passenger. We rushed from the office and down to the parking garage where she retrieved a plastic case, one bearing a familiar logo of three “W’s”.
Sadly, though, the serendipity didn’t last. The glasses inside were in fact not officially licensed replicas of the ones that had been donned by the iconic Will Smith character known as Jim West, but rather just a random pair..
I’ve got some cases, though, should I ever find my souvenirs:
Anyways, this particular Burger King closed. It’s was right near the Waffle House and was always a great, backup food option when you got tired of hash browns and eggs, but still wanted to hang with waffle folks.
Special thanks to Lammi for ordering us Burger King on his Dash Pass account (and letting me use your Quibi password still), thanks to Jodi for always being awesome, and thanks to Steve for reading this.
Since 2007, the content of this website (and its former life as Queen City Discovery) has been a huge labor of love.
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