ToquiNotes: Recalling a Few Defunct Stores from Hill's Shopping Plaza and Listing a Personal Favorite
By Jeff Toquinto on June 24, 2023 from ToquiNotes
It’s not really much of a surprise when I hear it and, to be honest, I do it myself. Here it is, roughly 35 years or longer since the doors were closed, and whenever giving directions to certain locations I still tell people and have people tell me “it’s just below Hill’s Plaza.”
For many, the words Hills Department Store mean very little. To individuals my age and older, Hills Department Store was part of a 
wonderful plaza that was like a mini vacation, particularly if you were a kid. I’ve talked in the past about my affinity for that store, but I’ve realized that it wasn’t just the store that was special. It was the entire plaza, which I believe is the reason so many people still refer to the area that now houses Home Depot as the anchor store as “Hill’s Plaza.”
wonderful plaza that was like a mini vacation, particularly if you were a kid. I’ve talked in the past about my affinity for that store, but I’ve realized that it wasn’t just the store that was special. It was the entire plaza, which I believe is the reason so many people still refer to the area that now houses Home Depot as the anchor store as “Hill’s Plaza.”
That said, there were plenty of great stores I can remember there. There was Grant’s, the Terrace Twin Cinemas, Muffler World around the back, the best Chinese Restaurant I’ve ever ate at in Ming Garden, and a bakery on the opposite side of the plaza that was called Dorothy's Pastries.
In fact, if anyone knows the names of any of the other businesses that were part of the layout of the former plaza, I’d greatly appreciate you adding it to the comment section below.
There was, however, one store that stood out to me as one of my favorites past Hill’s and may actually be my top store.
Does anyone remember David Weis? Does anyone remember their phrase “The Price is Weis?”
There was something unique about the store that caught my attention. It didn’t have the concession area that Hill’s had (I can taste the popcorn, pretzels and freeze Coke now) or the incredible toy section. It was more of an “adult” store with electronics and jewelry.
What I do know that it closed around the early part of the 1990s (according to our friends at the Bridgeport Finance Department they closed Sept. 30, 1990) and I’m pretty sure why I became fascinated with the store when it was open in the 1980s. Of course, it has to do with the aforementioned electronics.
In my junior high days, which is now middle school for those not at my advanced age, the age of the “boom box” was at hand. And having one was a luxury.
For whatever reason, my father decided that my brother needed a boom box and waited patiently for a sale at David Weis that would show up in one of their glossy catalogues. Eventually, prior to his birthday, there was a pretty nice Sony boom box with a cassette deck on the front and an AM/FM radio to boot. The cassette featured a search option where you hit rewind or forward and the tape would stop prior to the next song.
This was high tech stuff and thanks to David Weis it was heading to the Toquinto household in North View. For about a year, my brother had the best boom box at school until a few others – including myself – got one better, cheaper and with more features later. Mine came 16 months later on my birthday and was acquired at the Shinnston Flea Market at the still operating Ellis Drive-In.
I digress.
Although without the help of the Bridgeport Finance Department I wouldn't be able to recall the year David Weis closed in Bridgeport, I do remember when it closed something just didn’t seem right. The store always seemed packed to me. It always seemed to have the coolest items. And those items always just seemed a little bit out of my price range – which may be why it ended up closing.
Surprisingly, there is very little information on David Weis via the internet. In fact, it’s almost non-existent to the point that it makes you wonder if it ever existed at all.
Well, it did exist and it existed in Bridgeport. I can even tell you and show you exactly where it was located.
All you have to do is meet me at Hill’s Plaza.
Editor's Note: If anyone has photos of David Weis or any of the old stores at the Hill's Plaza, please send them to info@connect-bridgeport.com. After scouring the internet for hours, these were the only two photos with ties to David Weis that could be located.
