Latitude: 37.3798 Longitude -121.909. Fry's Electronics is almost an institution here in San Jose. Without their daily ads, I think the local paper would shut down. There are six stores in the Bay Area, others in Los Angeles, and Arizona. The coordinates are for the one on Brokaw which uses a Mayan motif in the exterior and interior design. 
(photo by Scott Robinson)
The stores are filled with everything related to consumer and nerd electronics at very low prices. It's overwhelming to me, and you can imagine how overwhelmed Internet friends from Latin America and Africa feel when they make a Hadj to one of these temples. If you don't know what you want, the huge number of options makes it rather hard to choose. The ads I mentioned run from one to four days. You have to read the fine print, and many sale items are not so marked on the shelves. Also beware of marginal quality on some goods, especially from China. I just bought a memory card reader and the slots are too small for the card I have. However, the staff handling the numerous returns are quick and polite. They are used to it. It's also the most polyglot staff I have seen outside the United Nations. I even struck up a conversation with a Sudanese "Lost Boy" who had found a job at the Campbell store.
The oddest product they have carried is the LG Internet refrigerator.
I haven't been in a Fry's in years. The last time was in the late 80s when we had a project with KLA Instruments. We were visiting the mother Fry's in the middle of the night when they announced a special on Mt Dew and twinkies (presumably you had to buy them together). The magazine section was cute - DDJ was in the same position where Playboy would be found in a "normal" store.
Posted by: steve | December 28, 2004 at 01:33 PM
Yes, the junk food is still a part of Fry's. Along the checkout line there are all sorts of impulse items, not just food.
Posted by: Steve Cisler | December 30, 2004 at 02:16 PM