As a kid, there were 3 places I'd never miss visiting in Greenhills: Fun House for funny and weird stuff, Nova Fontana for toys, and Regina's for almost everything else.
Regina's was a treasure trove of items - particularly imported ones. Back when imported candies weren't as readily available as they are now, Regina's was the place where you could buy Lifesavers, Bubble Yum, Hubba Bubba, and a host of other imported sweets.
They also had a lot of imported novelty items, like Trapper Keepers. They had imported cologne, like Nenuco and De Ne Nes. They had imported toys, like Cabbage Patch Kids. They pretty much had everything.
It was my personal black hole as an elementary school kid. When I was inside Regina's, I'd stay there for at least an hour, browsing through every shelf, examining every nook and cranny.
As I grew older, Regina kept its same charm. But they had more items in store, including imported overruns, which I'd frequent. Before H&M opened in Manila, they already had H&M overruns there. I'd buy baby gifts there, too. And they even had imported magazines! So, they pretty much had everything I wanted.
The news that they're closing down was swift and shocking. It was expected that small businesses would suffer during this pandemic, but never did I think that Regina's would be one of them.
I just hope that they have a proper send-off before finally shuttering their doors. A place with such a storied history, and an impalpable role in the lives of Gen X-ers, deserves nothing less.
1 comment:
Sad when I heard they were closing. Sayang.
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