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Don Boyd | all galleries >> Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries - largest non-Facebook collection on the internet >> 1950 to 1959 Miami Area Historical Photos Gallery - click on image to view > 1957 - U-toTe'm convenience store at NW 103 Street and 12 Avenue, Miami
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1957

1957 - U-toTe'm convenience store at NW 103 Street and 12 Avenue, Miami

Northwest corner of NW 103 Street and 12 Avenue, Miami


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Donna 16-Sep-2020 01:46
I just saw this and was wondering who your dad was I worked in the office as a secretary and my uncle worked at this store and then moved up to manager over a bunch of stores. Trying to see if someone has names of managers in office, only remember first names and was searching for last names. I remember the day there was robbery in store next door to office and managers running out with guns to stop robbery. This was around 1975-76
Guest 02-Feb-2019 21:13
My dad moved our family from Houston to Miami in 1957 to start U-Tote-M stores in Florida. His original office was next to the first store on Biscayne Blvd. He later moved his office to N. Miami Avenue & 85th Street. He served as President of U-Tote-M of Miami until he retired. The company’s home office remained in Houston, TX. The company was sold to Fairmont Foods & several years later the stores became Circle K.
Guest 27-Mar-2016 02:24
183 St and now 57th ave. Auto correct sucks
Guest 27-Mar-2016 02:23
This is the u tote Em in Carol city which was at southeast side of new 1st and now 5th ave. Also there was a gas station across the street and one directly across
Guest 21-Dec-2015 16:49
Don, I wish I knew what part of town but I really have no idea. I'm just trying to use what few landmarks I can remember to locate where I lived. Was hoping it just might sound familiar to someone. The service stations may have had some signing calling the Miller texaco, Sinclair
Don Boyd18-Dec-2015 19:01
Joey Montana on 14-Mar-2013, that store was never a U-toTe'm. I grew up in that area when there was nothing west of W. 12th Avenue except farm fields, and ranches out by the Palmetto. It opened as a 7-11 and I used to get sodas and candy there. It was the first thing built west of W. 12th in that area between the canal and W. 49th Street. The canal was dug between the Palmetto and W. 12th Avenue after the 7-11 was there and they built the bridge over the canal when they linked the new canal with the old canal that ended at W. 12th Avenue.

Don
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Don Boyd18-Dec-2015 18:47
Guest, it would be very helpful if you told us what part of town that U-toTe'm was in, such as Hollywood, North Miami Beach, Kendall, etc.

Don
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Guest 18-Dec-2015 18:15
Can anyone remember a Utotem that would have been near a fairly industrial area and particular would have been near a Sinclair station with a texaco across from the Sinclair. Might have been some sort of plastic molding factory next to the texaco. About 1967
Guest 03-Jun-2013 22:00
Later...in the 70's and 80's these stores were colloquially now as "U-Rob-EM". You had a better chance of being shot-to-death working at one than you did working Overtown as a Cop.
Guest 14-Mar-2013 15:23
Ok now I understand your saying this one is in Miami going towards 441, but the layout is the same as the one I was referring to.
Joey Montana 14-Mar-2013 15:03
This has to be on the other block just goin north from W. 49th St. on W.12th Ave (aka N.W. 72nd Ave) it was a 7-11 after that, and the became what it is today La Gomera (tire store) Danny's Place. There was an alley way to the right of it that led to the Canal if you walked north, and if you walked South it would take you to the curve of W. 49th Pl.
Don Boyd13-Feb-2012 04:42
I'm sorry Jim but the only U-toTe'm on W. 49th Street was the one I described between W. 6th and W. 8th Avenues. It's not the store in the photo because that has no building to the right of it and the one on 49th Street was in the middle of a strip of stores including the narrow long Lums. There was no U-toTe'm west of 12th Avenue. I grew up in the area and watched everything being built in the 60's. Some other U-toTe'm's in the area were on W. 65th Street half a block east of W. 4th Avenue and one in the southeast corner of W. 16th Avenue and 60th Street.

Don
Guest 12-Feb-2012 23:36
The avenue portion of the address should be (Nw) 12. I believe the one Carmen is talking about was on W 49 st (Nw 103) and just west of W 12 av. facing south.
Jim
Don Boyd04-Apr-2010 16:10
Welcome to my website, Carmen. There were numerous U-toTe'm stores all over South Florida, just like 7-11's, but not as many. The store in this photo faced NW 103rd Street and it was in Miami as the address indicates, not Hialeah. The one you are thinking of was on the north side of W. 49th Street facing 49th Street at around W. 7th Avenue and it was in a strip shopping center with other small stores including a Lums on the east end. The U-toTe'm was one of the first stores on 49th Street to open as I recall with the Royal Castle on the northwest corner of W. 6th Avenue and 49th Street being the first to open in the late 1950's. I worked at the 49th Street U-toTe'm store from time to time on Sunday mornings - the owner paid me 25 cents an hour to sweep his parking lot of all the bottle caps and cigarette butts plus other trash and I got other benefits like being able to go into their big freezer to cool off and total access to their magazine rack.

Regarding the intersection of W. 49th and 12th Avenue, there were three gas stations on the northwest, northeast and southeast corners - Standard Oil was one of them but I can't remember if it was on the southeast or northeast corner. The southwest corner was always part of the huge cow pasture south of 49th Street from 12th Avenue to the Palmetto Expressway until it was developed. The 7-11 on W. 12th and 52nd was built in the late 50's/early 60's and it too went in where there used to be another huge cow pasture. I believe it was there before they dug the Little River Canal westward from 12th Avenue out to join other canals by the Palmetto and built the bridge on 12th Avenue over the canal. The 7-11 was the first business west of 12th Avenue at the time and we hated to see the cow pastures start disappearing.

Don
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carmen 04-Apr-2010 08:36
was this on 12th ave and 49th str.103? facing 12th or facing 103? or was it a litte more north where later it became 7-11 on 51stand 12 ave? and its hialeah ..not miami..i always wondered what was on 12 and 103rd street..since in 1971 i lived on 51 street..and dont ever recall what was on 12 and 103..in front of gus macado ford.btw i have spent coountless hours on this site..so interesting..ive always loved seeing miami back in the day.love this site.