Lootles
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Posts posted by Lootles
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I also don't think that outdoor malls are the way things are headed. An outdoor mall is certainly not inherently more attractive than an indoor one; to the contrary, on rainy, cold, or hot days, which are plentiful, malls offers a welcome chance to strech your legs.
I don't think shopping trends are moving away from indoor malls as fast as people think. There will certainly be some retrenchment since malls were overbuilt during their heyday. But indoor malls definitely do have their niche which I don't see going away. To whatever degree shopping trends are moving away from indoor malls, I don't really think that outdoor malls are the direction. I think the movement is headed toward: (1) power centers and big boxes in suburban areas and mid-tier cities, and (2) urban downtown style retail in the largest cities.
Regarding Macy's, I personally don't view Macy's as being all that upscale, probably not too upscale to have a single location at the only real mall in WNC. I think a relatively minor exterior and interior renovation (plus the departure of Sears) would be enough to convince them to make the investment.
Don't forget about online shopping. That's made a huge difference in retail.
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Demolition has begun on the Dave Steel building between Roberts Street and Clingman Avenue. Any word on this yet?
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Word came last week that Dave Steel closed down their facility at the corner of Roberts Street and Clingman Avenue in the River Arts District. Today I understand that the property has already been sold. Has anyone heard what the plans for the property are? Or who has bought it?
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As to Innsbruck...this mall just seems to have gotten the shaft. It is apparently the oldest, but its lack of room to expand except upward and quick crushing by Asheville Mall makes it a miracle it lasted as long as it has. It looks like whatever renovations it has gotten were cheap at best...it still looks like 1965. It took a lot of people posting on my blog about it to get it straight what its anchors were. It was Mason's first, Sky City second and then it was subdivided into Brendle's and Office Depot. Brendle's closed with the chain then Big Lots came much later. Ingles was the other anchor...apparently built before 1970 and closing in 2005. Eckerd was in the mall, but where I'm unsure of. The area does have an obvious crime problem (I saw a store clerk at the replacement Ingles running down a shoplifter), and the actual mall portion has pretty much been relegated to small local businesses not dependent on regular shopping traffic. However, the lower level "strip" portion is largely occupied with some offices or something in the background. It could reasonably be converted to a two-level mall in that area if the need was there, and that portion of the mall is still successful otherwise.
I've worked down the street from Innsbruck since 1980 and can answer some of your questions. Brendle's was in the space currently occupied by Big Lots and Office Depot. It occupied that entire space for a very long time. I don't really remember if they downsized to half the space before closing or not, but I don't recall them and Office Depot being occupants at the same time, side by side. Ingles was (obviously by the outside decor) on the other side across the parking lot from where the new Ingles store is. That space is still vacant. Eckerds was in the space where Anna's Linens is now. The lower strip portion used to have two occupants, one a religious publishing company and there was an underground restaurant. When I moved here it was called The Rathskellar and then was The Windmill, and then the Windmill European Grill. I think it may have been a location of Franks Roman Pizza at some point, too. The restaurant closed a few years back when the mall underwent renovations. The restaurant was owned by the Shastri's, parents of Vijay Shastri - who has the Flying Frog downtown. Vijay worked there as chef as a teenager.
I'm trying to remember what was in the Dollar General Store location before it was DGS. I don't recall Sky City ever being at Innsbruck Mall - but maybe they were before 1980. Also, there was a cafeteria at the eastern end of the second floor of the mall where all the large windows are. It may have been a precursor of J&S. I do remember it had a similar name but which letters exactly, I cannot recall. It was there for a very long time before closing.
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I moved to Asheville in 1986, though I was very young at the time and probably don't have any clear memories until 1988 or so. At that point Innsbruck mall was already rather deserted. Brendle's was the main retail tenant - I don't think Asheville ever had a Montgomery Wards until the one in the Asheville Mall opened sometime in the early/mid 1990s.
As for the lost 2-story section, I remember it too, somewhat. My mom took me shopping with her at the mall pretty often, but there was very little up there on the second floor so we pretty much never went up there. I'm pretty sure it was eliminated at about the same time as the Gallery South addition was built somewhere in the neighborhood of 1990. As I recall, there was practically nothing up there. It was accessible from the second story of some of the department stores like Belk and Ivey's. It wasn't "open" like modern malls are - it had a full floor. This could be my mind playing tricks on me, but I remember that it had a green carpet floor - almost like astroturf (ridiculous, I know.)
Oh, man. Trying to remember that second story at the A-Mall is going to drive me nuts. I do believe there was one and, like Orulz said, that it connected to Ivey's which is the current Dillard's location. I've worked within a few blocks of both malls for nearly 30 years now and, though I'd rather be nibbled to death by ducks than go to either one, I have been around for many changes. Yes, Brendle's was the main tenant in Innsbruck Mall for many years. It took up the entire location that is now Big Lots and Office Depot. After Brendle's closed, they divided the space into two stores. There was not a Montgomery Ward there at all. There was a large cafeteria on the upper level on the northeast end. One of those places with initials for a name, like J&S, but not J&S, best I recall.
As for the A-Mall, I seem to remember escalators being in the hallway area that now goes down alongside Dillard's and to the Gallery South area. There was a Litchfield's restaurant in that area, too. They had great Rueben's, btw. The opening into the Ivey's store was in or adjacent to the kitchen/housewares department. Belk's was never a two-story store until their renovation several years back and the second floor section of the mall didn't connect to that store. The Asheville Mall offices were in the second floor and, it seems, there were a few stores up there. Maybe the cigar shop?
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This is Asheville we're talking about here -- it probably really is enchanted. Is it open during the day? Whenever things are going wrong, I like to spend time in churches until I feel some peace again. Going to St. Lawrence or the cathedral usually makes me feel much better, but if there's yet another place I could go and meditate and pray, I'd love to know about it. Unfortunately, most of the churches here are locked during the day.
I believe it is open during the day. It certainly used to be though I haven't been by there for a while. It's a lovely little church, I hope you like it.
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I go there to pray whenever I'm upset. It's the holiest place in town. The cathedral in Biltmore Village is second.
St. Mary's at the corner of Macon Avenue and Charlotte Street is another church on the same level, in my opinion. We call it "the Enchanted Church."
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Wow, actually I've never seen the inside of St. Lawrence. I think you heard the story already, but the plans for this church were drawn up by a guy that George Vanderbilt brought over from Spain to assist with the design and construction of Biltmore. Quite a few of the unique, highly detailed early 20th century structures in Asheville have their roots in the Vanderbilts and Biltmore.
Guastavino had been in the US and was already quite successful prior to being hired by George Vanderbilt for the work at the Biltmore Estate. There are a number of famous structures in NYC and throughout the country that bear his mark.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guastavino_tile
There was also a stonemason by the name of Bitter who did a lot of work on the Biltmore House and his descendants remain as Asheville residents to this day.
By the way, if you do get a chance to tour the Basilica, try to get a tour by one of the docents. You'll be privy to a lot of additional information about the building that you wouldn't otherwise get.
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Just came back from Costco at Wesgate. I think I'll be changing my membership from Sam's to there. About the same stuff, but it seemed to be better brands and more selections.
I did notice at Costco.com today that their M-F opening hours for regular members is 11:00 am, and for executive card holders it's 10:00 am. Sam's gives a better deal for business members by letting them in as early as 7:00 am on weekdays and regular members at 10:00 am.
Just thought I'd point that out in case that would be a concern for you. Luckily, my Sam's membership is a free employee benefit for me so that leaves me to pay for Costco - which I happily do.
Costco's store brand (Kirkland) is excellent on everything I've ever gotten of it. The Kirkland canned tuna is especially good.
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I hear that Costco in Spartanburg is opening today and the one in Greenville will open tomorrow or Friday. Can anyone confirm this?
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I drove by last night and the Costco site appears to be ready for at least a "soft opening" in August.
Thanks, again. If anyone hears of a opening date, would you mind posting it here?
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Does anyone know if Costco is still planning an August '07 opening? Living in Asheville, I don't get much news about it.
Thanks.
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Look for Williams-Sonoma to open late fall 2007...
Excellent! How'd you come by this information?
By the way, I'm still hearing reports that Whole Foods is coming to Asheville but don't have any information on where yet.
BB&T building conversion to hotel
in Asheville
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Along with you, Orluz, I've liked it, too. Or at least was ambivalent about it. I was sitting at the light on Wednesday looking at the building trying ti imagine how they're going to spiff it up. I hope they don't put the very trendy stamp on it that most of the buildings lately have had. They'll be dated in no time.