mediamongrel

i agree with a lot of the things you said. As far as the mall debate goes, it just seems to me that it is in a crappy area of town. Tunnel Rd. isn't that great of an area, especially the north part. I drive up and down that section at least three or four times a week, and I see a lot of loitering, crackheads, and no effort is really being made to improve it other than building a car wash and vitamin store. I don't frequent that mall as much as the defunct Biltmore Square or the Biltmore Park plaza. They are just nicer areas with easier access and less traffic. However, if some people still like the Asheville Mall that's fine, but I honestly cannot see it as a mall that would be attracting higher end stores in the future.

3 days in a row for the all time high in Charlotte of 104.

so much for the cool summer...Charlotte tied the ALL TIME RECORD of 104 today (last set in 2007)

The last time I remember going into a Best Buy, they would never have anything I wanted in stock, whether it be a DVD or CD. They would always say, "We can order it for you," and I'd be saying, "So can I, on Amazon." Best Buy will probably also be gone around the time of B & N's exit. Media sales will be primarily over the internet (via streaming and downloading) and regular CDs and DVDs will still be easier to have shipped to your house, rather than "going out to buy a CD." If Best Buy just opened up a smaller type store, focusing on TVs, DVD players, and cell phone sales, they might actually make it, but I doubt the execs would go for that.

Yes that is really odd. Especially considering B & N has two stores within 10 miles. (Asheville Mall & Biltmore Park) Speaking of Kmart, another thing that is puzzling is that you can get a B & N Nook at Kmart (when they are on sale) for $30 less than B & N's price. They are just killing themselves in essence. Also, they try to make people think all their dvds are a bargain at 50% off, but the regular prices on some of their DVDs are $39.99 for ONE Blu-Ray! People just go to B & N to read without paying, get coffee at the coffee bar, and leave. I don't see the B & N stand alone stores surviving for more than 5 years. There's too many outlets to get books that are a lot cheaper, like E-books, or if you want the actual paper versions, they are always cheaper on Amazon anyway.

Sears Holdings tends to shut down grops of stores after the holiday season. So in all likelyhood, I would expect the Sears at Asheville Mall, the adjacent Kmart, and the Skyland Kmart to shut down sometime around the beginning of 2013. This would leave the Brevard Road and Patton Ave. Kmarts as the only two remaining Sears Holdings properties in the Asheville area (not counting the Kmart in Hendersonville).

Most malls are "packed" because teens and other people loiter around them. That being said, teens rarely buy anything of a substantial value, other than maybe Claire's, FYE, or the food court, so when you see a packed mall it is very misleading. The Asheville mall is starting to become like the old Four Seasons mall in Greensboro when it comes to people loitering around. And as far as Best Buy goes, it does seem like they are on their last legs. Movies, CDs, TVs, and practically everything else they sell is all available cheaper online. I haven't been inside a Best Buy in probably 10 years.

You're right, that mall, for being the only one is Asheville, is pretty sad. The Biltmore Square Mall never took off, and I really couldn't think of a decent place for a second mall. However, like all enclosed malls, it will probably eventually meet it's demise. The move to outdoor malls is what the future is (other than shopping online). The ULTA store was probably the only poisitve thing in that mall in a while. Holiday traffic is a nightmare near the mall, and I don't know if Macy's would ever choose the Asheville Mall in all honesty. Like you mentioned, they are just not quite upscale enough for a Macy's, and I doubt they ever will be.

If you like that sort of thing, I guess downtown is your haven. I'm just saying I can see why some people dont.

That's pretty funny. I actually agree with you. I like Asheville a lot, but I stay away from downtown most of the time. I would rather not deal with crackheads, panhandlers, "occupy" groups who just do nothing all day...Is that supposed to be inviting for tourists? No wonder people just stay near Biltmore Village or Biltmore Park when they come here. If I was introduced to the city's downtown by seeing all of that garbage, I would too!

Dewpoints tend to be higher in the mountains because of the moist air getting "trapped" in between the mountains. Though the temperature may be 95 in Charlotte and the dewpoint 66, Asheville for instance may see only 89, but with a dewpoint of 69, making it feel about the same. The mountains (relative term) aren't much cooler, except for places like Boone and Jefferson. Those areas are a lot higher in elevation though. Areas like Forest City and Rutherfordton may be considered "the mountains" but they usually get temperatures equal to that of Charlotte because of the downsloping effect.

That's a nice area, but in my opinion, it's way too far south of I-40 to be considered "Asheville."

Montogomery Ward? Most of them shut down a few years after this (around 1999 or so)

That HT you are speaking of is very old though. It was built in 1990, and is comparitively small inside, so more people might switch than you think.

RECORD #1 BROKEN; HIGHEST AVERAGE AUGUST TEMPERATURE = 83.7 (2007) OLD RECORD = 81.9 (1900) RECORD #2 BROKEN; 2ND LONGEST STREAK WITH TEMPERATURE 90 DEGREES OR HIGHER = 32 (2007) *NOTE THE FIRST PLACE RECORD IS 33 DAYS BUT WILL PROBABLY NOT BE TIED TOMORROW. RECORD #3 BROKEN (TENTATIVE) LEAST RAINFALL FOR AUGUST = 0.41" (2007) OLD RECORD = 0.61" (1972) *NOTE THIS RECORD IS VALID UNLESS THE AIRPORT RECEIVES 0.21" OF RAIN OR MORE THIS EVENING CERTAINLY, THIS AUGUST WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS WE BREAK THREE ALL TIME RECORDS, AS WELL AS SETTING NUMEROUS TEMPERATURE RECORDS THIS MONTH INCLUDING 104 DEGREES, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST EVER.

Rain for month as of midnight = 0.41" 31 days 90 or above breaks the old second place record.

True, but the rest of Greensboro is far from HT clientel. (Nothing against Greensboro, used to live there)

After Tuesday, the average temperature for Aug. '07 is still running 84.0 No precip at the airport either. 29 days 90 or above.

Their only problem is, in my opinion, that they ONLY concentrate on Charlotte, Raleigh and Washington, D.C. Their stores is Winston Salem are slowly dwindling in sales, they have been eaten up by Ingles in the mountains of NC, and they have been forced to vacate many areas such as Atlanta, Georgia, and parts of Tennessee over the last five years. I don't know if anyone can call HT a great retailer when their only stronghold is basically two areas (Raleigh & Charlotte). Plus they only pick areas where the median income is over $100,000 and that doesn't include very many people.

OTHER RECORDS SET TO BE BROKEN! There is another interesting record which might be broken by August 31, 2007. This record is the average temperature for August. The record for highest average August temperature is 81.9 set back in 1900. Currently, the average temperature to date in Charlotte in 84.1 Unless temperatures take a massive dive and lessen the average by 2.2 degrees, then we will also set a record for highest ever average temperature in August.

THE STREAK DOESN'T END! As of 6pm today the high temperature at the Charlotte Douglas Airport was 90 degrees, which continues the streak of days with a temperature of 90 degrees or above at 28 days. The four week (28 day) record, is a new third place in the longest 90-day streaks ever since records have been kept (1879). If we can hit 90 until Thursday, we can break the 2nd place record of 31 days. We also still have a shot to break the least precipitation ever during the month of August. The old record is 0.61, so unless the airport picks up another quarter inch of rain or so in the next four days, we will set the all time record for least rain in August in any given year. I will keep track of that one in the next few days.

Who knows why. I am just as puzzled as you, because as I have noted before on this forum, there are cities around the country that have 1-2 million people and they are similar to Charlotte, however they have about HALF the amount of grocery stores. I think in about 15-20 years when the population tends to permanently settle in certain areas of Charlotte, some stores will be very busy while others will be left with almost no one shopping there and will end up closing. For right now, everyone is still "sprawling" and most of the 45+ Harris Teeters in Mecklenburg county are doing fairly well. In other areas, such as Winston-Salem, this is not the case. I will explore that market in more detail later on in this forum.

Today breaks the third longest 90 degree day streak from 1925. We are now at 22 straight 90 degree days. Only two records left (31 and 33 days)

What do you mean by Whole Foods' reasoning?

As of a couple hours ago, the Charlotte Douglas Airport has hit 90 degrees or above for the 19th consecutive day. This puts the current streak in fourth place knocking out 7/4/77-7/22/77 (19 days) as the old fourth place streak. This only leaves three 90 degree day streaks ahead of the current one. They are; 8/31/25-9/21/25 (22 days), 7/4/86-8/3/86 (31 days), and 6/28/93-7/30/93 (33 days). The weather forecast tomorrow may make it pretty close as the high is expected to be right around 90 degrees, however, after that, it looks like all next week should be in the 90's as well. We will see if the current streak holds. Also, the atmosphere looks like it may get a little more active and unstable this week, giving a higher probability of much needed rain. So far, the airport has only recorded 0.01" this month. The record for least rainfall in August is 0.61" in 1972, and there is a good chance we will break that as well.