Greenville Mall

[Greenville]

The low-end retailer that replaced Wal-Mart at the Foothills Mall in Easley was called Bud's. It is my understanding that Bud's was named after Bud Walton, Sam Walton's brother. It didn't last long, and as someone else stated, Foothills Mall was torn down soon thereafter to build the Lowe's. That was a good move, as Foothills Mall wasn't really much of a mall to begin with.

I heard rumors within the last 1-2 years that the Saco Lowell on route 123 (across from the huge Rock Springs Baptist Church) was going to become a mall. I don't know how much truth there was to that rumor, but I have heard that from more than one source.

[mallguy]

I have heard the same thing re: the Platt Saco Lowell (sic) redevelopment.

For as to why Easley doesn't yet have a regular mall, I'd expect that Foothills Mall must have been built in the 1970s when malls of its type, with discounters and grocery stores as anchors, were built, and at in the 1970s Easley didn't have the demographics to support a regular mall with department stores.

Now that 2 of the handful of anchors available for a mall in Easley- Belk and JC Penney- as well as the mini-Sears that is also on 123, are already elsewhere in Easley, I don't see that any other anchors other than Dillard's would be available for a mall. With Belk being somewhat new and the JC Penney being somewhat new (maybe 10 years old? I don't really remember), I don't think that a regular mall would be built anytime soon, although perhaps a strip center with some national tenants would be a possibility, especially as the Belk and JC Penney are in a good location. That Town & Country strip mall has run through various anchors over the years but has always bounced back from any losses, so it must do a good business.

[perrykat]

Exactly what is E.F. Merrel? I remember seeing it on mallmanacs but I never really paid attention. I see it says "Across from Food Court", which makes me think it's the space that now occupies the pooltable store?

[Greenville]

Is that the same Merrell that makes the outdoorsy/hiking type shoes?

[mallguy]

It's the same thing, more or less, as Drexel Heritage. It had a high-end furniture store that opened maybe in 1996 in the big space across from Harold's, and it expanded into the current pool table store (that had been a store called 8 Degrees North), the former Storehouse Furniture store and the store next to Crabtree & Evelyn that had been called Indigo Road or something. Then Drexel Heritage pulled out of the mall, claiming that a freestanding store was needed, and then Palmetto Home & Garden filled the main former store. I now see that Drexel Heritage/E.F. Merrell is re-opening somewhere on Woodruff Road.

[perrykat]

That's what I was thinking, re: EF Merrell. Strangely enough, going down I-385 there's still a Drexel-Heritage sign on the back of the mall. I'm surprised when PH&G moved in to that space they didn't take the sign down.

Where did the karate studio in the center court come from? What did they replace? The storefront looks pretty nice; it's a pretty big place.

[mallguy]

That's what I was thinking, re: EF Merrell. Strangely enough, going down I-385 there's still a Drexel-Heritage sign on the back of the mall. I'm surprised when PH&G moved in to that space they didn't take the sign down.

Where did the karate studio in the center court come from? What did they replace? The storefront looks pretty nice; it's a pretty big place.

Sharon Luggage, I think. that was a good store- Tumi luggage, Mont Blanc pens, etc. The South Carolina locations closed a few years back. There is still one at SouthPark, I think.

[gs3]

Stumbled on this website today. Has a brief history of all the Greenville malls.

http://www.mallhistory.com

[greenvilleguy]

Spoke to someone earlier at Palmetto Home and Garden and it seems that they are once again looking for a new location. According to an employee, Rooms To Go/Rooms To Go Kids is going to be on the site of the current PH&G. They didn't know anymore about other retailers. I knew RTG was looking for a site on Woodruff but I figured they would go down towards Greenridge. That'll be another empty building on Haywood.

[mallguy]

So now my beloved Parisian is becoming a Rooms to Go? I have shopped there, admittedly, but it is a furniture equivalent of Burlington Coat Factory.

That's about as bad as a shuttered Saks Fifth Avenue near Chicago that got converted into a Steve & Barry's $10 or less T-shirt shop late last year.

Please tell me that at least the Parisian building is being torn down.

[RestedTraveler]

I have shopped there, admittedly, but it is a furniture equivalent of Burlington Coat Factory.

RTG itself isn't bad. Now, on the other hand, the RTG Outlet stores are more of an equivalent to our Burlington Coat Factory. :-(

[StevenRocks]

Rooms to Go is a little cheeseball, but it's better than an empty store.

[greenvilleguy]

The entire mall is being torn down. RTG will be in a new building.

[mallguy]

Any word yet on the tenants in the new development? I'd be curious as well to see what the Greenville Journal article said about that mall.

Thanks.

[perrykat]

I, personally, would like to see PH&G fill up either the vacant Rhodes Furniture (Haywood) or Service Merchandise (Verdae). Those are both pretty nice spaces, in decent areas. Glad to see they're moving instead of closing up for good.

[StevenRocks]

The entire mall is being torn down. RTG will be in a new building.

I understand. RTG would be too small to fill the entire Palmetto building.

[jarvismj]

Who would want to volunteer to go to the mall while it's still open and get some pictures, mostly for historical purposes. To me, the mall is still pretty good shape, but then again, I haven't been in there in almost 3 years.

[perrykat]

I'm planning on it as soon as I can find time!

[mallguy]

I have some pictures- both when the mall still had anchors and then after the anchors left. I will put them up soon.

[perrykat]

Yes! Please do!

[mallguy]

I just tried but do not know how, but PM me and send me your email address and I will email them to you.

I even have pictures of McAlister Square in the '80s somewhere. Does anyone have any pictures of that mall in the '70s, downtown in the '70s or Bell Tower Mall before it was converted into office space? I'd be interested in those as well.

[gs3]

I even have pictures of McAlister Square in the '80s somewhere. Does anyone have any pictures of that mall in the '70s, downtown in the '70s or Bell Tower Mall before it was converted into office space? I'd be interested in those as well.

I would love to see old photos of McAlister in it's heyday! Please post.

[mallguy]

I would love to see old photos of McAlister in it's heyday! Please post.

I'll see if I can find them- they are just slides of the mall's interior and exterior from 1989. It was just an '80s-looking mall with big banners draped down from the ceiling; otherwise it was plainer than it is now (although more stores!) and it needed a paint job on the outside. Typical mall stores of the time- a fabric store, Ivey's, the Open Book, Kinney Shoes, etc.

[gs3]

^ Thanks!

[perrykat]

I went to GM today and here's the latest news.

Harold's is almost empty from what I could see they are in the process of "Going out of Business" sales.

The Regis haircutting place has closed.

Oriental Express will stay there as long as they can and they'll move up the road, they say.

Eddie Bauer is moving to Haywood Mall in April.

Palmetto Home and Garden is looking for a new location and they hope they can move by this summer.

I asked someone at Sports Authority what they were going to do and they said they will most likely close there and continue to operate their Marketplace (Laurens Rd) facility.