Rating Retail in Southeastern Cities : Part 2

     Way back in the day (or 2 and a half months) I made a post on the ratings of retail in cities of the Southeast. Today this is my most popular post, and I would obviously make a sequel, and possibly make four parts to each region. So we create part 2 of the Southeast. This post covers the smaller cities of the area and their retail situation. And if you missed the methodology of my ratings, here you go:

- Number of dying/live shopping centers

- Hometown stores

- Future of retail

MEMPHIS, TN : B

Memphis is generally an underperformer in mostly everything. This carries over to the retail and business sector. Interesting, one mall has been demolished, Hickory Ridge is a little farther up the spectrum, then Southland, Oak Court, and finally Wolfchase. While odd, it's not preferred given that Hickory Ridge is soon to be demolished, leaving the fairly-large city with three malls plus Saddle Creek. One will be pretty much afterthought, so technically two malls. This sadly may not resolve itself, given that Memphis has pretty much underperformed on the growth part too. But, Fred's and AutoZone are based in Memphis and you can ship that with FedEx.

MONTGOMERY, AL : C

Montgomery has both vintage, but depressing retail. Montgomery Mall is the definition of dead. Normandale has no love or fun, and any redevelopment would be tough, given the neighborhood and decay. Eastdale is pretty average and small. And what rules king? Two lifestyle centers, by the names High Point Town Center, and the Shoppes at Eastchase. To add insult to injury, there isn't very much growth or any stores that a Montgomerian can proudly shop at. As in, hometown stores.

MACON, GA : C+

Macon is filled with mainly retail tragedy. Westgate was never exciting, and Burlington's, the dead mall auto fill-in anchor, has since. Macon Mall was once something of size and upscale, but was partially demolished a few years back and has had its power receded recently. Most retail excitement comes from the truly unexciting "power center" or a lifestyle coming by the name of the Shop-pes of River Crossing. This took the hype of Macon Mall, and is why the enclosed center is only a shell of itself. As for the rest, Macon also doesn't have a whole lot of growth or stores to be proud of.

GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG, SC : B

Like the tune of this list, GSP does well but doesn't. Haywood acts as the best mall in the state, and WestGate isn't far behind. But not all is well in the Three Cities. Greenville Mall, McAlister Square, and Hillcrest were badly conceived, and have since passed. Hillcrest has been and is still successful as a strip center, and McAlister Square is now an educational complex. Greenville Mall was demolished and replaced with - you guessed it - a power center. As for hometown headquarters, Denny's, sorta retail, is based in the area. As for the future, two malls is probably all the area needs, and expect them to prosper.

NASHVILLE, TN : B+

Nashville is a city of retail extremes. While Green Hills, Opry Mills, and CoolSprings Galleria are nice and all, you can't shake off Bellevue Center, Harding, Hickory Hollow, and 100 Oaks (in a way). Filling in the gaps are Rivergate and Stones River, which are pretty much mid-market "meh" malls. What really pulls down Nashville is that aside from restaurants, not much business-wise locates there. Hobby Lobby is the only notable. Nashville, like pretty much every other Southeastern city, has steady growth, and the retail will improve from it. Not bad, not great, but not much to be ashamed over.

Rich's in Knoxville : The Rich's Series #1

     While it will be a while before much is covered in Tennessee, I want to cover a weird part of retail history that isn't very well known. This is the story of Rich's Knoxville, the odd store that probably shouldn't have happened.

Wikimedia photo of the store while in operation.

     The men behind Rich's saw the extreme success of the Atlanta store, and thought they could recreate it in another market. The city named was Knoxville, and that's where the store would be put. To go ahead, Rich's purchased SH George and Sons department store for $2 million in stock.

The 50-year old company wasn't a large behemoth, and it seemed this would be perfect for the new foray. The deal closed on Feb 12, 1954, though the change wasn't immediate. It wasn't until the last day of 1954 that the name became George's-Rich's (sounds oddly familiar) Before that, Rich's announced plans of the closing of the downtown Knoxville George's store, to construct a newer, larger one on the corner of Henley and Locust.

     The building "Store of Tomorrow" was designed by Atlanta's Stevens and Wilkinson and won an AIoA Award of Merit for design. The two structures cost a total of $3.5 million and had 500,000 square feet of room. The other building was a parking structure with capacity large enough for 1,500 cars daily. The main store had a mid-century modern design that included a green-glazed front, with glass on the sides going all top to bottom. Inside the store was the Laurel Room restaurant, a luncheonette, beauty salon, a travel bureau, and more. The store opened in late August 1955, with a literal bomb, courtesy of Oak Ridge.

     Even with the grand opening and excitement, Rich's Knoxville lasted only five years. Towards the end, what partially could have contributed to the store's demise was a sit-in. Students from the HBCU Knoxville College demanded service at the Laurel Room and luncheonette, and the response wasn't great, as one may expect. This changed the picture of the store, and people avoided. And just like that, the store closed at age 5. The store was sold to Miller's, and is now a conference center for the University of Tennessee. 

Before - Pinterest

And after. Not much has changed. Born and Raised in the South