Very interesting video here: vintage Ingles and Sky City. This was a much older style of Sky City than what I was familiar with, which had a much more modern logo. This store looks to have been one of the 60's or ealry 70's models. A similar Ingles/Sky City arrangement was common in Georgia and North Carolina, but it also existed in Tennessee. Check out some of the other videos from the author of the Rose's during demolition in Morristown. The creator of this video is also the photographer of the lone photo currently available online of a Sky City store.
I remember spending many a weekend afternoon at this Sky City. I can still taste the grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and the chopped steak dinners were delicious too! At one time in the 70's-80's, this store had a pharmacy. Sometime in the late-80's, I believe, they did some remodeling, which mainly included installing what looked like garage doors in departments for displaying featured items. The old Sky City space is now an Ingle's, who demolished it and built in the old space. The old Ingle's is now a Big Lots.
ReplyDeleteMy mom worked at the Sky City in Greeneville, TN. in the 1970's. It later became a Kuhn's Big K after, according to my Mom, Kuhn's purchased at least 2 or 3 Tri-City area Sky City stores. Of course, it later became a Wal-Mart, then a Bud's, and now a Big Lots.
Remember their jingle? "Get more for less...at SKY CITTYYYY". The Sky City in Brevard NC had a great snack bar...some of the best cheeseburgers I ever ate.
ReplyDeletegreat blog. I am the owner of the above video and the photo of Sky City posted online and also the videos of the Roses Store here in Morristown. I really appreciate you linking the video to your blog, it is awesome. Anyway, I made this video back in 1993 on a Friday afternoon. I vividly remember this Sky City store and a lot about it. I can still smell the roasted spanish nuts and popcorn from the snack bar that was located in front of the cash registers right in front of the windows to the left of the front doors. I also remember the restaurant in the rear portion of the store and their famous "Sky Burgers" The above poster was correct in his remarks about the store being remodeled and his description of the portals built in the walls that had the name of each department at the top of the portal ex. (Housewares), (Mens Wear) etc. This Sky City store was huge, bigger than most Wal Mart stores at the time, especially our first Wal Mart located in the old Downtown Mall. Anyway, this Sky City store was constructed around 1969 and the original name of this shopping center was Eastgate Shopping Center. But all the locals called it and still call it Sky City Shopping Center today. More info... The huge sign lit up at night in bright red colors and the parking lot lights were visible miles away...The huge letters were each on a background support that were painted different colors. They were eventually just all painted gray, but the letters themselves remained bright red. Also, Sky City was always famous for their trademark multi colered diamond designs painted on their stores, usually appearing under the windows and under their Sky City logo name on advertisement circulars and the design was on this store too along with the drawings of a Sky City store on their shopping bags. Also upon entering the store their was a longtime employed security guard always on duty. Funny thing about Sky City was that their prices were always higher than anyone else in town. There were always huge travelling carnivals in the parking lot of this store from time to time. I also remember this store at a time when the parking lot was full of customers and this store was the first retail store to be open on Sundays, if I am remembering correctly. Anyway, yes this store still appeared to be a relic from the 60's and 70's! It was awesome. Again, I appreciate you linking my video and also mentioning my other videos. My name is Doug and I still live here in the area. My username is bulldogman3 on youtube. thanks for a great website!
ReplyDeleteWe used to have a Sky City in Murphy, NC. It closed when I was pretty young so I don't remember a whole lot about it. I do remember shopping for bathing suits there. I also remember being fascinated with the mannequins and I used to try to change their shoes. Our old Sky City is now broken up into several different stores, the biggest one being a Sav-A-Lot grocery store.
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DeleteSky City was a discount store chain based in Asheville, North Carolina. In the early 1990s, Sky City took a huge plummet when Wal-Mart started moving into the areas of North Carolina where there had previously been no competition except for Rose's Department Store. In 1991 Interco, Inc. sold Sky City Stores, Inc. to a group of investors, headed by Harvey Yellen, Sky City Stores' chief executive officer, for an undisclosed figure. The investment group formed a new company, Sky City Holding Corp.
The new owner, The Sky City Holdings Corp., includes a Hong Kong-based global trading firm called Asia Pacific Industries. Sky City generated sales of $140 million in 1990 - up from $120 million during the previous year - but has been up against intense competition in its Southeast trading area from Wal-Mart, Rose's and other full-line discounters.
The infusion of capital from Asia Pacific Industries and other members of the holding company allowed for five new store openings in 1991 - each conforming to the chain's new, 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) prototype size - plus the development of new corporate offices, a warehouse and a distribution center in its current headquarters city, Asheville, N.C.
Sky City is the first retail operation in which Asia Pacific Industries has invested, although it does have ownership in other non-retail U.S. firms.
John B. Owens, director of stores and operations with Sky City, said the 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) prototype was designed to serve small communities. Stores ranged in size from 51,000 square feet (4,700 m2) to 28,000 square feet (2,600 m2). Also, Owens said the chain planned to increase the percentage of merchandise that is the result of opportunistic buys. Sky City opened its first test prototype in March 1991.
Twenty of the chain's 55 Southeastern stores were being shuttered as part of a restructuring of Sky City operations. Remaining stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia underwent a remodeling and a program to beef up in-store inventory levels.
Stores that closed in 1990 included nine stores in North Carolina, five stores each in Georgia and South Carolina, and one in Tennessee.
Employees at stores that closed were relocated to remaining stores whenever possible, said Yellen, adding that it is possible that some of the closed stores could be reopened at a later date. This never happened. In early 1992 the chain closed for good.
I was an employee of Sky City from 1982 thru 1984. I was an assistant manager and was offered my position as manager of an N.C. store but chose to return to college.
ReplyDeleteSky City was very similar to K-Mart at that time and we used many of the same suppliers, especially for clothing and domestics(linens, towels, sewing etc.) Alot of times we would recieve items with K-Mart price tags as they had a lot of merchandise pre-tagged. We priced our own. We basically offered the same services, to include a snack grill. We were not known for our food however but more for our offering on retail products since the nearest K-Mart was 48 miles away. The stores were owned by Interco Inc. They were a large conglomerate that also owned Florsheim Shoes and Ethan Allen Furniture. Wal-Mart of course for told the fate of the chain. There were 78 stores when I left the company.
We had a Sky City in Albemarle, NC. I think it closed in the early 80's. I remember the sign being huge red letters, but not quite the same type as the ones in the video. Ours did not have a snack bar that I recall. It was close to my neighborhood. As kids, we would ride our bikes to Sky City to play whatever arcade game they had--Centipede is the one I recall. I remember going there regularly to buy 45s and albums. One Christmas my dad went there to buy my mom a Polaroid camera. We have some funny pictures of him in the store taken by the salesperson. That same year, a classmate got a watch from Santa that I knew came from Sky City--but I just assumed that Santa must shop there too, lol. The Sky City parking lot on the weekends was a popular cruising spot. Teenagers just drove around and around the parking lot. By the time I was old enough to drive, Sky City had been closed for years but everyone still referred to that activity as "cruising Sky City"--and yes, I wasted plenty of gas doing just that, haha. Someone from my hometown started a page on Facebook for people who cruised Sky City in Albemarle and there was tremendous response to it. Lots of people sharing their memories. Our Sky City became a Goody's, Rack Room Shoes, and Helig Meyers Furniture. I worked at the Goody's during college. It's funny how nostalgic you can get about things like stores.
ReplyDeleteAlbemarle store closed in 91, I helped with the closing. I was from the store in High Point, NC.
DeleteI got my first shotgun back in the late 70's from the Sky City in Lexington, NC. It's a Stevens .410 and is still immaculate. I also have an electric frying pan(made in U.S.A. by the way) from that store and it too still works. Sky City sold nice things back then. For my family it was also a favorite place to get ice cream and popcorn at the concessions counter. It was sad to see that store close, but along came "competition". So now... instead of having a pleasant shopping experience...we have to fight the huge crowds that pile up in Wal-Mart all for the sake of buying Chinese junk and saving just a few pennies. We really didn't gain anything with these newer big stores, now did we?
ReplyDeleteMama used to take us to sky city in Central, SC. There we bought our sport cleats. I tell my son about those shoes all the time. I'm trying to remember the name of them rubber cleated awesomeness. Were they Cougars?
DeleteMy second job in 1977 was at the Sky City in Spartanburg, SC that could be seen from I26. I worked in the harware-housewares-toys department. My section was run by another company. I remember my supervisor Rosa Hunter and my co workers Margie and Kenneth and a few other people who worked in the store. Of course, I have wondered what became of them. The store manager had a habit of firing people he didn't like. That's how I lost my job.
ReplyDeletethe company was owned by united overton from mass owner was the bumshaft family the vice president was a man last name Costello I also worked for them several areas of western nc it was mostly in the back left hand side of the stores with lots of Lucite paint
Deleteyour section was leased the company was united overton owned by the bumshaft family I also worked for them for several years the company was based in mass sold a lot of Lucite paint the hardlines super was ernie jones great person to work for in wnc also the cosmetics was owned by carter overton sister company
DeleteI worked for Sky City in High Point, NC from 87-91 when all the stores closed. You can't find the same quality of merchandise or USA made at Walmart these days.
ReplyDeleteI can remember there being a Sky City in Orangeburg SC (way before we ever had a Wal-Mart). It was on Riverside and it was replaced by Roses (not sure if it was bought out or just the new store appeared). I did enjoy Sky City better, it seemed to have more things to look at & plunder about. We had a dog follow us out of our car & get lost in the store once. My step-dad used to call it 'Sky-Shitty', he said it was worthless....lol
ReplyDeleteMan the old Sky City in Anderson Sc that brings back some memories. Bigger then the local K-Mart was at that time. Used to love to go there as a kid just for their magazine and comic book selection. Hey I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteWow...what a flashboack. We had a Sky City/Bi-LO stip mall in my homeown of Washington, Georgia.
ReplyDeleteIt was THE place to be in the late 70s and early 80s.
I remember I bought a pair of "Mork and Mindy" suspenders there. Loved them!
We thought we were a big time city then...there was even a snack bar and a pet department with fish.
Now it's all gone and has been for years.
Sad.
WOW!! Sky City in Morristown, Tennessee!! Before I was born my dad was actually Manager of that store. Nice to see a lot of positive reactions to the work that he and his staff used to do.
ReplyDeleteSky City in Morristown, Tennesee, one of more than 50 stores which survived until 1992.
DeleteI worked for sky city from about 1977 to 91 i think. My dad had a floor maintenance company and contracts with them. I started when i was 13 years old. Since i was still in school i worked the wrekend at the morristown store since we lived in greeneville tn. Then when summer csme by butt was busy every night of the week. I loved the stores though. Their clothes the toys and especially the sporting goods dept. They had so much more than wal mart. I remember the managers and alot of the employees names and faces still today. I grew up in those stores and around those people. They all seemed like family to me. We worked in aloy of the stores. Morristown tn. One near knoxville tn, orangeburg sc,walterboro sc, hampton sc,denmark sc,clearwater sc, wrightsboro rd sc,broad street augusta ga, beufort sc, summerville sc,and a few more. As you can see why i grew up in these stores, i was in one every night of the week and come home on a Sunday or monday
DeleteNight and go back the next day. I miss yhe atores and all the people. They probably have forgotten me but not i ,them. I have some good stories if anyone is interested. Thanks for the blogs and memories.
I used to work all over wnc for united overton whiched leased the hardware dept the company was located in mass before the buy out of sky city the company was owned by the Peterson family from Asheville,nc they never met their goal on the number of stores they would have liked the compay that bought them out bleed them dry
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