Eastgate Mall: Chattanooga, TN

Most every city had its first generation mall.  In a few instances, they survive and sometimes become completely dominant through proactive management.  However, such malls enjoy several factors including a neighborhood that remains prosperous enough to support it, continual modification/additions to the original structure and wisely choosing the right anchor tenants.  Eastgate, unfortunately, was not one of those malls.  Built in 1965, Eastgate was an open-air mall and the first in the city.  It lured both of its major downtown stores, Miller Brothers and Loveman's of Chattanooga along with JCPenney.  Sears also opened a store right next to the mall, resulting in a nearly four anchor complex when even three anchors on a mall was cutting edge.  It was in a highly visible location at the intersection of two major interstates, I-75 and I-24.  At the time, it is certain that the original builder probably never thought it could go wrong. 

For a mere six years, Eastgate faced no competition at all.  The nearest competition at all was in Atlanta and Nashville, and both cities were over 100 miles away.  However, the mall had one fatal flaw and that was that access to the mall was difficult.  While the mall was highly visible, getting to it involved using exits beyond the mall that included a confusing series of turns.  Nevertheless, the mall survived and thrived even after Northgate Mall opened in 1971.  Northgate had one advantage over Eastgate in that it was fully enclosed and was more convenient to the sprawling northern suburbs.  In response, Eastgate was enclosed and both malls thrived even though they had a similar anchor lineup.  One thing Northgate did not have at the time was Loveman's, which was off-site.

These photos were probably not published for so long because of my dissatisfaction on how dark they were.  My old camera underexposed terribly in low lighting, so these came out extra dark.  Nevertheless, the mall WAS dark which made these all the more spooky.  All photos were taken over four years ago in May 2006. The first photo was along the main part of the mall and this photo is of the northeast entrance wing.

Another view of the northeast entrance wing with better lighting.  Gold Rush was one of the few stores left, and it looked like it, too, closed after moving closer to the outside entrance.

The mid-1980's were the last successful time for Eastgate.  The remainder of the decade proved to be the beginning of its troubles.  The surrounding neighborhood began to go into decline, the mall was by then dated and a new mall opened up in 1986 on I-75 to the north in another sprawling suburban enclave.  This mall, Hamilton Place, was huge and had the capacity to crush both malls.  The new mall had five anchors, including one new to the region: Parisian.  This new mall had all new retail, its own exit and was the largest mall ever built in Tennessee.  In fact, that title remains today.  Eastgate renovated again at this time, but nothing stopped the downward spiral of the mall.

Foot Locker...always one of the last remaining stragglers...was apparently still in business, though they were apparently closed for the night.  The mall actually stayed open until 10 when I visited, and these photos were taken after 9 PM.

Entering the main part of the mall, the center features a pretty upscale design.  I am assuming it got a second renovation in 1998 on the inside as well as outside.  JCPenney would have started to the left on the opposite side and the mall formerly would have continued straight ahead.

As Hamilton Place joined the fray in 1986, Eastgate also saw two anchor changes at the mall at almost exactly at the same time that Hamilton Place opened.  Loveman's (not to be confused with Loveman's of Alabama) was bought out by Proffitt's and Miller's became Hess's.  At first, no anchor changes occurred at the mall despite a decline in traffic due to Hamilton Place.  However, Sears, which was located on the outlot, was lost to the new mall becoming an outlet for a short while. 

A couple more shots along the main mall.  I do not believe that any stores were still operational in the main mall...virtually all offices thus the boxy windows and doors in lieu of closed up shops.  Malls converted to offices look like...malls converted to offices.  It's like trying to pretend a pawn shop was not an old Pizza Hut.

This new mall, when opened, had Loveman's and Hess's, which had just bought out Miller's.  So did Eastgate.  Hess's closed their newly acquired location at Eastgate rather quickly.  JCPenney held on for awhile longer at Eastgate, but they eventually opened up at the new mall.  It is unknown exactly when they moved, however.  Although the mall had renovated again to compete, it was still not enough.  By 1990, all that was left was Proffitt's, who by then had acquired the former Loveman's location.  Also, at some point Goody's took over the former Miller's location propping up the north end of the mall.  Nevertheless, the mall was beginning to empty out and by 1992, Proffitt's left making Eastgate officially a dead mall.  However, the mall did not close down.  In fact, it still had a lot more life in it though much of this was not retail.

A little more of the same.  I'm really unsure what was where in the context of these photos.

This windowed wall once housed the Miller's mall entrance.  Morrison's Cafeteria was to the left on the northwest entrance corridor.  Goody's was long gone when I visited.  Goody's penchant for propping up dead malls is likely a big reason why they pretty much died off themselves, Stage Stores aside.

In the mid-1990's, plans were made to begin to convert the mall to more of a town center with a combination of offices and retail.  The mall was also renamed Eastgate Town Center, and at the time it was considered revolutionary.  While nothing new today, the idea of converting a mall to offices was a pioneering concept as the first generation malls were seeing their last gasp of life.  Portions of the mall were given a "main street" appearance and the former Loveman's/Proffitt's was turned into a call center.  By this time, the only "anchor" holding on was Goody's and the mall continued to hold on to a few stores and shops over the next decade.  Most of those shops that remained were those that had outside entrances, but the mall was still completely open mid-2006.

In the background was the Loveman's/Proffitt's mall entrance roughly in that corner.  In this pic, it looks like its merely a cutesy side entrance for employees hoping to take advantage of lunch at the dead food court.  A rather elegant rock fountain is in the foreground.

More detail of the fountain, which is definitely not original.  I like it, though...why can't something like this ever show up in living malls?  I believe this probably blocks the side entrance corridor between what was Loveman's and Penney's.

Needless to say, the redevelopment of the mall to an office/retail hybrid turned out not to work so well.  While the office component was successful, the retail component in the mall was in its last gasp in the mid-00's.  On top of that, the refacing of old anchors only helped to obscure the retail aspects making any remaining shops in there stand out even less.  Only about 3-5 stores continued to operate in the mall since there was absolutely no reason to go there.  At that point, the redevelopment plans had shifted to tearing down the mall structure, leaving only the anchors and cutting a new street through the center of the mall.  While these latest plans were ambitious, they have yet to take place.

 

A look along the southeast entrance wings includes trees, benches, blank walls and muted light.  Rather creepy I must say.  Twenty years before this area was hopping.

The food court looked to be an afterthought.  It did appear that one restaurant was still open at that point, but that may have just been left over.  However, Electric Cowboy, a bar with only an outside entrance, was definitely busy that night.  I have no idea if it is still around there today.

Today, the mall has become basically an office building in an area that has since seen significant decline since the mall opened.  Even worse, the economy is pulling away many of the office tenants who are leaving for nicer buildings...many vacated by other bankrupt companies.  With the economy of the city long strained, it would be difficult to revive the mall even in redevelopment with two other successful first-tier shopping malls already in the city.  It is miraculous that it supports that many, but it leaves no room for Eastgate.  The photos here are from 2006, which show the mall at its very end of any retail use.

Here I am looking from the north court in front of the former Miller's/Hess's down the northwest entrance wing.  Gold Rush had previously abandoned the store on the left.  I really am not positive where Goody's was, though I am told it was the old Miller's.

Here, I am looking back the other way at the northeast entrance corridor.  I talked a bit to a nice mall walker at the end of that row that evening who obviously remembered better days at the mall.

The same northwest wing from another angle.  Looking at this set, I sure wish I had come back for another set.  This part of the mall was sealed off more recently for expansion of one of the offices.  Morrison's Cafeteria was on this wing on the right.

No matter how well-intended, redeveloping very old malls tends to be risky business.  It does seem to work, but usually not in the long-term.  Part of the problem is most of the high-quality tenants never seem to come back even when the stucco hardens and the paint dries since malls are so dependent on their hinterland.  This includes even rebuilds into strip malls such as Westgate Mall in Macon, GA and Roswell Mall in Roswell, GA.  Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to attempt to save any of these structures as long as possible in lieu of just giving up.

Looking back down the northeast entrance corridor.  A once legendary mall was fading into history as I begin to leave.

Outside is the former Loveman's/Proffitt's.  It is the only original anchor at the mall that actually looks original.  I need to go back for more photos of this place soon with so much darkness.  This building used to be yellow, not white.

My attempt at an Eastgate Mall map of how it would have been in 1965.  Feel free to make any corrections since parts of this are unclear to me.

I think that demolishing the mall completely is the only real hope for reviving the area.  In fact, I would not even envision retail in its place since the entire retail corridor has ultimately failed, the city is over-retailed and access to the property is already poor.  A government complex, however, might be a good re-use of the property and would certainly pay more respect to the mall than the dicing it up for offices has.  Chattanooga Police Department already uses part of the structure for offices at current.   While I tend to be sentimental about classic malls, this mall has been modified to the extent that very little about it is classic.  In all, Eastgate had an interesting history, and a more unique layout since it was originally open-air.  For 12 years its conversion to offices worked quite well, but I think that may not last for the long term.  Nevertheless, the mall served the city well for nearly three decades and I am glad it is still around in any form.

Northgate Mall: Hixson, TN

Chattanooga in its history has had three major shopping malls. The first has basically reverted to offices, but the second, Northgate Mall, is alive and well. It should also be noted this is the Northgate most people are familiar with in lieu of the peculiar one in Tullahoma on my previous post. Owned by General Growth, this successful mall is today anchored by Sears, Belk, JCPenney and Belk Home Store. While it is only one level in lieu of Hamilton Place's two levels, it is still a fairly large mall with 120 stores. It is located on SR 153 north of the city past the end of the Airport Freeway, and it largely serves the northern suburbs as well as Rhea County to the north.

Center court is quite lush with vegetation and has a quite elegant looking skylight over it. I have to wonder how much of this is original.

While the mall dwarfs in comparison with Hamilton Place, apparently Chattanooga is a city that needs and can support two malls. Northgate is not the kind of draw that Hamilton Place is, but its location in the center of a significant suburban area north of the Tennessee River gives it plenty of business. In fact, the strip along SR 153 is one of the most congested areas in the city, and the mall is much more convenient to US 27/Corridor J than Hamilton Place.

Two scenes along the mall concourse. The second photo with the lush vegetation features the mall's Chick-Fil-A on the left, which is not part of the very small food court.

Northgate is basically an I-shaped mall with an anchor in the middle attached, JCPenney. The courts are small with high ceilings and full of trees and plants. The mall has a small food court attached to the Belk Home Store and the mall also has a Piccadilly Cafeteria from the older era. The mall also has a few businesses outside the mall with only exterior entrances. In additoin, the Belk Home Store has two mall entrances and is essentially a junior anchor using existing in-line mall space.

Sears entrance court.

Northgate Mall first appeared in 1972 as Chattanooga's first enclosed mall. It was originally built by CBL, which is headquartered in Chattanooga. CBL still operates Hamilton Place Mall, but has since sold Northgate. Northgate was also expanded in 1991 and renovated in 1997. The 1991 expansion was most likely for the food court and Hess's/Proffitt's Home Store. The anchor lineup would have been pretty static if not of the numerous anchor changes of one of the department stores. While Sears and Penney's are both original anchors, the western end was originally anchored by Miller Bros. Co of Chattanooga. Miller Brothers became Miller's of Tennessee in 1973. In 1988, Miller's was sold to Hess's and the store later became Proffitt's in 1992. Proffitt's sold out to Belk in 2006, which resulted in both the Proffitt's and Proffitt's Home Store taking on the Belk name.

Looking at the Belk (Proffitt's, Hess's, Miller's) mall entrance. The Belk sign looks very much like an afterthought with the store having three other identities. The marble facade is original, however. The last photo is looking back from Belk/Miller's at the court and play area. Like many late 60's/early 70's malls, each anchor had a small court with it in the mall including at least one side hallway to an outside entrance.

My impressions of Northgate Mall is that is was a reasonably attractive, busy and well maintained mall. However, with my love of oddities and angles in malls I found its layout rather boring. I think at least a unique fountain in the center court would have been a plus for the mall as well as some far more elaborate ceiling decor. While the inside of the mall is pleasant, the outside of the mall looks pretty dated. The Belk has one of the ugliest department store designs I believe I have ever seen. It's dark brick and weird entryway remind me of the outside of a prison. Inside, though, the store is quite attractive. JCPenney looks like a giant space station. Sears is the most basic store with a fairly typical early 70's design. I think I would have liked the mall a bit better if somewhere in the mall it dropped down into a small lower level like the one I ran across at Greenbriar Mall.

If this is supposed to be a food court, it is the most pitiful excuse for one. A couple restaurants and other businesses operate here in this mid-mall side jog between Penney's and Sears. This is also where the second entrance to the Belk/Proffitt's Home Store is located.

In all, though, this is in my opinion Chattanooga's real mall today. This is the one for the city and the one with more history. The people out of Northwest Georgia and East Tennessee will fight the crowds for Hamilton Place, but the mall to me looks to be for people who actually live there and don't want to fight traffic to look for something in a picked over mall. It is also a manageable mall compared to the overload of anchors at Hamilton Place that ended up with two Belks and two Dillard's. With that, they are bound to be appreciative of Northgate. They are lucky to have it, because similar size cities such as Augusta, GA now have only one mall for their entire city after their second mall died away.

A couple views of the Belk Home Store from the mall. The first is taken along the main mall concourse and the second is in the food court wing.

JCPenney mall entrance is located directly off the center court.

Another view of center court, this time looking toward Sears instead of Belk.

Walking out of the side entrance next to Sears approaching Piccadilly. Piccadilly has been here since the mall opened.

An outside view of all the anchors as they look today. All three anchors are very stark forms of brutalism, especially the hideous Belk/Miller's. Miller's mall stores were notoriously stark and bland. JCPenney looks like some sort of pseudo factory. Sears is plain and simple.

Below are some photos of Proffitt's from 2005:

The Proffitt's sign really looks bad on this cell-like brick exterior. The Home Store was obviously a later idea, judging by its green sign vs. the old Miller's. Proffitt's stores opened in the 1990's and 00's had a green sign.

Richway: The Discount Division of Rich's (Updated February 15, 2018)

"Everything under the sun" could be found at Richway if you believed the ads.  In the 1960's, discount stores were an explosive trend across the United States, and this was not lost on department stores.  These new discount stores were making a hit on department stores with their lower prices and wide selection of merchandise, but a few department stores saw an opportunity to expand their footprint and operations by diversifying into this then-new concept.  In 1968, Rich's decided that it, too, needed to enter the discount store business by opening its namesake Richway stores.  Like other similar stores, Richway was an "upscale" discount store that operated more like an actual department store with general merchandise than a discount store.  Their slogan in the 80's was "Richway doesn't look like a discount store, but our price tags give us away".  Richway would last until 1988 when the store was sold to Target.  At its peak, Richway had 31 stores.  While Richway had an interesting history, it was not the first of such "discount divisions" of their parent department stores.  Others included:

• Ayr-Way
• A division of L.S. Ayres in Indianapolis founded in 1961
• Purchased by Dayton-Hudson in 1980 and reopened as Target in 1981
• Target
• A division of Dayton's in Minneapolis founded in 1962 and the last of its kind today
• Almart/J.B. Hunter
• A division of Allied (Department) Stores founded in 1962 and liquidated around 1975
• Treasure Island/The Treasury
• A division of JCPenney founded in 1962 and liquidated in 1981
• Gold Circle
• A discount division of Lazarus/Federated Department Stores founded in 1967 and liquidated in 1988
• Most stores sold to Hills and some to Target
• Prange Way
• A division of Prange's founded in 1965 and dissolved in 1992 when parent company Prange's was sold to Younker's
• Venture
• A division of May Department Stores also founded in 1968 and liquidated in 1998
• Many locations became Kmart
• Clover
• A division of Strawbridge & Clothier founded in 1971
• Liquidated in 1995 and 1996 as part of sale to May Department Stores
• Jefferson Ward
• Purchased by Montgomery Ward in 1973 (originally Jefferson's in Florida)
• Divested and liquidated around 1988

This slide shows the very first Richway store opened located on Covington Highway in Decatur, GA.  (Photo by Stevens & Wilkinson used by permission)  

Richway opened its first stores in 1970 with four locations in Metro Atlanta: all near an interchange with the recently completed I-285.  These original stores were large for their time featuring very distinctive architectural detail with eight large alternating green and orange wedge skylights on the roof.  Inside, the ceiling featured canned sodium vapor lights giving the store an ethereal tone to match the unique effects of the skylights, which were positioned in every direction on the roof.  The store also featured high ceilings making the store feel more spacious.  The original stores also featured a Richway Foods, which was operated by Big Star (formerly Colonial Stores).  Richway Foods was notable for delivering groceries to customers on a conveyor belt for outside pickup.  The original stores also had an auto center in or next to every store, and they were larger than later stores.  The four original locations were located at:

• Decatur: 4000 Covington Highway (Opened in 1969)
• Store #1
• Now Peace Baptist Church
• Store was not replaced when Target vacated the site
• Smyrna: 2201 Cobb Parkway SE (Opened in 1970)
• Still operational as Target
• Last Richway operating as Target
• Richway Foods was later Big Star, A&P, then CompUSA
• Sandy Springs: 235 Johnson Ferry Road (Opening date unknown, probably 1971)
• Operated as Target until 2007
• Demolished in 2013 for Sandy Springs City Hall and Downtown
• Richway Foods was later successively Big Star, A&P, Harris Teeter, and Goodwill
• College Park: 5025 Old National Highway (Opened 1971)
• Operated as Target from 1989-1998
• Target roughly replaced by store at Fayette Pavilion 11 miles south
• Abandoned ever since

This bag carries the original Richway logo that was used from approximately 1970-1977.  Note that the sunrise is far more detailed with the logo in a mixed-case font in a pill shape.  The stores built with this logo had the signs accommodated to fit this logo.

Scan from an original credit card

Richway in Sandy Springs showing the updated logo in a the original pill shape, Richway Foods as Big Star, and the Richway Auto Center on the right.  This undated photo was most likely taken in the late 1970's.  (Photographer unknown)

The success of those four locations led to expansion across the Atlanta region, although the growth of the chain occurred mostly after Rich's was sold to Federated Department Stores.  The next stores that were constructed after the original four in 1970 within the Atlanta area were:

• Atlanta/Forest Park: 3650 Jonesboro Road SE (Opened 1974)
• Never re-opened as Target, now Atlanta Expo Center North
• Atlanta/Druid Hills: 2400 North Druid Hills Road (Opened 1974)
• Reconstructed in 2002 as Target Greatland, now Target
• Land still owned by Macy's/Federated
• Jonesboro: 6525-B Tara Blvd (Arrowhead Mall, Opened 1974)
• Target (now closed) relocated to Mt. Zion Road in 1996
• Was Burlington Coat Factory, now Southside Discount Mall
• Roswell: 610 Holcomb Bridge Road (Roswell Mall, opened 1974)
• Target closed store and relocated to Super Target on Woodstock Road in 1999
• Was a Value City up until chain liquidated
• Presently Home & Decor
• Tucker: 4136 Jimmy Carter Blvd (opening date unknown, probably 1975)
• Torn down in 2001 for Home Depot
• Replaced by current Target at I-285 and LaVista Road
• Doraville: 5766 Buford Highway (opening date unknown, probably 1977)
• Originally a Grant City location (opened 1968)
• Was later a Value City
• Currently a Burlington Coat Factory since 2013

The Atlanta Expo Center North on Jonesboro Road stands as the best preserved former Richway.  Because it was the only former Richway that did not reopen as Target, the skylights were not covered up with the original architecture left largely unchanged.  The orange exterior is original to when it was Richway.

This interior shot of the Atlanta Expo Center shows how all of the original Richway stores appeared inside.  Note the "canned" lights in the ceiling in the backgroung (Photo by J. Fillow).

All of the early Richway stores had an auto center just like Rich's suburban locations did (Photo by Stevens & Wilkinson used by permission)

Expansion of Richway in the 1970's did not, however, include just Atlanta.  Before the sale to Federated Department Stores, four Richway locations opened in the Carolinas.

• Charlotte [Northwest]: Freedom Mall [offsite link] (Opened 1974)
• Converted to government offices
• Charlotte [Southeast]: Independence Blvd (Opened 1974)
• Target relocated to Matthews in 1995
• Torn down for BJ's Wholesale in 2001
• BJ's that replaced it is now Hendrick Automotive Group
• Columbia: Woodhill Mall (Opened 1974)
• Redeveloped with Target on site

Image of Richway in Charlotte after the location closed as Target.  It is assumed this is the Independence Blvd location.  (Photo by J. Fillow)

The curious thing about Richway's expansion outside of the Atlanta metro area is that it did not tend to open in markets that its parent Rich's was located.  While Columbia did gain one Rich's location, Richway never opened a location in Greenville (where Rich's was located).  Likewise, neither Charlotte nor Gastonia ever had Rich's.  Of even greater curiosity is why Richway avoided Birmingham entirely.  A total of three Rich's operated in the Birmingham market, but no Richway ever opened in the city.  Memphis was also overlooked, which contained Rich's sister store Goldsmith's.

SALE TO FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES AND FURTHER EXPANSION

Richway was sold along with parent company Rich's to Federated Department Stores in 1976.  This sale resulted in several changes.  For one, the company got a more streamlined logo with a more simple sunrise and the same Helvetica font that was already in use on the Target logo.  In addition, an orange theme was employed throughout the store including orange fiber glass shopping carts, and orange smocks for employees.  Richway Food stores were sold off to Big Star, and new stores were smaller with less emphasis on hard lines.  The distinctive skylights were also dropped from eight to six then dropped altogether by 1980.  Auto centers, which were on all the stores built under Rich ownership, were dropped on newer stores.  However, growth of Richway was already in the works with four mall-based stores that opened in 1977 co-anchored by Kroger Sav-On.  These locations included:

• Columbia [Dentsville]: Decker Mall
• Closed in 1998 when Target relocated, now a storage facility
• Columbia [West]: Bush River Mall (twin store and mall to Decker)
• Closed in 1998 when Target relocated to Harbison Blvd.
• Mall and site demolished and rebuilt as Wal-Mart in 2004
• Charlotte [Northeast]: North Park Mall 
• Closed in 1998 and has since operated as Kimbrell's furniture
• Adjoining mall is abandoned and will soon be demolished for expansion of Charlotte transit lines
• Charlotte [Southwest]: West Park Mall (twin store and mall to North Park Mall)
• Target relocated to Carolina Pavilion
• Store and mall demolished around 2000
• Costco is currently on site today

The last store opened in the Carolinas opened in Gastonia in 1978.  Interestingly, it was not mall-based:

• Gastonia, NC: Akers Shopping Center
• Operated as Target until 2011 when Target relocated to Gaston Mall site
• Now subdivided between Gabe's and Conn's

Image of the Gastonia store prior to closure.  Photo is from 2010, and store closed/relocated in 2011.  The store was built in the parking lot of a previously established shopping center with Akers Shopping Center behind me in the photo.

Additional Georgia locations opened included:

• Marietta: 805 Sandy Plains Road
• Opened in 1980
• Closed in 1998 when Target store relocated to current location on Cobb Place Blvd
• Has since been offices for Wellstar Medical
• Mableton: Austell Road (GA 5) & Hurt Road
• Opened in 1980
• Abandoned after Target closed in 1998 and relocated to East West Commons Shopping Center
• Snellville: Main St (US 78) & McGee Road (Fountain Square)
• Opened in 1983
• Target relocated in 1994 to current location at Presidential Market
• Conyers: 1618 GA 138 (free-standing)
• Opened in 1983
• Target relocated to Conyers Commons in 2006
• Part of store torn down for LA Fitness with about 1/3 of original building standing open and vacant
• Athens: 3505 Atlanta Highway (Clarke Crossing Shopping Center)
• Opened in 1984
• Now Academy Sports

Former Richway on Austell Road in Mableton

The Richway in Snellville featured an updated look that resembled 1980's Wal-Mart stores.

EXPANSION TO TENNESSEE AND FLORIDA

Federated Department Stores was seeing that they had a big success in Richway, so they sought to expand the chain elsewhere.  In Florida, Federated already had a presence with their ownership of Burdine's and the Gold Triangle chain.  In contrast to what was said before on this blog, Gold Triangle stores were not replaced by Richway.  However, they did go out of business in 1981 prior to the entry of Richway into the market in 1982.  It was curious that Richway was chosen considering that Rich's was never located anywhere near Florida, but it still functioned as the discount division of Burdine's, which had been part of Federated Department Stores since 1956.  The list of Richway stores that opened in South Florida in 1982 included:

• West Palm Beach: 1760 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd
• Operated as Target until 2008 when store was demolished and rebuilt as a two-story Target on the same site
• Plantation: 8201 SW 3rd St
• Original address was W. Federated Roadway
• Original store was torn down and rebuilt as Target on same site according to aerials
• Sources claim the store was located elsewhere
• Deerfield Beach: 1200 S. Federal Highway
• New store built just to the south with parking deck on site of original store
• Tamarac: 8399 N University Drive
• Now Renaissance Charter School at University
• Palm Springs: 1941 Military Trail
• Now Sunshine Flea Market

An additional location opened in 1983 in a former Woolco:

• Oakland Park: 5091 North Dixie Highway
• Originally constructed in 1973
• Partially demolished and subdivided with Publix the primary tenant currently
• Was the largest South Florida location for Richway

Richway in Florida had an updated look, but some of their stores featured this interesting sloped front look in lieu of the design used on the store shown in Snellville, GA.  This the Palm Springs location.  (Image from Google Street View, June 2017)

This 2007 Google Street View capture shows the West Palm Beach Store, which was identical to the Palm Springs Store, but it was demolished and rebuilt on site the following year.

Map of South Florida locations using Google Earth

Additionally, Richway saw an opportunity to enter the Tennessee market by acquiring two former Gibson's stores in Chattanooga that had opened originally as Jubilee City.  It is not certain when these stores opened, but it is believed to have been 1982.  These locations included:

• Chattanooga [Brainerd]: 5600 Lee Highway
• Store was torn down for expansion of Chattanooga's airport, but the parking lot remains
• Chattanooga [Hixson]: 600 Northgate Mall Drive
• Located on an outlot of Northgate Mall
• After Target closed and relocated, store was subdivided between Ross and T.J. Maxx

This was the Richway on 5600 Lee Highway in Chattanooga.  Since this store looked new in the image, apparently the front of the store was gutted and rebuilt when it was taken over from Gibson's.  (Image by Stevens & Wilkinson used by permission)

Map of Chattanooga locations using Google Earth

CONVERSION TO GOLD CIRCLE AND SALE

Federated Department Stores changed their corporate strategy and decided that they no longer wanted to operate their two discount stores separately, so the decision was made to merge Richway and Gold Circle in 1986.  In 1987, work began slowly to convert stores to the Gold Circle name.  However, things were not going well with Federated Department Stores as part of the Campeau takeover.  The debt that had been created from frenzied acquisitions and mismanagement by the French-Canadian financier's parent company had left Federated with a tough decision: save the department stores or save their discount stores.  The decision was made to focus on the department stores, thus the combined Richway-Gold Circle would have to be sold to a competitor.

These 1987 photos from Hank McNeely show the conversion of the Independence Blvd Richway in Charlotte to Gold circle.  The Richway logo was in a pill-shaped sign in an ice cream cone shaped support in some of their earlier stores supporting the older logo originally.  Target would again use this sign.

During the conversion from Richway to Gold Circle, tags in the stores began to display Gold Circle logos, but only a few stores actually got the new name.  All seven of the stores in the Carolinas (Columbia, Charlotte, and Gastonia) were converted to the Gold Circle name, but the other stores remained Richway.  Gold Circle seemed like a strange fit at the time considering that the name was not known in the Southeast.  Gold Circle was primarily located around Pittsburgh, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, and New York.  However, no other Richway stores would ever see the Gold Circle name.  In fall of 1988, all of the Richway and Gold Circle stores would be liquidated.

Map of Charlotte area locations using Google Earth

Target, then part of Dayton-Hudson, was in aggressive expansion mode having already expanded massively in the Midwest, and the sale of Richway was the primary vehicle for their growth into the Southeast.  However, it was not Campeau Corporation via Federated Department Stores that sold Richway to Target.  Instead, the entire chain was sold to Kimco Development Corp. who then sold the chain in two chunks.  31 stores were sold to Target.  This included all of the Richway stores, including those converted to Gold Circle.  The most likely reason that the entire 67 store chain was not purchased was probably due to the fact that Target was a much smaller company then and was not capitalized to purchase that many stores.  The risk was great for a chain that was unknown outside of the Midwest at the time.

Maps of Atlanta area locations and Athens location using Google Earth

The remaining 35 Gold Circle stores, all located in the North, were leased to Hills Department Stores, a now defunct chain that had very little overlap with Richway.  Hills had two locations in the Chattanooga market, but nowhere else did they compete.  However, they were a major competitor to Gold Circle in Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky, and Ohio giving them at the time a greater share of the market.  Had Target not purchased Richway, it is questionable if they would have expanded into the national chain they are today.  It is notable that nearly every major discount store we have today grew rapidly through a major acquisition or takeover of stores from a defunct chain.  This is true with both Wal-Mart (Kuhn's Big K/Edward's) and Kmart (Grant's).

Target reopened all the former Richway and Gold Circle stores it acquired in May of 1989 after extensive remodeling.  In the end, Target proved to be the perfect fit for Richway.  Like Richway, it was a division of a major regional department store, and it marketed to the same demographic.  Their acquired stores proved to be highly successful for them, thus allowing them to expand and modernize throughout the 1990's.  However, Target did not share the same love for the distinctive feel of Richway.  Green and orange skylights were painted black and boarded up with ceilings in the store dropped.  The canned lights were covered up and replaced with regular tube lights.  The orange decor was replaced with the usual Target red, and storefronts repainted with a dull gray cast.  Target had the stores in body, but not in soul.  A celebrated division of Rich's in Atlanta had likewise become a soon to be nationwide corporation operated by a distant company in Minneapolis.

One of the former Richway locations in the North Druid Hills community of Atlanta was rebuilt on-site as Target Greatland in 2002.  Target Greatland is a now canceled concept that was larger than a regular Target, but smaller than a Super Target.

RICHWAY FADES AWAY

As Target has grown, the company proved to have outgrown the old Richway stores.  One by one, the stores were either replaced with a newer location or rebuilt with the bulk of those stores relocated to newly built locations.  The last few stores still operating as Target in 2005 were in Gastonia, Sandy Springs, West Palm Beach, and Smyrna.  By 2011, only one original Richway was left operational as a Target: the Smyrna store.  That same store received likely its final renovation and update around 2009.  Even then, the store is likely on borrowed time as the area around it is rapidly urbanizing since the construction of the new SunTrust Park.  It is believed that Target is looking to relocate to Cumberland Mall at some point in the near future where Sears is currently.

The last operational Richway.  Photo from 2006.

Pictures of the same Richway store after Target updated it in 2009.  The update made the store look more in sync with its original design with the clean lines and large glass front than the rounded stucco.  Note that the wedge skylights are still there painted white.  This store had the distinction of having its auto center in an outlot (now demolished).

RICHWAY REMEMBERED

When this post was first written, almost nothing was available online about the once venerable chain.  As the first post ever written on Sky City, much has been learned about the store since then including former locations and events in the store's history.  Because of that, the original post has been completely rewritten and replaced with this much more detailed post that more accurately depicts the history of a discount store that started as an extension of Georgia's most famous store.  This rewrite includes extensive photos that were not available at the time with better information about former locations.  Hopefully this post this time gives an accurate and complete history of one of many stores that Sky City has not allowed to have been forgotten since this post and blog was first published in 2006.