Sears, the first operational ASHEVILLE MALL store, predated the complex by over a year. The Chicago-centric retailer held it's grand opening in February 1972 and would be in business at this location for over 46 years.
Drawing from Sears, Roebuck & Company
ASHEVILLE MALL TENANTS 1974:
SEARS (with Coffee House, Garden Center, Fur Salon and freestanding Auto Center) / BELK (with Public Auditorium) / BON MARCHE / IVEY'S OF ASHEVILLE / F.W. WOOLWORTH 5 & 10 (with Harvest House Coffee Shop) / B. Dalton Bookseller / Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors Ice Cream / Brooks Fashions / Butler's Shoes / Creative Yarns / Creative Cargo home accessories / Dunham's Music House / Deb Shops ladies' wear / Family Record & Tape Center / First Union National Bank / Gateway Hallmark Cards / GNC / Hardy Shoes / Hickory Farms of Ohio / Jarman Shoes / Jewel Box / Karmelkorn / La Marick Beauty Salon / Lerner Shops ladies' wear / Lillie Rubin ladies' wear / Look Homeward home accessories / Mitchell's Tuxedo Rentals / Morse Family Shoes / Motherhood Maternity / Nancy Lynn Fashions / Orange Bowl snack bar / Phil's Shoes / Picture Pac Photo Center / Robert Hall apparel / Rosaine's ladies' wear / S & W Cafeteria Carousel Buffet / Singer Sewing Center / The Country Cobbler shoes / The Gifthouse / The Playhouse toys, hobbies & gifts / The Mall Pharmacy / The Man Store men's wear / Tie & Tac Shack / Trans World Wig Imports / Zales Jewelers
Not to be confused with Seattle's The Bon Marche, Asheville's Bon Marche opened for business in 1889. The company operated out of the store seen above, at the intersection of Haywood Street and Battery Park Avenue, between 1923 and 1936. A boutique-type branch opened at ASHEVILLE MALL in September 1973.
Graphic from the Boston Public Library