Huntington Mall
History
The Huntington Mall opened on Tuesday 3 February 1981, about 12 miles (19 km) east of downtown Huntington near exit 20 of Interstate 64.
At the time, it included JCPenney, Lazarus, Stone & Thomas, and Sears as its anchor stores. When the mall's Foot Locker store opened, tennis player Bobby Riggs made an appearance at the mall, challenging mall employees to a game of tennis. Phar-Mor, a discount pharmacy chain, was later added to the mall as its fifth anchor in 1990.
Stone & Thomas was converted to Elder-Beerman in 1998 when the chain was acquired. A year later, Borders Books & Music opened its first West Virginia store at the mall. Old Navy, Steve & Barry's and local chain Dawahares were later added to the mall as well. After Phar-Mor closed in 2002, it became the second Dick's Sporting Goods in the state.
In mid-2008, it was announced that Cinemark would open a new movie theater at the mall, replacing the vacated six-screen complex that closed in 2006 and an adjacent cafeteria (which use to be Picadilly Cafeteria). This new theater opened in early 2009. Borders Books closed in 2011, due to the company's bankruptcy. Books-A-Million later replaced it. Parent company The Bon-Ton closed the Elder-Beerman in the mall on January 31, 2016, and the space was split among Forever 21, TJ Maxx, and HomeGoods.
On August 6, 2019, Sears announced it would be closing its location at the mall in late October, while the auto center closed in late August. Later that year on October 2, 2019, Forever 21 announced that it would also be closing in late 2019 after filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
On November 3, 2023 Dave & Buster's announced that it will be opening a location within the mall at the prior Forever 21 location.
Impact
Huntington Mall is the largest mall in the state of West Virginia. When the mall was built, the only other businesses around it were two bars and an Exxon gas station. Since the mall's opening, several retailers have been built around the mall, including four motels and several restaurants, as well as a Walmart Supercenter, the first Best Buy in West Virginia, and the first Sheetz gas station/convenience store in southern West Virginia. Huntington Mall has also averaged $375 million in retail trade, significantly increasing the tax revenue for Barboursville's budgets.
References
- ^ "Huntington Mall". International Council of Shopping Centers. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ Rosenberger, Bill (2009-01-15). "Huntington Mall has affected entire region". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2009-03-13.
- ^ "FL on the DL: Did you know?". Footwear News. 2004-06-28. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ "Huntington Mall adds anchor, other stores". Portsmouth Daily Times. March 24, 1990. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ "Borders Books to open first West Virginia store". The State Journal. 1999-06-14. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ Rutherford, Tony (2008-06-17). "Movies Returning to Huntington Mall: Cinemark's 12-Screen Complex Slated for Spring 2009 Opening". Huntington News. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ^ "Bon-Ton closing stores in W. Virginia, Ohio and New York". York Dispatch. October 21, 2015. Archived from the original on 25 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Sears store at Huntington Mall to close". WSAZ. August 6, 2019.
- ^ "Huntington Mall location among Forever 21 stores potentially closing". 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Dave & Buster's coming to Huntington Mall". 2 November 2023.
- ^ "Sense of community keeps Barboursville growing". The Herald-Dispatch. 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
