Former Kmart #4112

 NOTE: This post comes from outside the blog's coverage area.

    Crossing over the Appalachian mountains, our next Kmart tour brings us to Asheville, NC. There were two locations in this city- and the one we tour this month was an older store that expanded into the former Kmart foods space next door. It only featured a pharmacy, but it did have a cafe at one point. This location also had a detached auto center at one point. Both Asheville stores had a rarer decor package and this location was a rare normal store to have belt-driven checkout lanes. One quirk about this location is that the baby products (excluding clothing) were actually incorporated to be part of the pantry department. The building is vacant to my knowledge, but the Ingles supermarket chain reportedly owns the property, suggesting they may have future plans.

Portville's Soon to be Former Park 'N Shop

 

    Closing at the end of the month, another local supermarket is calling it quits. This really isn't a surprise though, as this was part of a local chain that had been winding down operations in recent years. We previously toured a location in Olean (W. State St.) that closed and has since been replaced by a Dollar General. This Portville location was the last holdout of the over 100-year-old grocery store chain. With this store's closure, the owners plan to retire. At least the Park 'N Shop legacy will still live on in a way with one location in Olean (Front St.) having been sold to another operator.