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Bristol Mall
Location	Bristol, Virginia, U.S.
Coordinates	36°35′55″N 82°13′10″W / 36.59861°N 82.21944°W
Opening date	1976;
Closing date	August 31, 2017
Owner	Par Ventures LLC
No. of stores and services	0
No. of anchor tenants	0
Total retail floor area	486,169 square feet (45,166.6 m2) ; (GLA)
No. of floors	2
Website	bristolmall.com (Last Available Archive)

Bristol Mall was the only regional shopping mall serving Bristol, Virginia. It opened in 1975. Former anchors included Sears, Belk, JCPenney, and a movie theater. With Bristol being the home of country music, long before Knoxville or Nashville, for many years there had been a museum at the mall, showcasing the legacy this left to the area.^[2]

In April 1999, Bristol Mall was sold to Aronov Realty Management of Montgomery, Ala., from an affiliate of Urban Retail Properties, Chicago, for $25 million.^[3] The mall was sold to Bristol Mall Acquisitions LLC in 2006 for $18.3 million.^[4]

On August 3, 2015, local news station WCYB reported that Bristol Mall had gone into foreclosure and would be put up for auction.^[5] After an unsuccessful first auction, the mall was ultimately purchased by a family-owned real estate investment group, Sunstar Keshav LLC at a second online auction. Representatives from the company stated that they were committed to revitalizing Bristol Mall and again making it a viable retail complex.

The mall closed again on August 31, 2017, after the last remaining store closed. The mall's website was taken offline after this closure.

In April 2018, the Bristol Mall was listed as back on the market for $2.9 million.^[6]

On May 28, 2018, a pharmaceutical company revealed its plan to buy the vacant property and convert it into a cannabidiol production plant.^[7] The company, Par Ventures, said it would create around 500 jobs.

On June 6, 2018, Par Ventures finalized the purchase of the property.^[8] The property name changed to "Bristol Industrial Mall."^[9] In December 2021, Hard Rock Casino announced plans to reuse the existing mall facility for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol, opening in 2024.^[10]

Stores

The mall's original anchor stores were Parks-Belk, Miller's and Sears. Bristol Mall had the usual mix of restaurants, mall services, fast food, and other typical mall stores, as well as a movie theater. There were also eight food establishments including Chick-Fil-A.

In 1992, Miller's was acquired by Proffit's Inc. and the name changed to Proffit's. An 86,000 square feet JCPenney store was constructed as an addition to the mall in the mid-1990s. In conjunction with the JCPenney addition, the mall underwent a complete interior renovation.

In 2005, Belk Inc. purchased the Proffit's chain and the Proffit's location was converted to a second Belk location in the mall, with the men's, home and children's departments relocating from the original Belk building to the former Proffit's store, which was rebranded Belk Men, Home & Kids.

Piccadilly Cafeterias, an original Bristol Mall tenant since the mall's opening in 1975^[11] closed on May 23, 2011, when its lease expired.

JCPenney closed in May 2014 as a part of a nationwide closure of 33 under performing stores. Later that same year, Belk announced it would be closing both of its anchor locations at the mall and consolidating the two stores in 2015 into one newly constructed store at The Pinnacle, a large lifestyle center under construction near Interstate 81.

On January 4, 2017, Sears Holdings announced that the Bristol Mall Sears location, including its Auto Center, would close in 2017.^[12] On March 26, 2017, Sears closed its doors leaving the mall without any anchor stores.

On February 20, 2017, local news station WCYB reported that Game Stop would close on Monday, February 20 and that Misty Mountain Designs would close on Sunday, February 26.^[13] On June 3, 2017, Bath and Body Works officially closed their Bristol Mall location.^[14] Bounce Bristol announced on their website that they had temporarily closed their store.^[15] On June 23, 2017, it was announced that Belmeade Formal Wear is also closing leaving only one store left in the mall, KSS Instructional Aids.^[4] Ultimately, on August 4, 2017, KSS Instructional Aids announced that their Bristol Mall location would be closing on August 31, 2017, thus leaving the Bristol Mall without any tenants.^[16]

References

^ Sorrell, Robert (August 18, 2015). "Bristol Mall auctioned for $2 million". Bristol Herald Courier. The mall, which opened in 1976, has struggled to retain tenants in recent years and lost two of three anchor stores over the past 16 months.
^ Childress, Tammy (November 1, 2017). "Bristol's Pickin' Porch and Mountain Music Museum moving to Kingsport". Bristol Herald Courier. The museum opened at the Bristol Mall in 1998, when White and businessman James Bryant formed the Bristol Country Music Association.
^ "TRANSACTIONS". Shopping Centers Today. April 1999. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
^ ^a ^b Irby, Zach (June 23, 2017). "Belmeade Formal Wear exits Bristol Mall". Bristol Herald Courier.
^ Cohen, Lenny; Sweetman, Cassandra (August 3, 2015). "Bristol Mall going up for auction". WCYB-TV. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
^ Irby, Zach (April 6, 2018). "Bristol Mall back on the market for $2.9 million". Bristol Herald Courier. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
^ "Drug company expected to purchase Bristol Mall, produce 'cannabidiol'". WJHL-TV. Nexstar Media Inc. May 28, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
^ McGee, David (April 17, 2019). "Par Ventures acquires Bristol Mall for $2.6 million". Bristol Herald Courier. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
^ "Home". Bristol Industrial Mall. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
^ "Hard Rock Kicks Off Construction Plans for its Temporary Casino in Bristol, Virginia" (Press release). Hard Rock Cafe. December 9, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
^ McGee, David (January 4, 2017). "Sears to close Bristol Mall Location". Bristol Herald Courier. First opened in 1975, the mall...
^ Peterson, Hayley (January 4, 2017). "Sears is closing 150 stores - here's the full list". Business Insider. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
^ OConnor, Kristi (February 21, 2017). "Two more stores announce closures at Bristol Mall". WCYB-TV. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
^ "Bath & Body Works to close at Bristol Mall". WCYB-TV. May 18, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
^ "Hours/Prices". Bounce Bristol. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
^ Irby, Zach (August 4, 2017). "KSS School Supplies to close Bristol Mall location". Bristol Herald Courier.