Richway Department Stores
Encyclopedia
Richway was the discount department store division of Atlanta-based Rich's
. It was originally part of Rich's, and was later bought by Federated Department Stores
when they purchased the Rich's chain. It was originally known as Richway, a Rich's Company with a more bluish logo than the later orange and black theme under Federated ownership. The sunrise
logo
means "Everything Under The Sun", the slogan
used in advertisements from that period. The official name of the chain was later Richway Department Stores. A long tagline on commercials was "We don't look like a discount store, but our price tags give us away."
with suburb
an locations in Smyrna
, Sandy Springs
, Tucker
and College Park
. A location in Forest Park
opened quickly after. These original locations were known for their distinctive raised-wedge skylights that are still found today, yet were boarded up, covered up and hidden by a drop ceiling in the conversion. Richway stores were unusually large for their time, and ahead of their time with larger selections of merchandise than most discounters offered, but with a similar more upscale
line like Target.
, North Carolina
(Charlotte
/Gastonia
), South Carolina
(three locations in Columbia
), Florida
(where it was added as a discount division of Burdines
), and two locations in Chattanooga, Tennessee
. The three locations in Columbia were part of three malls that opened on the same day in 1977 known as Decker Mall, Woodhill Mall, and Bush River Mall. Of these three malls, Decker Mall is now home to only a storage center and an DMV Express office, Woodhill Mall was redeveloped as "The Shops at Woodhill", and the site of Bush River Mall, demolished in 2006 after being closed for seven years, is now home to a Wal-Mart Supercenter and new strip mall. Richway also anchored the now-redeveloped Roswell Mall in Roswell north of Atlanta, which opened in 1974, another store with the retro
skylights (now removed).
, but retained the Richway name in some markets. Federated by then was in financial trouble and as a means to boost the company's profits, sold all Richway and Gold Circle stores to Kimco which in turn sold 31 of those stores to Dayton–Hudson Corporation (now Target Corporation
) in 1988. Target closed all of its new purchases and stripped them of everything, including the store fixtures. They all later reopened in early 1989 as Target and all continued to operate as such until Target began to replace the older stores in the mid-1990s. The 1991 movie Career Opportunities (film)
was filmed at a Richway converted into a Target store in Decatur, GA (location T378).
In Georgia, three former Richway locations in Jonesboro
, Riverdale
, and Roswell
became Value City
locations after Target left for newly-built stores, with all but Jonesboro (and a non-Richway/Target in Doraville) closed again since early 2008. The Richway in Forest Park
is now the Scott Antique Market. The Richway in north Marietta
is today an office
for Wellstar (which owns nearby Kennestone Hospital
), since the Target moved a few miles northeast on Sandy Plains Road, not long after the Town Center at Cobb store opened in 1995. The Richway in College Park
was converted to a Target in 1989, and closed in 1995 after store #0778 in nearby Fayetteville
opened. Today a new redevelopment
is planned for the store. The store northeast of Austell has been vacant for years since a new Target opened just slightly further southwest on Austell Road at the East-West Connector, after that road opened in the late 1990s. The former Richway/Target store on Johnson Ferry Road in Sandy Springs, GA
was purchased in 2009 by the newly formed City of Sandy Springs; the city has not announced specific plans for the building, but the purpose in purchasing the property is to build a city hall and municipal center. The former store in Decatur, GA at 4000 Covington Highway was converted to a non-denominational church, Total Grace Christian Center.
The Smyrna Target store is the only one still operating, and was renovated in 2005, after also being renovated in the 1990s. It still retains the old Richway skylight triangles on the roof, with the left (north) part still bearing the CompUSA
sign since its closure in mid-2007. The Sandy Springs store, closed in early October 2008 for a new one farther south on Roswell Road, also still has the skylight units, with the left (east) half of the building housing a Goodwill Industries
thrift store.
Other Richways are sitting vacant where the surrounding area was in decline and no reinvestment was made in the former buildings, the two Richways in Chattanooga (one at Northgate Mall
and the other at Lee Highway
) were converted into office/retail space while the Lee Highway store (which was also used for a flea market
) has been demolished to make way for cargo space for the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant
.
Several of the former stores located in the Charlotte area are still in use. Two stores on Charlotte's north side, at North Park Mall and Freedom Mall, have since been consolidated into a larger store in the University City area. The former North Park Mall location has sat abandoned for more than a decade, while the Freedom Mall location was demolished as part of the mall's conversion into government offices. The former Independence Boulevard location was demolished after the Target store relocated to Matthews. The site is now a BJ's Wholesale Club
; another on Tyvola Road was torn down after the Target store relocated to Carolina Pavilion. The site is now a Costco
. The Gastonia location to this day is still being used as a Target.
In addition to the above mentioned, two former Richway locations in Palm Beach County, Florida
were also purchased and turned into Target stores. The Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. location was completely demolished t-391 and a brand new state of the art Super Target now sits on that land. The location in Plantation, Florida
was converted over to a Target store and had the façade
updated in 2005 to reflect Target's changes in marketing approach, and to also expand the parking lot
to include a parking garage. The Richway store in Conyers,GA became a Target store and stayed in the old Richway location until October 2006 when it moved to a bigger location on GA 20 south,it was subdivided and part of it is now an LA Fitness center.
The Richway store in Tamarac became a Target in 1989, but relocated in 2000. This store
now operates as a furniture store called Furniture Power .
Rich's
Rich's was a department store retail chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated in the southern U.S. from 1867 until March 6, 2005 when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's...
. It was originally part of Rich's, and was later bought by Federated Department Stores
Federated Department Stores
Macy's, Inc. is a department store holding company and owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores. Macy's Inc.'s stores specialize mostly in retail clothing, jewelery, watches, dinnerware, and furniture....
when they purchased the Rich's chain. It was originally known as Richway, a Rich's Company with a more bluish logo than the later orange and black theme under Federated ownership. The sunrise
Sunrise
Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight...
logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
means "Everything Under The Sun", the slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
used in advertisements from that period. The official name of the chain was later Richway Department Stores. A long tagline on commercials was "We don't look like a discount store, but our price tags give us away."
Beginning
Richway first opened in 1968 in metro AtlantaMetro Atlanta
The Atlanta metropolitan area or metro Atlanta, officially designated by the US Census Bureau as the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ninth-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States...
with suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an locations in Smyrna
Smyrna, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,999 people, 18,372 households, and 9,498 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,949.9 people per square mile . There were 19,633 housing units at an average density of 1,412.6 per square mile...
, Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs is a city in north Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County, Georgia, just south of...
, Tucker
Tucker, Georgia
Tucker is a census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 27,581 at the 2010 Census. Although central Tucker, also known as "Main Street Tucker", is laid out as a planned "railroad town," it has never been formally incorporated. Municipal services such as...
and College Park
College Park, Georgia
College Park is a city located partly in Fulton County, Georgia and partially in Clayton County, Georgia, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,942...
. A location in Forest Park
Forest Park, Georgia
Forest Park is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is located approximately nine miles south of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area...
opened quickly after. These original locations were known for their distinctive raised-wedge skylights that are still found today, yet were boarded up, covered up and hidden by a drop ceiling in the conversion. Richway stores were unusually large for their time, and ahead of their time with larger selections of merchandise than most discounters offered, but with a similar more upscale
Luxury good
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and associated with affluence.The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies...
line like Target.
1970s and 1980s
Throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, the chain spread across the Southeast U.S., with known locations in GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
(Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
/Gastonia
Gastonia, North Carolina
Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is also the third largest suburb of the Charlotte Area, behind Concord and Rock Hill. The population was 71,226 as of Gastonia is the largest city and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina,...
), South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
(three locations in Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
), Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(where it was added as a discount division of Burdines
Burdines
Burdines was a leading department store chain in the state of Florida. The first Burdines store was opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896., Burdines became part of Federated Department Stores, Inc in 1956...
), and two locations in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The three locations in Columbia were part of three malls that opened on the same day in 1977 known as Decker Mall, Woodhill Mall, and Bush River Mall. Of these three malls, Decker Mall is now home to only a storage center and an DMV Express office, Woodhill Mall was redeveloped as "The Shops at Woodhill", and the site of Bush River Mall, demolished in 2006 after being closed for seven years, is now home to a Wal-Mart Supercenter and new strip mall. Richway also anchored the now-redeveloped Roswell Mall in Roswell north of Atlanta, which opened in 1974, another store with the retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
skylights (now removed).
Gold Circle and Target
In 1986, Federated Department Stores merged Richway with their discount division, Gold CircleGold Circle
Gold Circle was a discount department store chain based in Ohio. Founded in 1967, it was a division of Federated Department Stores with 76 stores when the chain was sold and dismantled in 1988...
, but retained the Richway name in some markets. Federated by then was in financial trouble and as a means to boost the company's profits, sold all Richway and Gold Circle stores to Kimco which in turn sold 31 of those stores to Dayton–Hudson Corporation (now Target Corporation
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
) in 1988. Target closed all of its new purchases and stripped them of everything, including the store fixtures. They all later reopened in early 1989 as Target and all continued to operate as such until Target began to replace the older stores in the mid-1990s. The 1991 movie Career Opportunities (film)
Career Opportunities (film)
Career Opportunities is a 1991 American romantic comedy film starring Frank Whaley in his first lead role and co-starred Jennifer Connelly in one of her first. It was written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Bryan Gordon.-Plot:...
was filmed at a Richway converted into a Target store in Decatur, GA (location T378).
Today
Today, most of the former Richway stores either sit abandoned or have been converted to other uses.In Georgia, three former Richway locations in Jonesboro
Jonesboro, Georgia
Jonesboro is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,724 as of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clayton County....
, Riverdale
Riverdale, Georgia
Riverdale is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 12,478 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Riverdale is located at .-Demographics:...
, and Roswell
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
became Value City
Value City
Value City was an American discount department store chain with 113 locations. It was founded in 1917 by Ephraim Schottenstein, a travelling salesman in central Ohio. The store was an off-price retailer that sold clothing, jewelry, and home goods below the manufacturer suggested retail price...
locations after Target left for newly-built stores, with all but Jonesboro (and a non-Richway/Target in Doraville) closed again since early 2008. The Richway in Forest Park
Forest Park, Georgia
Forest Park is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is located approximately nine miles south of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area...
is now the Scott Antique Market. The Richway in north Marietta
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
is today an office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
for Wellstar (which owns nearby Kennestone Hospital
Kennestone Hospital
WellStar Kennestone Hospital is a major hospital located in Marietta, Georgia, serving much of northern and central Cobb County. It was acquired by the WellStar Health System in 2006.It is the only hospital in Georgia with a Cyberknife Radiosurgery system...
), since the Target moved a few miles northeast on Sandy Plains Road, not long after the Town Center at Cobb store opened in 1995. The Richway in College Park
College Park, Georgia
College Park is a city located partly in Fulton County, Georgia and partially in Clayton County, Georgia, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,942...
was converted to a Target in 1989, and closed in 1995 after store #0778 in nearby Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Georgia
Fayetteville is a town in Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,945. The city is the county seat of Fayette County. Fayetteville is located approximately 22 miles from the city of Atlanta....
opened. Today a new redevelopment
Redevelopment
Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses.-Description:Variations on redevelopment include:* Urban infill on vacant parcels that have no existing activity but were previously developed, especially on Brownfield land, such as the redevelopment of an industrial site...
is planned for the store. The store northeast of Austell has been vacant for years since a new Target opened just slightly further southwest on Austell Road at the East-West Connector, after that road opened in the late 1990s. The former Richway/Target store on Johnson Ferry Road in Sandy Springs, GA
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs is a city in north Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County, Georgia, just south of...
was purchased in 2009 by the newly formed City of Sandy Springs; the city has not announced specific plans for the building, but the purpose in purchasing the property is to build a city hall and municipal center. The former store in Decatur, GA at 4000 Covington Highway was converted to a non-denominational church, Total Grace Christian Center.
The Smyrna Target store is the only one still operating, and was renovated in 2005, after also being renovated in the 1990s. It still retains the old Richway skylight triangles on the roof, with the left (north) part still bearing the CompUSA
CompUSA
CompUSA is a retailer and reseller of consumer electronics, technology products and computer services. Its headquarters are in Miami, Florida.Until its reorganization, CompUSA, Inc. was a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Commercial Corp S.A.B...
sign since its closure in mid-2007. The Sandy Springs store, closed in early October 2008 for a new one farther south on Roswell Road, also still has the skylight units, with the left (east) half of the building housing a Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries
Goodwill Industries International is a not-for-profit organization that provides job training, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have a disability, lack education or job experience, or face employment challenges...
thrift store.
Other Richways are sitting vacant where the surrounding area was in decline and no reinvestment was made in the former buildings, the two Richways in Chattanooga (one at Northgate Mall
Northgate Mall (Hixson)
Northgate Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in the Chattanooga suburb of Hixson. Opened on March 15, 1972, it was the second mall built in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was the northside competition to Eastgate Mall.A new movie theater opened in 2005...
and the other at Lee Highway
Lee Highway
The Lee Highway was a National Auto Trail in the United States connecting New York City and San Francisco, California via the South and Southwest. It was named after Robert E...
) were converted into office/retail space while the Lee Highway store (which was also used for a flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...
) has been demolished to make way for cargo space for the Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant
Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant
Volkswagen Chattanooga Assembly Plant is an automobile assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee that began production in April 2011, was formally inaugurated in May 2011 and is expected to employ approximately 2,000 once fully operational...
.
Several of the former stores located in the Charlotte area are still in use. Two stores on Charlotte's north side, at North Park Mall and Freedom Mall, have since been consolidated into a larger store in the University City area. The former North Park Mall location has sat abandoned for more than a decade, while the Freedom Mall location was demolished as part of the mall's conversion into government offices. The former Independence Boulevard location was demolished after the Target store relocated to Matthews. The site is now a BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club
BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. , commonly referred to simply as BJ's, is a membership-only warehouse club chain operating on the United States East Coast, as well as in the state of Ohio...
; another on Tyvola Road was torn down after the Target store relocated to Carolina Pavilion. The site is now a Costco
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
. The Gastonia location to this day is still being used as a Target.
In addition to the above mentioned, two former Richway locations in Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
were also purchased and turned into Target stores. The Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. location was completely demolished t-391 and a brand new state of the art Super Target now sits on that land. The location in Plantation, Florida
Plantation, Florida
Plantation is the name of the following places in the U.S. state of Florida:*Plantation, Florida, a city in Broward County; the largest of the places named "Plantation" in Florida*Plantation, Sarasota County, Florida, a census-designated place...
was converted over to a Target store and had the façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
updated in 2005 to reflect Target's changes in marketing approach, and to also expand the parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
to include a parking garage. The Richway store in Conyers,GA became a Target store and stayed in the old Richway location until October 2006 when it moved to a bigger location on GA 20 south,it was subdivided and part of it is now an LA Fitness center.
The Richway store in Tamarac became a Target in 1989, but relocated in 2000. This store
now operates as a furniture store called Furniture Power .