Any downtown Belk's left?

[mallguy]

Is the old mainstay of NC and SC downtowns- Belk department stores, some nice and big and some small and not upscale- completely gone, other than the Belk Express in uptown Charlotte? Do any small towns have Belk stores in their downtowns- and in an old building on a Main Street, not in a strip mall in suburban sprawl?

Thanks for any feedback!

[StevenRocks]

I don't know of any offhand. Maybe Fuquay-Varina, NC still has one.

[orulz]

Yup, Fuquay-Varina.

[mallguy]

That looks straight out of the 1930s!

Why hasn't that store relocated to a strip mall, out of curiosity? Doesn't look like the area is thriving.

Thanks!

[orulz]

I took this picture before I had a car, but I decided I wanted to see what Fuquay Varina looked like. It was about a 55 mile round trip by bike to Fuquay and back, and I did it on a Sunday afternoon, when the store happened to be closed. It might be busier on a weekday. A lot of hispanic stores (such as a full-service grocer and a number of restaurants) are also located in downtown Fuquay. I saw quite a few other folks riding bikes around town too, and the grid of streets makes it very pedestrian friendly (in the genuine sense, not the Southpoint sense.)

The Belk is actually one block away from Main, in Fuquay, on a cross street. The cross streets in Fuquay all pretty much look like that. However, Varina had a streetscape project done several years ago, and Main Street in Fuquay just had a pretty extensive (and quite attractive) renovation. I think later phases call for extending the renovations to link Fuquay and Varina together, as well as further renovations on the side streets in Fuquay.

RE the Belk, it could be that Belk owns the building, so rather than leasing space in a strip mall they'll just use their assets as well as possible. There's plenty of parking and a number of shops on Main Street as well.

You can bet that the store will be history as soon as a mall opens up in the Apex / Holly Springs / Fuquay-Varina area. (That can't possibly be more than 5 years off, probably less.)

[Jerseyman4]

I cant believe US 401 still goes through the town. Talk about heavy thru traffic

[DigitalSky]

yeah the Fuquay one is cool looking.

[NCMike1981]

You gotta check out the old signs in the parking lot on the back side of the building which points to the Hudson Belk parking lot, looks like they are a good 20 years old. From the other side the building looks like a plain 2 story building. I wish I could have gone inside unfortunately they close at 6 during the week, I think my friend gave me my Fuquay tour around 7 on a summer night (it was still light out) I think they are open until maybe 9 on Friday and Saturdays although I think they are closed Sundays. From what I've gathered from the friend the store is small but 2 stories. I'm sort of suprised that Hudson Belk hasn't relocated to a new shopping center, closer to Wal-Mart or along the strip of 401 with all the new stuff but I give the store maybe 5 years max in it's current location before it moves elsewhere. Apparantely the store has many loyal customers, and the employees love the hours lol.

I'd be suprised if there isn't an old Belk still in operation somewhere in one of those down east towns, or maybe somewhere in a small mountain town.

As I'm sure everyone knows downtown Raleigh had their Hudson Belk until 1995 or 1996, just a decade before the downtown revitalization truly began. I still think if they had held on that the store probably would be popular again by the end of this decade, but I guess money makes the world go round so it's probably impractical for the store to have held on for an extra 10 years while losing money.

[StevenRocks]

Yup, Fuquay-Varina.

It's got the classic downtown Belk color scheme too. Sweet.

[rooster8]

I searched through Belk's online store directory and the only one that I could find that is downtown (in NC anyway) is the Fuquay store. All the rest appear to be in strip centers or malls.

[49er]

sylva, nc, near western carolina had one when i was there in 1998. Probably has closed since

[DigitalSky]

yeah i think that one has closed... I remember seeing one in Waynesville too from the highway but I don't know if that was downtown or just a strip center.

[rooster8]

Waynesville's is a strip center.

[avery]

I cant believe US 401 still goes through the town. Talk about heavy thru traffic

The thru traffic is not heavy at all downtown. It is just a 2 lane street. All of the traffic is where NC 55 and US 401 meet. The traffic flows to the NW on NC 55 towards RTP and US 1 and to the N on US 401 to Garner and to Raleigh. That part of 401 is horrible! It looks like a mini Capital Blvd. The town did not plan well at all. There are strip centers, drug stores, fast food restaurants and gas stations that stretch along that segment in Fuquay in a very confusing fashion with multiple traffic lights.

As for the Belk, I do know that many locals still go there for somethings, but venture to Cary if they need the complete Belk experience . I don't think it will be long before this location is gone though. If a new mall does pop-up soon, which it probably will, there will be red-tag clearances goin on.

[DigitalSky]

This one will probably be gone at least by the time that planned Garner Mall opens.