Asheville business

Now that Trader Joe’s is here, what’s next? Consider Costco, Nordstrom

Jason Sandford July 17, 2012

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Now that we know Trader Joe’s is planning to open a store in Asheville, what other national chains might be looking at us? Are there other chains that have fervent fans beating the drums for an Asheville store? I’m hearing rumors of two – Costco and Nordstrom.

There’s a small Facebook group already established called Bring Costco to Asheville. I think I’ve been to a Costco once. The company pioneered the warehouse club concept and has a ton of fans.

Nordstrom is another store I’ve heard some folks say they’d like to see in town. The department store, and its sister Nordstrom Rack, sells clothing and accessories. It has also branched out into another brand with a store aimed at hipsters called Treasure & Bond, according to wikipedia.

The Costco and Nordstrom talk for Asheville right now is pure wish-list kind of stuff, from what I can tell. What do you think? Bring either of these to town? If so, where?

Image link for Costco.

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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12 Comments

Gordon January 5, 2013

There has been plans for many years for Costco to come to Asheville. Many employees at other locations have known this for sometime and are actually Inline to make that move. Unfortunately 4 years ago the recession happened temporarily putting this into hiatus. Do know even though it has been four years later it will not be forever.

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1. gordon September 19, 2013
  
  All I can say is Happy Happy HAPPY! At last!
  
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Nordstromlover July 18, 2012

I LOVE Nordstrom!!!!!!! Unfortunately, I can’t see one opening in Asheville. If we are lucky, we could get one at Haywood Mall in Greenville, but never in Asheville, and probably not even in Greenville anyway. Now that I think about it…isn’t the SouthPark store about the same distance from here as Greenville is? It seems like it, at least. I think either Asheville or Greenville could get a RACK, however.

As for Costco, that is something that I want and actually could open.

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1. Eric July 20, 2012
  
  South Park mall in Charlotte is about 2.5 hours away.
  
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JML July 17, 2012

having a costco is much batter than that walmart owned sam’s club where we will NEVER shop. that mall is a disaster and a nordstrom would def be welcome there.

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NFB July 17, 2012

It is amazing to see a town like Asheville promote a campaign to shop and buy at locally owned business and yet be so eager to have chains come to town.

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1. Nate July 18, 2012
  
  When the chain in question is someplace that can’t possibly be replicated on a local scale, like a ginormous CostCo, or Trader Joe’s with it’s proprietary brands, it makes perfect sense to me. And if families can save substantial money on boring “necessary” things like paper towels and microwaves, then they can spend more on locally sourced farmers market produce, meals in local restaurants, and adorable tchotchkes to decorate their houses.
  
  There are many cool, independent coffee shops in Asheville offering nearly identical product lines to what you’ll find in a Starbucks, and that means that Starbucks is much less welcome here than they would be in another city the same size. Large businesses that are perceived as exploitive or creatively dishonest, like Urban Outfitters, are also ridiculed and slammed by locals and probably do the overwhelming majority of their business with tourists. Believe it or not, local residents have the smarts and the ability to pick and choose which national chains they support along with boosting local business.
  
  Reply
  1. indie July 20, 2012
    
    I would be interested if you could lay out the criteria that make a chain desirable or not.
    
    Is it the ownership? Is it the number of outlets? For instance, is Barley’s a chain? Mellow Mushroom? Hannah F’s? Tupelo Honey? Asheville Pizza/brewery?
    
    Reply
    1. Eric July 20, 2012
      
      If you are interested, check out the Mellow Mushroom website and see how many locations they have. Not the small local chain they want you to think. Drastically different than the other places you have listed here.
      
      Reply
    2. Dantheweatherman December 20, 2012
      
      Mellow mushroom is a regional chain with locales in Asheville, Johnson City, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, columbia and in other cities.
      
      Reply
Deb-IL July 17, 2012

Yeah, bay-bee!!! Costco + + + 🙂 Nordstrom….. nice, but Nordstrom RACK??? Now that would be a winner!

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RE July 17, 2012

I’ve heard rumors in the past that Costco owns some land near Target on Airport Road, but we know how rumors go around these parts.

As for Nordstrom. As much as I like their restaurant, and yes they have one on most upstairs levels, I can’t see one coming here until there is a place that it would fit. Our malls are a bit trashy and worn out. As for the Hipster Store (Treasure & Bond), well we all know that would be a winner.

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