The Ellispedia: Ellispedia: The Mystique of Lake Carroll Mall

The Mystique of Lake Carroll Mall
Written and photos taken by Grady Ellis

I normally like to work quickly as possible once an idea enters my mind and since before the birth of Ellispedia, the dream of a retail blog was a dream, and dreams do come true if you are headstrong within your faith, and inner-toughness. And now here's our first Editorial on a place most of you know about and has been an interest for many people in the West Georgia/East Alabama area, the Lake Carroll Mall in Carrollton Georgia.

Former Kroger from 1976-1987. Also Big Lots from the end of the 1980s until closing in the 2010s.

In the time-frame of the mid 1970s, Carrollton was expanding outside Adamson Square. By 1974, Carrollton already had West Georgia Shopping Center, opening in 1968 with Winn Dixie, Grant City, Jacob Drugs, and Big Apple, along with the Rome Street Shopping Center on Rome Street below the square, opening in 1961 with Colonial, and McCrory, Singer Shops, and Sears joining in 1965. In the 1970s, enclosed malls were the hottest trend in commercial development and when in retail. You could literally in those days one stop shop at the mall unlike today.

Around 1975, an enclosed mall was in the works for Carrollton. As we know, the mall fell through and we got Lake Carroll Mall and First Tuesday Mall within a short span, 1975-76. Had the mall of been built and opened, it'd been anchored by Kmart, JCPenney, Belk, and Kroger, bringing JCPenney and Kmart to town before they would arrive in 1978 for Kmart, and 1987 for JCPenney. Belk had a deal with their downtown store, opening in 1947 where the parking garage now sits behind the former People's Bank in Downtown Carrollton. Most in the retail community, far outside the Carrollton have always been taken away with these two shopping centers including myself, and seeing them in the best of days, and not so best of days. So now let's talk about the Lake Carroll Mall.

Lake Carroll Mall was anchored by one store, Kroger, styled in their normal 70s Superstore format that was building through West Georgia like a wildfire as they were opening stores all over the area, having all major cities besides Cedartown covered by the late 1970s. Strangely, Kroger did not have a drug store next door to it. In the 1970s, Kroger were commonly found with SuperX Drugs, a Drug Store chain that was owned by Kroger, and I have heard two sides to the tale, but according to a highly respected source, Kroger's deal at Lake Carroll was temporary, and most of the Kroger Superstores built in West Georgia were replaced by the late 1980s, as Douglasville's store would move across the street to where it remains today on Hospital Drive. Carrollton was already a hotspot for the longtime grocer, and they did plan to stay around Carrollton, returning after an absence since they'd close their first location on Alabama Street in 1968. By the end of the 70s, they were eyeing a site near the former home of T-Burger for a second location, which would've been a greenhouse store with a SuperX next door, but fell through. Kroger's stay at Lake Carroll Mall would be their shortest stay in the three locations they have had in Carrollton since arriving in 1947.

Next to Kroger would be Baskin-Robbins, which was popular and with the theatres across the street at First Tuesday Mall and next to Kroger and did very well and outlasted Kroger by a year or so. Only Kroger and Baskin Robbins faced Bankhead, as you'd walk down the corridor and find a mall area, known to us in the retail history community as an "Small".

The mall was initially very popular with people and from research, and reading phone books, alongside Kroger and Baskin Robbins, there were The Squire Shop, The Shoe Place, Maryville Jewelers, Genesis 1, Fox Photo, J.T. Joseph's, Small World, Beckett's, Frocks and Frills and Partners Bar & Restaurant. The late 1970s and early 1980s would been the prime for Lake Carroll Mall overall in terms of tenants and in 1978, McDonald's would open where Smiles R Us is presently, People's Bank would also arrive, as well as Western Sizzlin and Firestone as outparcels. The layout of the mall was one way, and the way it was arranged makes me wonder if while Belk was waiting to exit Downtown, Lake Carroll Mall may've wanted Belk to join there. One only knows, but it'd been interesting to've seen however that is just a theory based off of design.

By 1987, Carrollton Crossroads, anchored by Walmart, JCPenney, Goody's, and Kroger was in the works, and Lake Carroll Mall's biggest obstacle was that they had one main attraction, which was Kroger, and they had also looked in the Bankhead corridor in the 1980s, as they were ready to move it appears as they only meant to have a "temporary store" at Lake Carroll Mall. Likely it'd been either by the Kmart, as Kroger could be found with Kmart's in this era, and where Tower Plaza is presently. By the end of the year, December 20th, Carrollton Crossroads would open, and Kroger and Genesis 1 would move, and the mall emptied out by the time the 1990s had arrived. Baskin Robbins stayed for a short time before relocating to First Tuesday Mall, and the mall area was nearly empty, except for Fashion Direct, a local women's clothing store, and Big Lots, a new chain at the time, into the former Kroger. Big Lots would be the longest operating tenant in the shopping center, before closing in 2015. One side of the mall area would for a time be a bar called "Beemers", and the vintage left behind was cool and had a profound effect on me. The former Baskin Robbins untouched, Big Lots still had many features of Kroger, and the mall area was composed of light poles that were very 70s, planters, and seats that's been replaced since.

The story of Lake Carroll Mall is an interesting tale of a good location yet not in a good location due to the close proximity to Lake Carroll and being a flood-prone area. Today none of the original tenants remain, including the outparcels. People's Bank would become C&S, then NationsBank, and a few others before closing and becoming the current home for Sizemore Security. The McDonald's stayed until the mid 2000s, when they debuted a new design that's aggressively been expanded upon nicknamed in the retail circles "The Eyebrow of Doom". Firestone would be gone by the end of the 1980s, and be a number of businesses before becoming currently an Enterprise Rent a Car. As for Western Sizzlin, Ryan's would open on Bankhead where a shiny and recently built Chick Fil A now sits, and by 1998 Western Sizzlin would close their doors. Presently the former Sizzlin is M&J's. The Mall area now is relatively busy, as Lake Carroll Lawn Equipment and Grace Café Church are located and they use the mall area for the most part, and the former uses the former Kroger as well. You can still see a few traces of some of the former shops, and for me, helped me gain my interest in this wonderful profession of retail history.

Notes/Opinion: In regards to the mall design, and that First Tuesday Mall would have originally for anchors Winn Dixie, Revco, TG&Y Family Center, and the Theatres; as one that can look at things and piece the parts together of what may've been, had the opposite of happened, and Belk had opened at Lake Carroll, I could've seen it becoming a mall, but the odds of it remotely occurring is none to none. However Kroger and Belk did look at another spot in the late 1970s on Rome Street, but that also fell through, and likely was prior to 1978.

Here's photos of Lake Carroll Mall, taken in 2017, and 2018.