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The holiday season is filled with art projects - from laying the perfect table and making sure the ornaments on the tree are dispersed in a way that is balanced in an asymmetrical way to create conversation and interest to preparing cuisine art for family and guests and, of course, beautifully wrapping gifts. There is also an art to stuffing stockings, and we went straight to the source for a few tips. ...read more
Inspiration
All
It’s a magical thing what a pair of hands can do. ...read more
Inspiration | Local Flavor
Asheville | Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Hendersonville | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville
According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses make up 99.9% of businesses in the United States. Small businesses are credited with creating just under two-thirds of the new jobs created from 1995 to 2021 according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. They account for 43.5% of the nation’s gross domestic product. ...read more
Local Flavor
All
... Our favorite foods! Food is universal because everybody’s got ta eat! And the last two months of the year are filled with more than their fair share of family meals, work gatherings, special outings to favorite restaurants, tins filled with homemade cookies and fudge, and the anticipation of food traditions handed down from generation to generation ...read more
At Home | Recipes
All
Even before we bought the Mast General Store, we were taken by the beauty of Valle Crucis. We’ve heard people describe the drive out Broadstone Road as traveling through a time portal. In the 1970s, fields in the river bottoms would be filled with tobacco, cabbage, or high with hay to feed cattle that were grazing in the summer pasture. ...read more
Local Flavor | Mast Family Favorites
All
The lucky few who have seen the Earth from a different perspective – astronauts - all echo the same viewpoint upon their return. Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut and the first human to go to space, commented, “Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it.”
Behind the Scenes | Inspiration
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In its beginning, Asheville was located at the crossroads of trade routes and deer paths…and it was called Morristown. In 1797, it was renamed Asheville by North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe. At one time, this city located in the broad Swannanoa Valley was the third largest city in the state; right behind Raleigh and Wilmington. In the late 1800s and early 20th century, Asheville became known as a health resort. Folks flocked to the mountains to enjoy the fresh air and the fine accommodations of the Grove Park Inn and the Battery Park Hotel and to engage in outdoor activities like horseback riding, hiking, and picnicking.
Read more ...You might not know, but the Asheville area is the root source of a word commonly used to denote "nonsense." In 1820, Representative Felix Walker was addressing the House of Representatives on the topic of Missouri statehood. His intent was to engage in a long address, not necessarily related to the issue at hand, with the goal of being quoted in the newspaper, so he could be noted as performing his job. His long, dull, and drawn out speech was referred to as…just a lot of "bunkum," in reference to his home county of Buncombe.
Wandering down Biltmore Avenue from Pack Square, one of the oldest parts of the city, you’ll happen upon the Mast General Store. Located in the old Fain’s Department Store building, the mercantile is filled with most everything you need for life…and that’s no bunk!
Read less ...It took a while to find just the right building in Asheville. When we identified 15 Biltmore Avenue as our new home, so many people shared their fond memories of Fain's Department Store. It was a thrift store featuring clothing for men, women, and children, along with linens, housewares, and gifts. Today, as you walk in the front door, you'll see a memory prompt for many.
Read more ...
It took a while to find just the right building in Asheville. When we identified 15 Biltmore Avenue as our new home, so many people shared their fond memories of Fain's Department Store. It was a thrift store featuring clothing for men, women, and children, along with linens, housewares, and gifts. Today, as you walk in the front door, you'll see a memory prompt for many.
The city of Asheville is the hub of Western North Carolina. It is filled with one of the largest concentrations of Art Deco buildings in the United States. Overall, the city has many architectural styles that work together like a patchwork quilt.The history of the Asheville location stretches back to mid-1800s. Biltmore Avenue and Pack Square have long been centers of commerce and travel. First as an animal path, then a trade route, and in the early 1800s as a part of the Buncombe Turnpike, which linked Upstate South Carolina to Tennessee. It was completed around 1827 or 1828.
George Augustus Mears, a prominent businessman in the Asheville area, built the building at 15 Biltmore Avenue in 1846. It was home to a number of businesses over the years, including the Mears Daylight Store (S.P. Mears General Merchandise) and an Army Outlet Store. S.P. Mears was George's son.In 1937, the store was renamed the Jay Mears Shoe Store, then later in the year, Bowers Bargain Biltmore Store moved into the space. It was there until 1943.On Wednesday, July 7, 1943, a fire broke out in the store. It left the building gutted. Bowers moved out to a location on Patton Avenue, and Fain's Thrift Store, which was owned by Belk-Hudson in Asheville, purchased the
shell of a building for $27,500. After renovations, Fain's made the move from its location at 5-7 Biltmore Avenue to its newly-rebuilt home. The original Fain's terrazzo inlaid tile is preserved in the front thresholds of the store. While Fain's and the community of Asheville did not figure large in the Civil Rights protests in the 1960s, there was a sit in at the lunch counter that was located downstairs in the building. Many people in Asheville have shared fond memories of having a meal at the lunch counter and then getting to ride the mechanical horse as a treat. Fain's closed in 1995.Later that year, the store was home to Southerland's Furniture and Spa Sales. It's inventory featured items for leisure life like hot tubs and home accessories. Southerland's closed in 1998. The Mast Store in Asheville opened on May 12, 1999.
Many thanks to UNC-Asheville Special Collections for their help in researching information for this article. Top image from the E.M. Ball Collection, D.H. Ramsey LIbrary Special Collections, UNC Asheville 28804. Bowers Shoes and Fain's images are courtesy of Pack Memorial Library.
Read less ...Asheville is one of the most eclectic cities in the South. From its architecture and music venues to the Biltmore Estate and Farmers’ Market, you’ll find something for every interest.
It’s a magical thing what a pair of hands can do. ...read more
Inspiration | Local Flavor
Asheville | Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Hendersonville | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville
Did you know the State of North Carolina’s official folk dance is clogging? Yep, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted clogging as the state’s folk dance and shagging as the state’s official popular dance in an act executed on July 20, 2005. That’s recent history, but the roots of clogging extend to the country’s colonial period and even before. Photo courtesy of Joe Shannon's Mountain Home Music and Lonnie Webster. ...read more
Local Flavor | Travel
Asheville | Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Hendersonville | Knoxville | Roanoke | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville
It’s hard to believe that a quarter century has passed since the Mast General Store opened its fifth location on historic Biltmore Avenue in a resurging Downtown Asheville. Sunday, May 12, 2024, marks the date when the doors first officially opened to welcome locals and visitors alike. To celebrate, Mast Store is giving everyone who visits that day a free bag of its world-famous, freshly popped popcorn. ...read more
Local Flavor | Mast in the News
Asheville
It’s a magical thing what a pair of hands can do. ...read more
Inspiration | Local Flavor
Asheville | Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Hendersonville | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville
Did you know the State of North Carolina’s official folk dance is clogging? Yep, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted clogging as the state’s folk dance and shagging as the state’s official popular dance in an act executed on July 20, 2005. That’s recent history, but the roots of clogging extend to the country’s colonial period and even before. Photo courtesy of Joe Shannon's Mountain Home Music and Lonnie Webster. ...read more
Local Flavor | Travel
Asheville | Annex - Valle Crucis | Boone | Hendersonville | Knoxville | Roanoke | Original - Valle Crucis | Waynesville
It’s hard to believe that a quarter century has passed since the Mast General Store opened its fifth location on historic Biltmore Avenue in a resurging Downtown Asheville. Sunday, May 12, 2024, marks the date when the doors first officially opened to welcome locals and visitors alike. To celebrate, Mast Store is giving everyone who visits that day a free bag of its world-famous, freshly popped popcorn. ...read more
Local Flavor | Mast in the News
Asheville