Results: General Stores and 5 & Dime Stores Still Open
There is something incredibly comforting about walking into a store where the floorboards creak, the air smells of cedar and beeswax, and the shelves are stocked with items that modern big-box retailers forgot decades ago.A handful of historic "living relics" across the United States have resisted the urge to modernize, continuing to sell practical, nostalgic, and old-fashioned goods using the same philosophy they did over a century ago. My sources are Oldest.org, World Atlas, Lovefood, and Cheapism
1.
1.
Mast General Store (Valle Crucis, North Carolina) Opened: 1883 A sprawling Appalachian landmark with false-front architecture, a potbelly stove, and an operating post office right inside the store.Old-Fashioned Goods: They are famous for their wooden barrels overflowing with over 500 varieties of old-fashioned candy (like candy cigarettes, salt water taffy, and Mary Janes). You can also find cast-iron cookware, robust canvas workwear, oil lamps, and stone-ground cornmeal. Have you ever visited this type of store?
Yes
51%
•
530 votes
No
30%
•
309 votes
Not Applicable
19%
•
202 votes
2.
2.
A. Schwab (Memphis, Tennessee) Opened: 1876 Located right on historic Beale Street, this is the only original business remaining from the street's 19th-century roots. Its motto has always been: "If you can't find it at Schwab's, you're better off without it." Old-Fashioned Goods: It operates as a true historic five-and-dime. They feature a fully operational 1940s-style soda fountain serving handmade malted milkshakes, phosphates, and egg creams. The shelves are packed with regional folk remedies, retro tin toys, mustache waxes, and traditional dry goods. Have you ever had a soda fountain drink like a milkshake, phosphate, or egg cream?
Yes
48%
•
502 votes
No
33%
•
341 votes
Not Applicable
19%
•
198 votes
3.
3.
Lehman's (Kidron, Ohio) Opened: 1955 Founded in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country, Lehman's was intentionally built to serve a community that lives without electricity. Old-Fashioned Goods: This is the ultimate destination for non-electric, mechanical, and homesteading tools. They sell brand-new, functioning wood-burning cookstoves, hand-cranked butter churns, kerosene lanterns, gas-powered refrigerators, copper wash boilers, and hand water pumps. Have you ever visited an Amish store?
Yes
27%
•
278 votes
No
54%
•
560 votes
Not Applicable
20%
•
203 votes
4.
4.
Berdine's Five and Dime (Harrisville, West Virginia) Opened: 1908 America's oldest continuously operating dime store. It still features its original pressed-tin ceilings, dark wooden display cases, and brown paper bags for your purchases. Old-Fashioned Goods: Berdine's specializes in things that make adults say, "I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid." They stock bulk penny candy, classic tin wind-up toys, glass marbles, balsa wood glider planes, retro beauty products (like Rosebud Salve), and household gadgets from a bygone era. Would you like to visit this store?
I already have
7%
•
76 votes
Yes
50%
•
519 votes
No
21%
•
220 votes
Not Applicable
22%
•
226 votes
5.
5.
Did you enjoy this nostalgic survey? Yes
72%
•
746 votes
No
10%
•
99 votes
Not Applicable
19%
•
196 votes
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