West Town Mall
A super-regional enclosed shopping mall in Knoxville, Tennessee, and one of the largest enclosed malls in the state.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
West Town Mall is a super-regional enclosed shopping mall in the West Hills area of Knoxville, Tennessee. Opened in August 1972, the one-level complex occupies a prominent location along Kingston Pike near the Interstate 40/75 corridor, serving Knoxville and the surrounding East Tennessee region. Its approximately 1.339 million square feet of gross leasable area make it the largest enclosed shopping mall in Tennessee by that measure. The mall was established with a conventional department-store-led format. Its original anchor lineup included Sears, JCPenney, Proffitt's, and Miller's, while a junior anchor operated as Frankenbergers. Over time, the property absorbed changes in the American department-store sector. Miller's became Hess's in 1987 and later closed; the space was expanded and reopened as Dillard's in 1993. JCPenney moved from its original 1972 location to a new anchor position in 1994. That same year, a major expansion added two anchor stores and 32 smaller retail spaces, significantly increasing the mall's regional draw. The former Frankenbergers space was eventually converted into the central food court after the retailer departed in 1985. The food court also became the first mall location of Knoxville-based Petro's Chili & Chips. The property's tenant mix has continued to evolve through department-store rebrandings and changes in retail concepts. Proffitt's became Belk in 2006, with the location subsequently identified as Belk Women. The former Parisian anchor from the 1994 expansion became Belk Men, Home, and Children in 2007. Sears announced in October 2018 that it would close the West Town Mall store as part of a nationwide closure program. The store shut on January 6, 2019, and the building was demolished beginning in January 2020. Its replacement, Dick's House of Sport, opened in 2021, bringing a large-format sporting-goods and experiential retail concept to the mall. Entertainment has been another component of West Town Mall's offer. Regal Entertainment Group opened a Funscape entertainment complex at the mall in 1998. The mall's Regal cinema operation was later rebranded Cinebarre in 2018, combining moviegoing with a restaurant-oriented format. Alongside its anchor stores, specialty retailers, dining venues, food-court operators, and entertainment facilities, these changes position West Town Mall as a broad regional destination rather than simply a collection of department stores.
History
West Town Mall opened in August 1972 in Knoxville's West Hills community. Its location near Kingston Pike and Interstates 40 and 75 gave it strong regional accessibility and helped establish it as a major enclosed shopping destination for Knoxville and East Tennessee. The original one-level development was organized around several department-store anchors, including Sears, JCPenney, Proffitt's, and Miller's. A smaller junior-anchor space was occupied by Frankenbergers, a department-store retailer that later departed. The mall's early anchor arrangement changed as department-store companies consolidated or rebranded. Frankenbergers closed in 1985, and its former location became the mall's central food court. The food court later included the first mall location of Petro's Chili & Chips, a Knoxville-based food operator. Miller's changed to Hess's in 1987. After Hess's closed in 1992, the space was expanded and reopened as Dillard's in 1993, adding a major national department-store presence to the northwest side of the property. A substantial expansion followed in 1994. The project added two anchor stores and 32 smaller shops. One of the new anchors was Parisian, which later became Belk Men, Home, and Children. JCPenney also relocated from its original 1972 position to a new anchor space created through the expansion. The enlarged center had a gross leasable area of about 1.339 million square feet, making it the largest enclosed shopping mall in Tennessee by that measure. Further changes reflected the restructuring of the department-store industry. Proffitt's, one of the original anchors, was expanded in 1995 and became Belk in 2006. In 2007, the store was identified as Belk Women, while the former Parisian store became Belk Men, Home, and Children. These changes allowed West Town Mall to retain a multi-anchor format while adapting the identities and merchandise roles of its major stores. Entertainment was added to the retail mix in 1998, when Knoxville-based Regal Entertainment Group opened a Funscape complex at the mall. The cinema operation was later rebranded as Cinebarre in 2018, giving the venue a dining-oriented movie-theater format. The most significant recent anchor transition involved Sears. On October 15, 2018, Sears announced that its West Town Mall store would close as part of a national program to shut 142 stores. The location closed on January 6, 2019. Demolition of the former anchor building began on January 9, 2020, and the site was subsequently redeveloped for Dick's House of Sport. The new anchor opened in 2021, replacing a traditional department store with a large-format sporting-goods and experiential retail concept. West Town Mall remains an active regional shopping center with department stores, specialty retailers, dining, a food court, sporting-goods retail, and cinema entertainment. Its history illustrates the transition of American enclosed malls from an original department-store model toward a more varied mix of retail, food, leisure, and experience-oriented tenants.
- 2021
Dick's House of Sport opens
[1]Dick's House of Sport opens in the former Sears anchor area.
- 2020
Sears building demolished
[1]Demolition begins on January 9 to make way for a replacement anchor.
- 2019
Sears closes
[1]The Sears anchor closes on January 6 after being included in a national store-closure program.
- 2018
Regal cinema rebranded as Cinebarre
[1]The mall's Regal cinema operation adopts the Cinebarre name and dining-oriented format.
- 2007
Belk anchor roles are reorganized
[1]The former Proffitt's location becomes Belk Women, while the former Parisian location becomes Belk Men, Home, and Children.
- 2006
Proffitt's becomes Belk
[1]The original Proffitt's anchor is rebranded as Belk.
- 1998
Funscape entertainment complex opens
[1]Regal Entertainment Group opens a Funscape entertainment complex at the mall.
- 1994
Major mall expansion
[1]An expansion adds two anchors and 32 smaller shops; Parisian and a relocated JCPenney are among the resulting anchor arrangements.
- 1993
Dillard's takes over the former Hess's anchor
[1]After Hess's closes, the former Miller's space is expanded and becomes a Dillard's anchor.
- 1985
Frankenbergers closes
[1]The mall's junior-anchor Frankenbergers location closes and is later converted into the central food court.
Products and positioning
A large regional shopping and entertainment destination serving Knoxville and East Tennessee, combining department stores, specialty retail, dining, sporting goods, and cinema in an enclosed mall format.
Apparel, home, beauty, and general merchandise · 1972
Department-store retail
West Town Mall's department-store anchors provide broad merchandise categories including clothing, accessories, beauty products, home goods, children's merchandise, and other general retail. The anchor roster has changed repeatedly since 1972, moving from the original Miller's, Proffitt's, Sears, and JCPenney arrangement to Dillard's, Belk, JCPenney, and other contemporary formats.
Sporting goods and experiential retail · 2021
Dick's House of Sport
Dick's House of Sport is a large-format sporting-goods anchor that replaced the former Sears building. The concept broadens conventional sporting-goods retail with a larger destination format and experience-oriented presentation, giving the mall a contemporary anchor after the Sears closure and demolition.
Cinema and dining entertainment · 2018
Cinebarre
Cinebarre is the mall's movie-theater offering. The venue developed from the Regal Funscape entertainment complex opened in 1998 and was rebranded in 2018 into a Cinebarre format combining film exhibition with restaurant-style food and beverage service.
Food and beverage · 1985
Food court
The centrally located food court occupies the former Frankenbergers junior-anchor space. It provides a shared dining area for quick-service food operators and is part of the mall's broader combination of shopping, dining, and leisure uses. The space was also the first mall location of Knoxville-based Petro's Chili & Chips.
Brand decisions
2020
Former Sears anchor replaced with a new retail conceptStrategyBackground
Sears closed its West Town Mall store in January 2019 after being included in a nationwide closure program, leaving a major anchor site vacant.
Action taken
The Sears building was demolished beginning in January 2020 and the site was redeveloped for Dick's House of Sport, which opened in 2021.
Aftermath
The replacement preserved a major west-side anchor position while shifting the mall's offer from traditional department-store retail toward sporting goods and experiential shopping.
1994
Major expansion adds anchors and specialty shopsStrategyBackground
The original mall required additional capacity and a broader regional retail offer as Knoxville's enclosed-mall market developed.
Action taken
West Town Mall added two anchor stores and 32 smaller retail spaces, including a new Parisian location and a relocated JCPenney.
Aftermath
The expansion increased the center's scale and helped establish its approximately 1.339 million square feet of gross leasable area.
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