Built by James T. Bledsoe in 1929, the two-story brick commercial building was first leased to the Great A&P Tea Company for a grocery. Pilasters at the corners and center divide the symmetrical façade into two bays with recessed entry storefronts, which were constructed in 2005, and two pairs of double-hung sash windows on the second story. Replacement one-over-one windows fill the original openings, which are topped by soldier course lintels. The façade is capped by a corbelled cornice. Two new entrances have been added to the west side at the first story, as well as window openings on the second story. Windows on the east side are metal-frame industrial sash. A two-story frame porch with an enclosed second level was added to rear of the building in the late-twentieth century. A painted sign on the west wall of the building displays the name of its longtime owner and occupant, Home Furniture Store.

A. C. Weddle opened the original Home Furniture Store in the Franklin Building at 751 Haywood Road in 1932. Despite opening the business during the Depression, Weddle’s store prospered and moved to this location in 1945. Operation of the Home Furniture Store eventually passed to Weddle’s grandson, Tim Nichols, who ran the business from this and two branch locations until it closed in 2005. The current owners of the buildings are rehabilitating the building according the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.

“Home Furniture Store Building, 797 Haywood Road. 1929,” West Asheville End of Car Line Historic District, National Register of Historic Places. Nomination by Clay Griffith.

Great A&P Tea Company – Opened 1929

Published September 2024.