Apple Hill Farm Fred's General Mercantile Mast General Store Moses H. Cone Manor National Park

Boone NC Shopping & Shopping In The High Country

Tanger Outlets Blowing Rock US Highway 321 Blowing Rock, NC 28605 828-295-4444 Mast General Store Home Office Highway 194 Valle Crucis, NC 28691 828-963-6511 Emporium Shoppes at the Village 142 Main St E Banner Elk, NC 28604 828-898-3378 Boone Mall 1180 Blowing Rock Rd. Boone, NC 28607-4883 828-264-7286

The original Mast General Store is located in historic Valle Crucis. Opened in 1883, Charles Kuralt proclaimed the original Mast General Store “a destination". Take a magical step into the history of the High Country and learn why it was the center of commerce in the 1900s advertising and offering everything from “Quality Goods for the Living, Coffins & Caskets for the Dead". Children will delight in the old fashion candy shop and you can even mail a postcard home from the old fashioned post office in the Valle Crucis Mast General Store. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Banner Elk, NC also offers great shopping. One choice is the Great Train Robbery Emporium (at 2120 Tynecastle Highway, Banner Elk, NC 828-898-8643). Enjoy the vintage “Railroad” theme and their beautifully decorated shops, galleries and vignettes making your shopping experience easy and exciting. They offer creative ideas for gifts, low carb foods, furnishings, antiques and accessories. Another choice is the Emporium Shoppes At The Village (142 Main Street, Banner Elk, 828-898-8323) where you will find Almost Rodeo Drive, The Bayou Store and Larson’s Fine Furniture to name just a few. You’ll find several unique and eclectic shops under one roof at this shopping emporium where you can find items such as arts and crafts by local artists, antiques, furniture, gifts, jewelry, pottery, photography and women’s fine clothing. Also nestled in the heart of downtown Banner Elk, you will find BJ’s Resort Wear, a boutique serving the discriminating customer for thirty years (at 145 Main Street East, Banner Elk, 828-898-4229). Down the street from Lees-McRae College in the Sunrise Shopping Center, there is the wonderful furniture store, Specialty Furniture & Interiors.

Erick’s Cheese and Wine Shop has been a favorite stop in Banner Elk for almost 25 years. It’s still the same great place for wonderful wine, cheese, and specialty foods – but the selection is better than ever. In addition to some of the finest collectible labels from California and France, Erick’s has a greatly expanded inventory of highly rated, very affordable, spectacular wines from around the world, particularly from Italy and Spain. Stop in and sign up for their email newsletter that announces wine tasting and gives you notes on the wines as well. Or just drop by on Saturday afternoons, when there is always something to taste. Erick’s will special order wines you don’t see in the shop and prepare custom gift baskets for any occasion. If you’re a cheese and chocolate lover, this is definitely the place for you. Located at 1873 Tynecastle Highway, Banner Elk, NC. For more information, you can call 828-898-9424.

Also, you will love shopping at the Apple Hill Farm Store located at The Great Train Robbery in Banner Elk. The owner, Lee Rankin, has a corner of the store selling alpaca products, such as scarves, hats, gloves, vests, ponchos, stuffed animals, finger puppets, sweaters and socks. She also has a store at the Apple Hill Farm itself that sells lots of gift items as well as plants. See our Attractions page for more information on the farm. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Beech Mountain, NC is the home of Fred’s General Mercantile. Opened in 1979, Fred’s General Mercantile has since become a symbol of Beech Mountain life. The result, almost 30 years later, is a shop that offers it all and is central to the wonderful allure of Beech Mountain. At Fred’s, you will find everything from groceries to hiking boots, fishing licenses, fishing gear, and ski rentals. Fred’s mantra is, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!” The store operates as an old style country general store where everyone is family. What once began as a one level shop offering groceries, tee shirts and hardware, Fred’s Mercantile now includes a ski shop, toy shop, and deli. The Backside Deli sells sandwiches, homemade soups and salads, pizzas, desserts, and all sorts of beverages. Stop by Fred’s and have a picnic basket made to order or enjoy a carry-out pizza. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.

Linville, NC is the home of the Old Hampton Store & Village, 77 Ruffin St, 828-733-5213, located at the foot of Grandfather Mountain and just minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our 1920 general store and grist mill features its own 100% natural stone ground cornmeal, grits and buckwheat pancake mix. You'll also find homemade jams, jellies, preserves, apple butter, and dozens of pickled products, cheeses and country ham. If you're in the mood for shopping, the country store carries pottery, baskets, enamel ware, handmade rugs, cast iron and a variety of unusual kitchen products. Located inside the store is Uncle Lee's Barbeque. Sit inside on the front porch and enjoy the best barbeque in the South, served on sourdough buns baked fresh daily at the country store. To top off the meal, try the Banana Pudding or a slice of homemade pie a la mode! The Weaving Room in Crossnore offers an excellent opportunity to watch the mountain tradition of weaving in action. You can also visit the craft shop and the Blair Fraley Thrift Store. These are all located on the campus of Crossnore School in Crossnore NC (get to Crossnore from Linville following Hwy 221.)

Foscoe, NC is the home of Wolf Creek Traders. Wolf Creek Traders has rustic furniture and all the furnishings and accessories for an elegant lodge or a casual or rustic cabin. To get the real flavor of our mountain living or just to pick up something to take home as a souvenir, you have to check out Wolf Creek Traders. Wolf Creek Traders is located in Foscoe, between Boone and Banner Elk at 10543-4 Hwy. 105 South (828-963-6800 or 866-963-6800). For the fishermen, you will want to try out Foscoe Fishing Company & Outfitters. Their shop is located at 9400 Hwy 105 South. Phone: 828-963-6556.

Todd General Store:
Plan to visit the historical Todd General Store after a day of tubing down the New River, or just take a day trip over to Todd, NC to check out the store and the Todd area. The store was built in 1914 and offers a variety of jams, jellies, furniture and antiques. You can also enjoy ice cream or sandwiches from their deli menu featuring “the best Philly steak sandwich in the area” along with crab cakes, fried bologna, kosher reubens and mahi mahi in the summer. Diners can also enjoy two decks that the store offers: One in the front that’s usually sunny, and one in the back that provides more shade. Starting in late May, it has a bluegrass jam, storytelling about the history of the mountains and visits from local artists and authors. Storytelling is on Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. (with a meal beforehand); bluegrass at 7 p.m. on Fridays (with a meal at 6 p.m.); and in-house artists and authors on Saturdays. All the events are free and open to the public. For more information about the Todd General Store, call 336-877-1067.

Little Switzerland NC offers a unique shopping experience in its one-of-a-kind main street center. Trillium Gallery offers American handcrafted jewelry, pottery, stained glass, wood, metal and other decorative artist crafts. The Gem Shoppe has gems, minerals and beautiful jewelry. Hearthside Handmades carries garden commodities, including birdfeeders and birdhouses. The shop carries many things for the garden, including rustic bark birdfeeders and birdhouses. Simple Pleasures gift shop features everything from t-shirts and to jewelry and glassware.

Near Blowing Rock on the Blue Ridge Parkway is the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park, a preserved country estate of Moses Cone who was a “prosperous textile entrepreneur, conservationist, and philanthropist of the Gilded Age.” Its focal point is Flat Top Manor, a magnificent white 20-room, 13,000 square foot mansion built in 1901 in the grand Colonial Revival style. The Manor is home to the Parkway Craft Center, one of five shops of the Southern Highland Craft Guild that has handmade crafts by hundreds of regional artists. Throughout the season, local artists demonstrate crafts such as quilting, embroidery, weaving, pottery, glass-blowing, and woodcarving on the front porch of the Manor. Call the Parkway Craft Center for the daily schedule at 828-295-7938. They are open from March 15 through November 30 from 9am - 5 pm daily. For more details, click on the link on the right side of the page.
 

Come stay in the High Country and enjoy all the wonderful shopping and outdoor activities in Boone, Banner Elk and Valle Crucis. A and W Rentals features a unique variety of NC Mountain Cabin Rentals to fit you and your group's needs.

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