Miller's Department Store
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Miller Brothers Company, its name shortened to Miller's after its acquisition by Garfinkel, Brooks Brothers, and Miller & Rhoads, was a major eastern Tennessee chain of stores founded in Chattanooga, becoming a part of Allied Stores and eventually sold to Hess's in 1986; it converted to Proffitt's in 1992. Its flagship store, on the corner of Seventh and Market streets in Chattanooga, was famed for having Chattanooga's only "Subway," which consisted of an underground shopping area that tunneled beneath Broad Street to another building at the corner of Seventh and Broad.
After Miller Brothers was sold to the Garfinkel chain, it was merged with a similar store in Knoxville, called simply "Miller's." One of that store's locations (in Knoxville) was originally occupied by what would be the only Rich's department store ever opened in Tennessee. Miller's also had several Georgia locations, one in Dalton, and one in Rome, which began as a multi-level downtown store and then moved to Rome's Riverbend Mall in 1975.
The original Miller's store in downtown Knoxville was a fixture of the shopping culture in the area, and a foundation of the downtown business district. The original location on Gay St. is still known as the Miller's Building today. The Hess's store a few blocks west on Henley Street became the home of Miller's, and interestingly also had an underground tunnel which connected the store to its multi-level parking structure across Henley Street.
The building is currently home of the University of Tennessee Conference Center. While the parking structure was modified for the 1982 World's Fair and eventually leveled for the construction of the new Knoxville Convention Center, the tunnel still exists and is used for storage and access to the conference center's gargage disposal area. Former Knoxville councilman Don Ferguson has recently petitioned the University to allow the public to use the tunnel again.
Like many department stores of the era, Miller's incorporated a restaurant, snack bar, and bakery counter. Miller's coconut cakes were very popular with patrons, and the recipe is still a highly sought-after item.
[edit] Former Locations
- Bristol VA: Bristol Mall
- Chattanooga TN: Downtown -Broad Street
- Chattanooga TN: Eastgate Center
- Cleveland TN: Bradley Square (relocated from Village Mall)
- Dalton GA: Walnut Square
- Hixon TN: Northgate Mall
- Johnson City TN: Mall @ Johnson City
- Kingsport TN: Ft Henry Mall
- Knoxville TN: Downtown - Henley Street (relocated from Gay Street)
- Knoxville TN: East Towne Mall
- Knoxville TN: West Town Mall
- Maryville TN: Foothills Mall
- Oak Ridge TN: Oak Ridge Mall
- Rome GA: Riverbend Mall (relocated from Downtown)
