Karcher Mall - History

History

Daum Industries began construction on a former alfalfa field located at the intersection of Karcher Road and U.S. Highway 30 in 1963. The mall was completed and opened on August 26, 1965 with anchor stores Buttrey Food & Drug, Rasco-Tempo, and Skaggs Drug Centers. During 1967, Daum Industries persuaded JCPenney to open a department store at the two-year-old shopping center. After settling an agreement, JCPenney shuttered four nearby stores in Nampa, Caldwell, Emmett, and Payette before opeing its two-level, 134,000-square-foot (12,400 m2) store in 1968.

The mall was expanded even more in August 1973, adding two more department stores, including Boise, Idaho-based Falk's I.D. Store and Seattle, Washington-based The Bon Marché, and a two-screen theater, Karcher Twin Theaters. A free-standing Ernst hardware store was added in late 1976. In 1986, Karcher Mall featured 74 businesses when it was sold from Daum Industries to Los Angeles-based Standard Management Co. for about $14 million. During the same year, Falk's I.D. Store shut its remaining 55 stores. Falk's I.D. Store sold two locations, including the store at the mall, to Anthony's. In 1987, the mall underwent a $1 million renovation.