Nashville shoppers still struggling with their feelings over the sale of the Castner Knott chain of department stores now have taken their nostalgic anguish in a decidedly New Age direction: the formation of support groups.
The venerable Nashville store was a division of Mercantile Stores, bought out three years ago by the company that also operates the Dillard’s department store chain. Subsequently, the Castner Knott stores in local malls were converted to Proffitt’s, and then to the current name, Hecht’s.
The corporate buyouts and name changes have apparently fueled a desire for diehard Castner Knott shoppers to get together to console each other and recall the good old days.
There are now at least three such support groups. The latest one met for the first time two weeks ago at the Brentwood United Methodist Church on Franklin Road. The group, made up of 11 women and two men, sat on metal folding chairs arranged in a circle in one of the church’s Sunday school rooms and spent about 2 hours recalling special moments at Castner Knott.
One participant, who identified herself only as A.J., said that under new ownership, the quality of merchandise at the stores has declined.
“I feel just empty when I hit the mall on weekends now,” she said, as several other participants nodded. “Castner’s was my retail rock, and it’s just gone.”
One of the two men in the group confessed that he really liked Castner Knott’s house brand Royal Knight T-shirts and underwear. “It was just as good as Fruit of the Loom and such a great value,” he said.
After the meeting, participants made plans to reassemble next month and passed around bootleg copies of old Castner Knott security videos.
“I can’t wait to get home, curl up on the couch, and watch this,” a group member said, clutching the tape. “It’s like going back in time to a better place.”
