Fall 1973 ad announcing the arrival at Ivey's
Arthur's moving to Ivey's was front-page news
Christmas 1973 with the Shriner's!
1974 ad - now with two locations
1974 business card
1974 ad announcing the new Southpark location
Arthur's mid-70's wine club card (front & back)
1974 ad
1974 menu
Christmas 1974 wine sale ad
Another Christmas 1974 wine ad
1974 picture of the Arthur's sandwich booth at a downtown street festival (even Winnie likes grinders!)
Spring 1975 wine ad
1975 review of the Eastland location
Mid-70's Southpark menu
1975 ad
1976 picture of the downtown location
1977 picture
Mid-70's Eastland menu
1978 ad
1979 picture of Steve (center) and John Balsley (right)
1980 printer's proof of the Arthur's logo
1978 ad announcing the McAlister Square (Greenville, SC) location
Above two ads from 1981
1980 Southpark take-out menu
Watch the big game at Arthur's!
Above ads all from 1981
October 4, 1981 ad announcing the opening of the Four Seasons location
1982 ad
1984 ad
1984 wine tasting invitation
1985 Wine Festival invitation
Late-80's Christmas ad
1990 Dillard's ad
On Monday October 1, 1973, Arthur's opened shop in the lower level of the downtown Ivey's store replacing the Coffee Shop. For the previous year and a half, Arthur's had been located across 5th Street in the lobby of the decaying Clayton Hotel. The move to Ivey's brought many hopes, along with some controversy. The thought of selling beer and wine in the conservative Methodist-run Ivey's not only shocked many, but also made front page news. The press would prove to only help Arthur's as the location was an immediate success (for years, Arthur's at Ivey's was the place to eat lunch downtown). The downtown location would prove to be so popular, that 1974 saw the opening of a second Arthur's at Ivey's-Southpark followed by a 1975 location at Ivey's-Eastland. Eventually there would many locations throughout North and South Carolina including Greenville, SC (1978), Greensboro (1981), and Myrtle Beach (1977).
Arthur's affiliation with Ivey's would continue strong throughout the 1980's until Ivey's was bought out by Dillard's. Arthur's remained with Dillard's for a very short time before moving to another Charlotte institution-Belk.
Pt 3 coming soon--the Belk years...
***Special thanks to Steve Balsley for his generous contributions to this post. Thanks again, Steve for allowing access to your personal collection!!!***
