Established in 1927. Emery’s 5 & 10 is Americas oldest, family-owned 5 & 10 Store.

What is a “5 & 10 store?”

Frank Woolworth was working in Augsbury and Moore Dry Goods store in Watertown, New York in 1873. The co-owner, William Moore, had accumulated a lot of salesmans samples and asked Woolworth to put this excess merchandise on a table at a price of five cents each. Two things happened. First, a person could actually touch the merchandise. Second, an exact price was placed on the merchandise. Up until that time, merchandise was displayed behind counters, drawers, or security cases with no published price. When a customer was shopping, the clerk would pull out the merchandise for their inspection and quote a price, which was determined by their perceived wealth.

The discounted table was so successful that Mr. Woolworth asked Mr. Moore to finance a five cent store. Although the store was successful for a short period of time, it was forced to close due to a bad location. Later Mr. Woolworth opened another five cent store with his brother in a better location, and this time he added ten cent items, which provided a greater variety of merchandise. Eventually they opened a multitude of stores throughout the United States and Europe. This new, retail concept caught the eye of many entrepreneurs, and you began to see many regional and national chains of 5 & 10 stores open. One regional chain was created by E.L. Emery, my grandfather, in 1927 in Knoxville, Tennessee. This new chain, called Emery’s 5 & 10, opened stores in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Kentucky. After many successful years competition from 5 & 10’s such as K-mart and Wal-mart, which had gone to larger stores, stopped the growth of Emery’s 5 & 10. This caused the liquidation of our stores, along with other 5 & 10 chains. In 1927 Knoxville, which is located at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, was a much simpler place in a much simpler time. Emery’s 5 & 10 served as the destination for shopping fun and entertainment, and one could find everything one needed. Although Knoxville has changed quite a bit, the joy, tradition, memories, and magic of shopping at Emery’s 5 & 10 have remained the same.

In 1983, I took the last store in Knoxville, Tennessee and created a new, 21st-century, variety store. Even now we still call ourselves a “5 & 10,” but with a few more zeroes. You can find the old-fashioned candy counter, and we are proud of our well-earned reputation of being the resource for having a hard-to-find items that cannot be found anywhere else. We have gifts for everyone and for any occasion.

Our store in Knoxville serves up serious, authentic fun, so when you are traveling close, please stop by. We are just minutes away from interstates I-75 and I-40 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Sincerely,
Ron Emery