After four decades in Knoxville, McKay's is pulling the plug on its Papermill Drive store. The company announced Wednesday that the longtime location will close for good on Sunday, May 3, capping a 40-year run in the city. The Knoxville property has been sold, and the store will stop accepting incoming items starting Thursday, Feb. 26. Returns will be taken through the final day, and store officials used the announcement to thank loyal shoppers for sticking with them over the years, according to WVLT.
"It has been an honor to be part of the Knoxville community for the last four decades," store officials wrote in their message. Anyone who still needs to pick up payment for a previously submitted order is being asked to do so at the register before the shop closes, and after May 3 all sales will be final, WVLT reports.
Where to Find McKay's Now
For fans of the chain, this is a goodbye to Knoxville, not to McKay's entirely. The company says no other locations are scheduled to close. Shoppers can still visit stores in Chattanooga and Nashville, Tenn., as well as Winston‑Salem and Mebane, N.C. Each location and its phone number is listed on the company’s locations page, according to McKAY's.
A Long Run on Papermill Drive
McKAY's began as Edward McKay in North Carolina in 1974, then expanded into Tennessee in the 1980s. The Knoxville shop opened in 1985 and made the move to Papermill Drive in 2005, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. The Knoxville store has also been the chain’s only unionized location, a detail that has shaped local coverage of the business in recent years. Store officials did not say the closure was related to labor negotiations.
Customers with questions about trade credit, returns, or store hours are being directed to call the Papermill location or check the company website for updates, per McKAY's. Managers are encouraging longtime regulars to stop in before May 3 to "find a good book and say goodbye."
