Kentucky Oaks Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Paducah, Kentucky, USA. Managed by Cafaro Company, the mall includes more than 90 inline stores. Its anchor stores comprise Sears, JCPenney, Best Buy, Elder-Beerman and two Dillard’s locations, with one vacant anchor formerly occupied by K’s Merchandise Mart.
Kentucky Oaks Mall opened in 1982 on U.S. Route 60 (Hinkleville Road) just west of Interstate 24. At the time, it had JCPenney, Sears, Snyder’s (now Dillard’s), Meis (which became Elder-Beerman in 1989) and Venture as its anchors. The Venture store closed in 1998 and became Shopko in May 1999. In 2000, it was rumored that the mall would be sold to CBL & Associates Properties. Shopko remained in the mall for only two years, closing in 2001 along with several other stores, most of which were former Venture stores as well. Several other big box stores were added on the mall’s periphery in the early 2000s, including a Walmart supercenter and a prototype store for The Home Depot.
By 2003, K’s Merchandise Mart had opened in the space vacated by Shopko. Best Buy and Old Navy were both added in mid-2004, with the former supplanting a former Ruby Tuesday restaurant.
K’s Merchandise closed on November 7, 2006 with the chain’s bankruptcy. The K’s items were then liquidated by HPG Enterprises, which was closed only one month later after a judge forced it to close due to deceptive advertising. Despite the loss of this anchor store, the mall continued to gain tenants in 2006, including Hollister Co. and New York & Company.
