The Original Mast General Store is located in Valle Crucis, NC. It was opened by Henry Taylor back…read morein 1883 as the Taylor General Store and has been operating ever since, so they are definitely doing something right! The landmark is on the National Register of Historic Places and is quite a popular place. While you won't be able to park right out front as they did in the past, there is plenty of parking located conveniently behind the store. W.W. Mast bought a half stake of the business in 1897, then bought the other half in 1913, changing the name to Mast General Store It was truly the Amazon of its day, offering everything you could possibly need with the motto, "goods for the living, coffins and caskets for the dead," which prompted the local phrase, "If you can't buy it here, you don't need it ." When the economy changed and the original store closed in 1977, it was thankfully saved and reopened in 1980 by preservationists John and Faye Cooper The front corner of the store features an active town post office The store spans two levels with beautifully creaking floorboards that instantly let you know you are in a nostalgic place filled with history. A lot of the original advertising posters from Mr. Mast are still mounted on the walls alongside the vintage counters and fixtures The original cast iron potbellied wood stove is still used to heat the store, the functional wooden trap doors in the floorboards still remain from where chickens historically were traded for store credit, and you can even get a cup of coffee for just 5 cents. You will find a massive variety of cast-iron cookware, old-fashioned candy in barrels, postcards, books, high-quality clothing, footwear, toys, and traditional mercantile goods. I even bought a delicious fried apple pie! The historic Little Red Schoolhouse sits right behind the main building and offers clearance merchandise, though I just enjoyed looking at the older architecture and reading about the school.

Been coming here for a few years now, we love visiting the area and stopping in for a moon pie and…read morea spicy ginger ale or cream soda!!!! There's so much to look at here, the property itself is stunning and surrounded by amazing nature, the staff are all warm and friendly, and you could spend literally hours here perusing the shelves. There's good old fashioned candy, popcorn, snacks, there's Valle Crucis souvenirs to bring home. It's never felt like a tourist trap, it's always felt very warm, country, and welcoming. The building itself is so old and stunning! The creamy floors and woodsy smells, it's always a treat to come here and there's so much to look at and buy. There's even a Christmas shop upstairs year round, where you can stock up on goodies ahead of time for Christmas. I'd say the value is pretty good, depending on what you're buying. Snacks, drinks, candy are all very affordable, but the souvenir and brand name products of course are higher up in price, which is to be expected. All in all, a wonderful place to stop by to grab a treat or bring home some gifts for family and friends. Highly recommend!!!

Heading up to hike at Grandfather Mountain for the day, the weather was a bit colder than we had…read morepacked for, so we tried to find a store to pick up some winter hats for our hike. Unfortunately, a few other stores we had stopped into had already packed that inventory up for the season, and then we came across the Souvenir shop in Banner Elk, and lucked out. They had a good selection of winter hats, as well as base ball caps, shirts, sweatshirts, and so much more. They also sold a small selection of snacks and other souvenir items. The clerk working the counter was very friendly, and their pricing was extremely fair, especially for the quality of the hats we got. I'd certainly recommend this spot to others and would stop in again if in the area

I love their t- shirts and everything else they have for sale is an absolute must stop when you…read morecome this this town it may be a little pricey but other then that is a great place to look around

If I could give this place a zero star rating, I would have. We stopped in while up there playing…read moremini golf because I wanted to help the local economy, and get a gift for my friend. The guy at the cash register was noticeably rude. He must've thought we were tourists --ha! Joke's on him! -- because he appeared to dislike visitors. Anyhow, get anything you need BEFORE you go up to Beech Mountain. This business does not deserve any money coming in. They have a reputation of being horrible -- look through the reviews. AND it's not just that horrible man at the desk today. WOW... Bless it!

Amazing is just the start. Great old fashion comfort food. Nothing but stick to your ribs goodness…read more Get yourself the breakfast club. Bacon, Sausage w/ gravy with Egg and American cheese. Pro-tip: get the bacon well done. Fred's- If it ain't here you don't need it.

We visited Boone in late September and stopped in at this store and found the perfect Christmas…read moreornament at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, I lost it on a flight back to AZ. I contacted the store, spoke with Laurie about sending me another one which she did immediately. We also had a great conversation about things. The customer service here was top notch & so appreciated! Thanks again, Laurie, for sending me the ornament!

Staff is friendly. Usually they have free popcorn out for folks to snack on while checking out…read moretheir store. Lots of Boone themed and App State merch. Sale racks can make a simple t-shirt $5-7

In our experience, White Wolf Lodge was extremely dishonest and had terrible customer service…read more Important items were misplaced by staff, which led to an interaction that never should have happened. Instead of taking responsibility, they denied the situation entirely and claimed it never occurred, even after later evidence showed otherwise. Rather than attempting to resolve the issue professionally or offer an apology, they escalated it unnecessarily and refused to make things right. The lack of accountability and poor communication only made the situation worse. Overall, this was a very upsetting experience, and we would not recommend this place based on how they handle mistakes and treat customers.

We dropped into this store on a whim to see what their rental prices were for equipment! Needless…read moreto say, we saved between $10-20 per day, per person on rental equipment over the resort without the high deposit. The staff were super kind, knowledgeable, and helpful! The sweet cashier that signs you up for the equipment is amazing! Her whole family works here! The gift shop is cute and we ended up with some souvenirs that were also way cheaper than the resort! The equipment was all in good shape, no smells, helmets looked just about new! Overall, we would recommend many times over versus renting from the resort! They are open long hours for returning gear! They had fudge and BBQ there, but we never ended up trying it. Smelled good though.

This is a nice little boutique just off Main Street selling a variety of handmade items. On a…read morerecent visit, I bought some earrings, a necklace, and a pottery olive oil keeper. The also have artwork, wooden pens, and soaps/lotions. The prices are what you would expect in Blowing Rock, but regardless, I was happy with my purchases. I'll definitely be back!

Cute little shop with beautiful handmade items. Prices are reasonable and items are great quality…read more Bought a beautiful cheese board handmade close by in the area. They gave a paper with instructions on how to care and clean. Very sweet people. Will come again!

We have visited numerous gem mining venues in NC and TN with very satisfactory results. These…read morepeople fill their buckets with gravel (not sand) and our experience was that less than 1/2 of 1% contained any rocks not considered gravel, so at 99.5% gravel they are making a lot more money than all the other gem mining operations. Our $129.99 "Gloryhole" bucket was junk literally and in reality. A word to all who read this: AVOID THIS JOINT!!!!!

I came here with my family and we got the big bucket, we got lots of great gems. The value was…read moregreat for the amount of gems we got. I can't wait to go back ! The service was amazing, the people up front were so nice.

Well selected items, original art and prints in a beautiful store. Simply walking in is inspiring,…read moreeverything is pulled together with an artistic eye. I found myself contemplating re-doing my entire master bedroom based on a beautiful art print.

I have loved common good since they opened, but I just recently tried their coffee, and it is one…read moreof the better places for coffee in Boone! I got a vanilla latte, and it was perfect to have a coffee while I walked around and shopped, and looked up all of The amazing things they have in the store!

The Vintage Farmhouse General Store is a great option for anyone visiting West Jefferson who is…read morelooking for an alternative to parking & exploring the larger downtown area nearby. This place is a little ways away from most of "the action", has plentiful on-site parking, and combines coffee shop + bakery + general store in one location. The store is relatively new to West Jefferson and opened within the last few years. It's family owned and operated, and the staff members who were working on the day of my visit could not have been lovelier. The only reason I'm not giving this place five stars is because I felt like the selection of merchandise in the general store was not as eclectic as most general stores I've visited. The majority of the merchandise either fell into what felt like a "live, laugh, love" version of a feminine / children's esthetic, or was downstairs in a section literally called "the man cave". With so many amazing local merchants and artists throughout the West Jefferson community, it would have been nice to see a few more options that fell between these two groups and were maybe a bit more neutral. While I very much enjoyed exploring the store and looking through everything, when it came time to actually purchase something for myself or to use as a gift, I really couldn't settle on anything that would be a good fit.

Cute gift store with an array of gifts for the season. Great place to find unique gifts for people…read morefor the holidays or birthdays. There is a decent amount of jewelry, kitchen items, holiday decor, and clothes (upstairs). The coffee shop downstairs is also a nice touch to the store-I recommend stopping in there first and drinking your coffee as you shop. There was plenty of parking and it was easy to locate. It's unique and separate from the rest of historic downtown West Jefferson which makes it an easy recommendation to anyone looking for gifts.