SBW13 - Rocky's Corner Market & Rocky's Grill and Soda Shop

Formerly known as Varner's Drug Store

History

The original property that the building is on was shown as Lot 5 on the town plat.  You can see this on the partial image of the town plat that is shown on the Deeds page on this website. The frontage along South Broad Street was the same as it is today - about 126 feet.  The 165-foot depth of the lot extended from South Broad Street all the way back to the east side of West Alley - known today as Times Arcade Alley.

As far back as this researcher could look (and interpret!), a man named C.A. Shuford received the land for this lot (and perhaps all of original Lot 5) in an auction at the courthouse on January 3, 1898.  Deed book 15, page 316 mentions that he received "One lot in the Town of Brevard, Transylvania County, corner of Broad and Jordan Street."  It was mentioned that the lot was fully described in a deed on March 8, 1884, which was recorded in deed book 2, page 132.  However, the writing on this deed is very difficult to read.  The year may have read 1894, and the page number of the book is subject to interpretation.  

On March 13, 1901, Shuford and his wife sold all of Lot 5 to J.J. Miner. Miner was the man behind the Sylvan Valley News.

The lot remained empty until the late 1800s, when the Sylvan Valley News became one of the town's first newspapers.

The Sylvan Valley News

The Sylvan Valley News began as a partisan republican paper in November 1895.  Transylvania County Sheriff V.B. McGaha was its principle stockholder. J.J. Miner established the newspaper and did most of the work running it.  At some point, he got into a political disagreement with the paper's stockholders.  The stockholders took away all of the equipment, but Miner owned the name. He managed to find another press and continued printing the paper until August 1, 1911, when he sold it to Ronald B. Wilson and Ora L. Jones.  

During this time, perhaps from its beginning, the Sylvan Valley News operated out of a frame building constructed on the northern half of the lot (SBW13b). Today, this is where Rocky's Grill operates.  The first edition of the Sylvan Valley News that is available online is the one from February 13, 1903.  Various articles show that it was on Broad Street in 1905, but it's unknown when they set up shop there.  In all likelihood, it was probably from their first day of operation in 1985.  The 1911 Sanborn Map shows a frame "printing" building in this location, which accurately reflects the presence of the News since their main line of business was printing.

On August 1, 1903, J.J. Miner sold the lot with the news building on it (SBW13b) to A.M. Verdery.  The selling of the lot to Verdery is the first indication that the entire original Lot 5, which encompassed everything from the front of the two existing stores on Broad street all the way back to Times Arcade Alley, had been "split" as two individual properties. 

Six months after the Sylvan Valley news was sold to WIlson and Jones, Jones bought out Wilson.  

In 1914, a small fire started in the rear of the office, due to a partially-extinguished match being thrown in a paper bin. The Chief of Police happened to be walking by and discovered it before the building was substantially damaged.

Ora L. Jones continued to run the News until January 1916.  At that time, he leased everything to Noah M. Hollowell, who bought the entire operation (including the printing and newspaper businesses) three months later.  Jones continued to run the printing department, naming it the Quality Print Shop.  The new print shop put its first advertisement in the News on May 26, 1916. Both the newspaper and the print shop shared the building.

The October 1916 Sanborn Map indicates that the framed building they occupied was vacant.  In January 1917, Hollowell changed the name of the newspaper to the Brevard News.  The Brevard News was housed on the second floor of the Pickelsimer Building on Main Street (WMS12), above today's Blast from the Past store.  It isn't clear when the news office moved, since it was empty in October 1916.  Perhaps Hollowell moved everything into the new building in the Fall of 2016, then re-opened the business in the new location by January 1917.  The first edition of the Brevard News was on January 5, 1917.

Verdery must have also bought the south side of the lot (SWB13a) at some point, because he sold it to George Philippe (that was the spelling on the deed, but he was known as George Phillips) on March 12, 1917.  Note here that there are many references to George Phillips in historical documents.  See the article on WMS21 and WJN12 for more info. His last name has been spelled many different ways, so understand that there are some inconsistencies. 

According to an article in the March 23, 1917 issue of Brevard News, Phillips had bought "the lot on Broad and Jordan streets adjoining the old Sylvan Valley News Building" hoping to relocate his bakery there.  As it turned out, Phllips moved his bakery to Jordan street three years later.

Hollowell, the owner of the businesses, advertised in the July 27, 1917 newspaper that both businesses were for sale because he and Orr were on the list to be drafted into the Army. 

Construction and early occupants

On February 2, 1920, Alice Wood Paxton, responsible as a "commissioner" for the deceased B.E. Paxton, sold the north side of the lot (SBW13b) to Cos Paxton.  Although the relationship between B.E. Paxton and Alice Paxton isn't confirmed, he had a son named B.E. Paxton Jr. On January 12, 1920, Alice had sold the property to her husband Cox (assume it was her husband because it was listed that way on a 1923 deed - see below).  Paxton Jr. must have disagreed with the January sale because it went to Superior Court, where it was decided that Alice had control of the property.  Because of this decision, it was allowed for Alice to sell it to Cos.

At this point, it's important to mention that the Mull family had quite a few newsworthy people in and around the county in the early 1900s.  It is of particular interest to our research of this property to make a distinction between Wales Lankford Mull and Memory Mull.  As best as can be found in ancestorial records, these two Mulls were cousins.  W.L. Mull owned a grocery behind the West Main street bank (WMS19) on the corner of Caldwell and Jordan.  Behind it, he had a feed grinding mill.  He opened his store there in March 1923. 

Memory Mull was often referred to as "M.A. Mull", not to be confused with another Mull whose first name was Marion with a middle initial of "A".  Memory was a contractor, and did quite a bit of construction work around Brevard.

Cos Paxton and his wife Alice sold the north side of the lot (SBW13b) to M.A. Mull (Memory Mull) on August 18, 1923.  This was recorded in Deed book 37, page 328.  That same day, George Phillips sold the south side of the lot (SBW13a) to M.A. Mull.  Memory Mull now owned all of the property where the present-day building now stands.

The empty lot that Memory Mull now owned was next to the Post Office, which was located in the leftmost store of the Fraternity Building (SBW12a), where Bracken Mountain Bakery was in 2025.  

In the July 3, 1925 edition of the Brevard News, it was announced that M.A. Mull was constructing a new building that was in the process of "erection at the corner of Broad and Jordan streets on the lot adjoining the post office site."  The article mentioned that it was a two-story building with "roomy space on the lower floor" and space for offices upstairs.  It was said to be a "fire-proof building."  At the time, the local post office authorities hoped to get space in the building for a new post office because the current one was "decidedly inadequate to the present and increasing need.".  They hoped to lease the first floor.

By December 1925, Mull's building was nearing completion. The newspaper reported that it was a two-story building of red tapestry brick, with a frontage along Broad Street of 65 feet and a depth of 75 feet along Jordan Street.  They mentioned that one section of the building (SBW13b) "will be opened within the week as a cafe, known as the Princess Cafe, formerly known as Pete's Cafe."  The other section, running along Jordan Street, was still expected to be leased to the Post Office for them to occupy by the beginning of the new year.  Mull himself was in charge of the construction.

The 1991 architectural survey described the building as having two original storefront bays, with soldier coursing "at lintel and cornice."  Soldier bricks are ones that are laid vertically.  A course is a row of bricks, so a soldier course is a row of vertically oriented bricks.  A lintel is a horizontal support (like a beam) above a window or door, and a cornice is the uppermost section of moldings or trim along the top of a wall or ceiling. All of this means that the building has decorative vertical brickwork above doors and windows and at the top edge of the walls.  It also has a flat roof with parapets (low walls) surrounding it.

Ads for the Princess Cafe didn't appear in the paper until January 1927, although it seems reasonable that they moved in, as they were expected to, in early 1926.

In April 1927, the Olympia Cafe opened in the space vacated by the Princess Cafe (SBW13b).  This was advertised in April, but it may not have been opened very long.  By December, other events were being held in the "old Princess Cafe".  

On December 18, 1934, Memory (M.A.) Mull and his wife Hettie sold the right-side (SBW13b) to W.L. Mull and his wife Louise.  At some point, it was known that Mull's Grocery occupied this space.  At this point, M.A. owned the left side and W.L. owned the right side.

Memory Mull was busy working on projects around town.  In June 1938, he opened Brevard Bowling Alley (probably in WMN14).  At some unknown date, he also opened Mull's Pool Room in the left side of this building (SBW13a).  No other prior business could be found before the pool hall.

Varner's Drug Store

On December 6, 1940, Dr. Eddie Varner established his pharmacy in the Waltermire Hotel (EMS11).  The pharmacy did well, becoming a popular business in town.  Business was so good that Varner wanted to expand.  He was able to secure a lease from Memory Mull for the corner store front on Broad and Jordan (SBW13a).  He moved his store across the street and became a local franchisee for Walgreen's.  The formal opening was on April 16, 1942.  Six months later, Mull opened his new pool room in another location next to Martin's Taxi and service station, calling it Mull's Billiard Parlor.

Varner continued operating his Drug Store at the corner, even buying a portion of Long's Drug store at the southwest corner of Main and Broad.  By August 1958, he decided to consolidate his drug store operation at Broad and Jordan, at the same time expanding into the store next door where Mull's Grocery used to operate. The additional space would accommodate a large soda fountain and place to serve food.

Paul Owenby, from Hendersonville, bought the drug store from Varner in the summer of 1958. Varner sold it because of his ill health.  Owenby continued to run the expanded store and soda fountain for many years. 

Wales Lankford Mull passed away on March 24, 1969.  He was 89 years old.  His estate and heirs continued to own the north side of the building (SBW13b).

On September 5, 1975, M.A. Mull and his wife Jennie sold the south side of the building to his daughter, Viola Mull Combs.  It was a "deed of gift".  Mull's first wife Hettie ran the Quality Beauty Salon with Viola, and Hettie also operated the Brevard Bowling Alley.  Varner's, now owned by Owenby, continued to lease the property.

The previous deed to Viola M. Combs was incomplete in that some smaller pieces of the property were omitted.  Fourteen months later, it was corrected by another deed.  This deed, in book 220 page 858, was executed on November 20, 1976.  Memory Mull had passed away only two months earlier (September 19, 1976), so it was Jennie who transferred the remainder of the property.

After Viola passed away on July 1, 1978, the left-side property was deeded by her will to Paul Owenby Jr and his wife Luzille.  Paul had owned and been running Varner's since 1958.  

Paul Owenby sold the business to Ben and Sue Lamb in December 1989.  They continued to run Varner's until it closed for good in 1993, though they kept the fountain going until 1994.

On August 27, 1992, the trustee of Wales L. Mull's estate, sold the right-side (SBW13b) to Barbara Mull and other heirs.

D.D. Bulwinkle's and Rocky's Soda Shop

The Mull heirs sold the Rocky's side of the building (SBW13b) to the Perkins on June 25, 1999.

In 2017, D.D. Bulwinkle's, and another Perkins store on Jordan Street called Moose Tracks, were consolidated and moved to East Main street in the Belk's building (EMS18).  In the corner space previously occupied by Bulwinkle's, the Perkins established Rocky's Corner Market, mainly selling souvenirs and apparel.  Rocky's continued to operate.

On August 5, 2023, the Perkins closed Rocky's because they wanted to fully devote their time to their successful D.D. Bulwinkle's outdoor sports and apparel store on East Main street.  They kept the Corner Market open.

It wasn't until March 5, 2024 that Paul Owenby sold the left side, home of the Corner Market, to the Perkins.  The Perkins now owned the entire building and the businesses on both sides.  Because of Rocky's popularity and history, they diligently looked for new owners as the restaurant remained closed.

The Perkins searched a long time to find "the right" owners to keep Rocky's in Brevard.  By mid-2024, Jason and Stacey Rhodes had purchased the businesses, while the Perkin's kept ownership of the buildings.  Jason had been a lifelong resident of Brevard, and Stacey had lived there for more than 30 years. Their son Garrett had worked at Rocky's for two summers during high school.  The Rhodes were the ideal family to take over the business. During the eleven months it was closed, they made minimal changes to both the Market and Rocky's, reopening the restaurant in July 2024.  They did a good job of keeping the traditional restaurant's interior design and even its menus nearly untouched. As of summer 2025, Rocky's is open seven days a week and they have made substantial changes to the Corner Market, giving it an updated look and an inventory that will satisfy tourists, locals, and downtown residents alike.

Postal Addresses

Through 1952, these were taken from Sanborn Maps. After that, they are derived by matching business addresses in telephone books with the buildings where they were located (if known). Where possible, storefronts are indicated with letters a and b.  These refer to the storefronts from left-to-right as you face the building from the street. Years are not shown where there were no changes or where changes were unknown.

1911:  a=vacant lot, b=24 (Sylvan Valley News)

1924:  206 (vacant lot)

1931:  a=46, b=42

2025:  a=46, b=50

Cast of Characters

• C.A. Shuford: A man who received the land for Lot 5 at the corner of Broad and Jordan Street in an auction in 1898 and later sold it to J.J. Miner in 1901.

• J.J. Miner: Established and ran the Sylvan Valley News, a partisan republican newspaper. He bought Lot 5 from C.A. Shuford and later sold the northern half of the lot and the newspaper business.

• V.B. McGaha: Transylvania County Sheriff and principle stockholder of the Sylvan Valley News when it began.

• Ronald B. Wilson: Purchased the Sylvan Valley News with Ora L. Jones from J.J. Miner in 1911.

• Ora L. Jones: Purchased the Sylvan Valley News with Ronald B. Wilson from J.J. Miner in 1911 and later bought out Wilson's share. He continued to run the newspaper until leasing and selling it to Noah M. Hollowell, but continued to run the printing department as the Quality Print Shop.

• A.M. Verdery: Purchased the northern half of Lot 5 from J.J. Miner in 1903 and later sold the southern half of the lot to George Philippe in 1917.

• George Philippe (Philipps): Purchased the southern half of Lot 5 from A.M. Verdery in 1917 with the intention of relocating his bakery there, eventually moving it to Jordan Street in 1920. He sold the southern half of the lot to M.A. Mull in 1923. His last name is spelled inconsistently in historical documents.

• Noah M. Hollowell: Leased and then bought the Sylvan Valley News operation from Ora L. Jones. He changed the newspaper's name to the Brevard News and moved its location.

• B.E. Paxton: Deceased individual for whom Alice Wood Paxton acted as a commissioner.

• Alice Wood Paxton: Acted as a commissioner for the deceased B.E. Paxton and sold the northern half of the lot to Cos Paxton after a court decision affirmed her control of the property. She was married to Cox Paxton.

• Cos Paxton: Purchased the northern half of the lot from Alice Wood Paxton in 1920 and later sold it to M.A. Mull in 1923. He was married to Alice Wood Paxton.

• B.E. Paxton Jr.: Son of B.E. Paxton who disagreed with Alice Wood Paxton's sale of the northern half of the lot, leading to a court case.

• Wales Lankford Mull (W.L. Mull): A cousin of Memory Mull who owned a grocery and feed grinding mill in Brevard. He purchased the northern half of the building at Broad and Jordan from Memory Mull in 1934.

• Memory Mull (M.A. Mull): A contractor who purchased both the northern and southern halves of Lot 5 in 1923. He constructed the current building on the site, which housed businesses like the Princess Cafe, Mull's Pool Room, and later Varner's Drug Store. He also opened the Brevard Bowling Alley and Mull's Billiard Parlor.

• Hettie Mull: The first wife of Memory Mull. She ran the Quality Beauty Salon with their daughter Viola and also operated the Brevard Bowling Alley.

• Louise Mull: The wife of Wales Lankford Mull, who purchased the northern half of the building with him in 1934.

• Dr. Eddie Varner: Established Varner's Drug Store in the Waltermire Hotel and later moved it to the corner store front on Broad and Jordan, becoming a Walgreen's franchisee. He expanded the store before selling it due to ill health.

• Paul Owenby (Sr.): Purchased Varner's Drug Store from Dr. Eddie Varner in 1958 and continued to run the expanded store and soda fountain for many years.

• Jennie Mull: The wife of Memory Mull. After his death, she transferred the remainder of the southern property to their daughter Viola Mull Combs in a corrected deed.

• Viola Mull Combs: Daughter of Memory and Hettie Mull. She ran the Quality Beauty Salon with her mother and received the southern side of the building from her parents as a deed of gift.

• Paul Owenby Jr.: Received the southern side of the building from Viola Mull Combs' will. He was likely involved in the operation of Varner's before purchasing the property.

• Luzille Owenby: The wife of Paul Owenby Jr., who received the southern side of the building with him from Viola Mull Combs' will.

• Ben Lamb: Purchased the Varner's Drug Store business with his wife Sue in 1989.

• Sue Lamb: Purchased the Varner's Drug Store business with her husband Ben in 1989.

• Barbara Mull: One of the heirs who purchased the northern side of the building from the trustee of Wales L. Mull's estate in 1992.

• D.D. Perkins: Opened D.D. Bulwinkle's and Rocky's Grill and Soda Shop with her husband Jimmy. They later consolidated other businesses and established Rocky's Corner Market. The Perkins eventually owned the entire building.

• Jimmy Perkins: Opened D.D. Bulwinkle's and Rocky's Grill and Soda Shop with his wife D.D.

• Jason Rhodes: Purchased both Rocky's and the Corner Market with his wife Stacey in mid-2024. A lifelong resident of Brevard.

• Stacey Rhodes: Purchased both Rocky's and the Corner Market with her husband Jason in mid-2024. She has lived in Brevard for over 30 years.

• Garrett Rhodes: Son of Jason and Stacey Rhodes who worked at Rocky's for two summers during high school.