The fall of 1979 brought something new to New Bern. Twin Rivers Mall opened its doors, named after the Neuse and Trent Rivers that meet nearby.
The building covered 361,000 square feet on a single level. Cadillac Fairview, a Canadian real estate company, developed the property. Construction had started in 1978.
The mall arrived as downtown New Bern was losing its pull. Stores were leaving Middle Street for suburban locations.
Belk made the move from downtown to the new mall that same year, leaving empty buildings behind in the central business district.
Two anchor stores held down the corners: Belk and JCPenney. For a coastal town that had seen a small drop in population during the late 1970s, this lineup was enough.
The mall became the new center of commerce for Craven County and the surrounding coastal areas.
The original Twin Rivers sign stayed at the entrance for decades. People could still see it as late as 2014, even though the name had changed to New Bern Mall somewhere along the way.
The Peak Years of the 1980s
During the 1980s, the mall thrived. New Bern's population started growing again, and the hallways were always full of people.
Teenagers spent long stretches at the arcades. The mall held big dance parties. Stores sold a mix of goods that people could not find elsewhere nearby.
Weekends brought steady family visits. Friends used the mall as an easy place to meet, walk around, try on clothes, and grab a meal. It worked as more than a shopping stop.
It was a public place to spend time together. Kids begged their parents to go, and teens liked meeting up there because it felt comfortable and familiar.
The building stayed brightly lit, and the crowds stayed constant. Shops rarely sat empty of customers.
The parking lot filled up over and over. Many people remember the 1980s as the period when Twin Rivers Mall played a big role in town life.
For a lot of residents, it was the place to go.
First Cracks: Kmart Closes in 2002
In 2002, the mall took its first big hit - Kmart closed its store at the mall. Kmart's shutdown in New Bern happened during a larger collapse for the company.
Kmart was losing money and closing stores across the country, and the New Bern location ended up on the cut list.
When Kmart went dark, the mall lost a major tenant. That left a large empty space that broke up the mall's mix of stores and changed how people moved through the building.
In August 2005, Hull Property Group began paying attention to the property. The sale was completed in January 2008.
The company is based in Augusta, Georgia. They focused on buying enclosed malls and trying to improve them.
By then, Hull Property Group owned 38 retail properties nationwide. Their approach centered on long-term investments.
They reshuffled the tenant mix, made physical upgrades, and tried to pull struggling malls back from decline.
Twin Rivers Mall became part of that group of properties.
Hull Property Group Takes Over
Hull Property Group stepped in and started making changes, but it did not happen all at once.
They changed the mall name from Twin Rivers Mall to New Bern Mall in 2009.
Around 2013, renovations began. The inside of the mall got updated, and the place looked cleaner and more current.
James Hull, the owner of Hull Property Group, pushed back on the idea that malls were "finished." Hull Property Group also acknowledged that malls did not dominate retail the way they once did.
Even so, the company believed malls could keep going if they adapted and stayed competitive.
For a while, the 2013-2015 work gave the mall a lift. Archived articles from that period talked about a bright future, even though malls nationwide were already slipping.
New stores came in. The building looked fresher. Hull put money into the property to keep it in the game.
They also worked the areas around the mall, not just the mall itself. The outparcels got attention.
Starbucks and Chick-fil-A opened on the property. Those spots pulled in traffic even from people who were not planning to walk into the mall.
The plan was to make the whole site feel like one retail area, not just a single enclosed building.
Nearby Retail Competition
The New Bern Marketplace opened around 2018 on 34 acres near the mall. This outdoor shopping center took a different approach. It covered 327,000 square feet and focused on grocery and big-box retail.
Harris Teeter anchored the development. Academy Sports, Hobby Lobby, and HomeGoods filled other major spaces. Columbia Development Group built it, then sold the property in 2022 to Evans Best, LLC for $12.8 million.
The Marketplace sat at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Glenburnie Road. Its location on a super-regional corridor made it a strong competitor.
This kind of development represented a shift in retail. Open-air centers felt safer during the pandemic.
They offered easier access - pull up, park in front of your store, shop, and leave. No walking through long corridors past empty storefronts.
The Marketplace and New Bern Mall are not directly connected, but they serve the same trade area.
Anchor Departures, Changes Continue
The next big anchor change came when the old Kmart building was demolished in 2019.
JCPenney then announced its own exit in 2020 as part of a nationwide shutdown of 154 stores. The New Bern store made the list, and the mall lost another anchor, leaving another large space empty.
The timing hit hard. Retail had already been losing ground to online shopping. Then the pandemic arrived, and foot traffic dropped across the board.
Enclosed malls took a particularly tough blow because their business depended on people gathering indoors.
Sears Hometown followed later, closing in 2022. By that point, only two of the mall's five anchor spaces were occupied: Belk and T.J. Maxx.
Hull kept moving ahead anyway. In 2024, they announced plans to add new food options, including a soup and sandwich restaurant. They also raised the possibility of Michael's returning as an arts and crafts supply store.
Changes continued in the smaller storefronts, too. Bath & Body Works closed in October 2025.
The store had pulled in shoppers looking for soaps, lotions, and candles, and its departure removed another reason to make a trip.
New Bern Mall, Then and Now
Walking through New Bern Mall in 2026 is not like it was in the 1980s. The crowds have disappeared.
New Bern Mall faces the same challenges as enclosed shopping centers nationwide.
Some people think it feels bland and uninteresting, while others find it quieter and more peaceful.
The mall directory listed over 20 stores. Maurices, Snipes, Shoe Dept. Encore, and Hibbett Sports sold clothing, shoes, and accessories.
Services like Wells Fargo, AT&T, Verizon, Aspen Dental, Mattress Firm, and a police substation occupied spaces.
Jade Express served hibachi, sushi, and Chinese food in a spot next to Kay Jewelers.
Annabelle's, Big Apple Pizza, and Buffalo Wild Wings added another food option in the broader mix of places to eat nearby.
A Holiday Inn Express & Suites finally opened behind the mall in January 2026 after years of construction delays, adding another reason for people to be in the area.
