East-Central Indiana got walloped by a hundred-year flood a few weeks ago. Anderson got the brunt of it: neighborhoods were placed under evacuation orders1 as the White River crested at a staggering 24.93 feet2! I don’t know if any commercial property took the floodwaters harder hit than River Ridge Plaza, just across Scatterfield Road from the abandoned Mounds Mall. Now, news reports suggest that all of its stores -including Roses- may never reopen3. If so, the news comes awfully soon after another Indiana Roses, the one in Marion, closed for good.
River Ridge Plaza traces its roots to 1985, when Kohl’s applied for $2.5 million in economic development bonds from the City of Anderson to build a new department store and shopping center. If approved, the package would have been the second-largest in Madison County history, trailing only the $3.5 million in bonds issued to build Citizens Bank in 19814.
The Kohl’s project, developed under the auspices of Sidney Eskenazi and Armour Development Company, faced an obstacle that seems ominous in hindsight: it needed approval from Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources to build in a floodplain5. Eventually ballooning into the $3 million Kohl’s Plaza, the center opened on October 19, 1986. A 64,500-square-foot Kohl’s served as the anchor, flanked by Sportive Fashions immediately to the south and Toys Plus to the north. Other early tenants included The Shoe Works, NuVision, Boric’s Family Haircare Center, and Sub Shop6.
Kohl’s lasted there for twelve years before relocating to a new store two and a half miles south on Scatterfield Road in 19987. Hobby Lobby eventually took over its old space, by then part of a renamed River Ridge Plaza, but it moved to a former Walmart after a replacement Supercenter opened in 20078. Roses arrived a decade later9.
I’d never heard of Roses before stumbling across the Marion store years ago. Founded by Paul Howard Rose in Henderson, North Carolina, in 191510, the chain grew to five stores by 191811 as a Southern counterpart to five-and-dimes like Woolworth, Kresge, and McCrory. By its 1927 incorporation, Roses 5-10-25c Stores operated about thirty locations and continued expanding through small towns in Tennessee, Georgia, and Virginia, reaching 119 stores across five states by 194212. Its biggest transformation came around 1960, when Roses began to abandon the traditional downtown five-and-dime model for much larger discount stores13.
Anderson loves Roses. Still, that love couldn’t protect it from the deluge: River Ridge Plaza was helpless against the flooding! Until the water came it was home to Mancino’s, True Legends Gaming, Nail Design, Ollie’s, Dunham’s, Roses, and several other storefronts. Shortly after the flood, tenants reportedly received emails from their landlord terminating their leases14. Suddenly, an entire slate of stores’ future was thrown into doubt.
Dunham’s, the Midwestern sporting-goods chain founded in 1937, was the first major tenant to make its departure permanent15. Flood damage may have been enough to seal its fate, but the situation wasn’t helped by opportunists who allegedly looted merchandise -including guns- when the store was temporarily closed16. Whatever the deciding factor, Dunham’s quickly stripped its signage from the building and directed customers to its remaining stores. The nearest appear to be miles away in Richmond and Fort Wayne.
As for the rest of River Ridge Plaza, I’ll miss Ollie’s if it’s gone for good. My grandma loved the place when she lived nearby, and I’d be happy to see it resurface somewhere closer to the interstate. I feel the same way about Mancino’s. We have one in Muncie, and boy, are those grinders and pizzas fantastic! Pin me down and I’ll take the Cowboy Steak: ribeye, onions, bacon, jalapeños, cheese, tomatoes, and chipotle ranch. True Legends Gaming reportedly lost much of its inventory but has already moved elsewhere. As for the rest, I feel for those owners and employees who were impacted.
Roses, though, seems different. Maybe it’s because the Marion store just closed, or maybe it’s because an old-fashioned, dusty discount store like Roses seems increasingly rare in a retail world dominated by Walmart, Amazon, and dollar outlets. Whatever the reason, Anderson clearly isn’t ready to lose it. When I stopped by the flooded-out store, someone had taped a homemade sign to the front doors: “Rose’s, we miss you. PLEASE COME BACK!”
Others added their names and little messages around Roses homemade sign. After nearly a decade in Anderson, the place seems to means more to its customers than it would have as just another tenant in some other aging strip mall. Roses’ return to River Ridge Plaza seems doubtful, but hopefully those behind the sign gets their wish. After Marion just lost its Roses store, here’s hoping Anderson doesn’t have to pour one out for its own.
Sources Cited
1 Morando, G. (2026, August 18). ‘Worst thing in the world’: Anderson neighbors returning home, cleaning up after flood. FOX59 [Indianapolis]. Web. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
2 Webster, J. (2026, August 17). ‘Looks like somebody broke in’ | Anderson homeowner returns after flood damage. WTHR [Indianapolis]. Web. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
3 Morando, G. (2026, September 3). ‘Lost everything’: Anderson shopping plaza stores closing, relocating or uncertain of future. FOX59 [Indianapolis]. Web. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
4 Opening delayed (1985, July 24). The Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 1.
5 (See footnote 4).
6 Alexander, M. (1986, October 20). Many attend Kohl’s opening. The Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 30.
7 Parcel 48-12-29-300-007.000-003 (2026). Office of the Assessor. Madison County [Anderson]. Web. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
8 Parcel 48-12-29-300-026.000-003 (2026). Office of the Assessor. Madison County [Anderson]. Web. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
9 Grand Opening Giveaway of the Day: ART PRINT Make sure to RSVP today for the Roses Grand Opening Event happening (2017, August 29). Roses Discount Stores. Facebook. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
10 Rose Opens Another Store Here Today (1927, December 15). The Albemarle Press. Pp. 1-8.
11 Conley, M. (2017, October 28). Coming up Roses: Store with long local history to hold grand opening. McDowell News. Web. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
12 Roses’ Store Handles Big Supply of Goods (1942, August 27). The Covington Virginian. p. 13.
13 Variety Wholesalers, Inc. – Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Variety Wholesalers, Inc. (n.d.). Reference for Business. Web. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
14 Morando, G. (2026, September 3). ‘Lost everything’: Anderson shopping plaza stores closing, relocating or uncertain of future. FOX59 [Indianapolis]. Web. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
15 Freed, M.F. (2026, August 25). We already knew this was probably coming, since the rumors have been floating around for a while, but seeing this… Anderson Indiana EVENTS & the CHATTER Network (Limited Edition). Facebook. Web. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
16 Madison County Bulleting (2026, August 14). Area of Roses/Ollies- additional units requested to assist Anderson police. People are looting the stores now that the water is going down. Madison County Bulletin. Facebook. Web. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
I’ll bet it’s awhile before anything around here gets built in a flood plain for awhile.
Hah, yes. I’d have to agree.