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Branson is a great place to shop for quality,
variety and value
It's estimated that half the visitors to Branson, Missouri come for the great
shopping. From heirloom-quality
furniture hand-crafted by artisans at Silver Dollar City, to scuba and golf
gear, to brand name fashions, jewelry and appliances. Branson visitors can
explore three outlet malls with more than 200 stores to find great deals on
designer clothing and specialty merchandise. Branson also has hundreds of
boutiques, craft and hobby shops, antique stores, toy stores, jewelry stores,
art galleries and gourmet food markets.
Factory
Merchants Branson
Find an exciting collection of outlet and specialty stores from the world's
leading designers and brand names all offering savings of 25% to 65% everyday.
Nestled in a park-like setting, Factory Merchants Branson, Missouri features
Nautica, Carter's, Red Wing Shoe Co., Koret, Reebok, Kasper, Tuesday Morning,
Gail Pittman, Pfaltzgraff, K*B Toys, Pendleton and more. Two tree-filled
courtyards provide seating, and the open-air food area features A&W All American
Food plus Auntie Anne's Pretzels and The Fudgery. The center is located in
the heart of Branson, just look for the "red roofs", and find Branson's largest
outlet center.
The center is located at 1000 Pat Nash Drive off West Highway 76, just pass the
White Water Theme Park. Factory Merchants Branson is open 9am to 9pm,
Monday through Saturday; and 9am - 7pm, Sunday. January and February hours
are: 10am - 6pm, Monday through Sunday; and 10am-9pm Friday and Saturday for
your shopping convenience.
 The
Shoppes at Branson Meadows
The center offers Branson, Missouri shoppers a variety of outlets and specialty
stores and 11 movie cinemas all in an attractive setting, convenient for a full
day of shopping or a short visit. You'll delight in shopping the charming
Victorian layout with hourly chimes from the clock tower offering visitors a
unique and relaxing shopping experience. The Shoppes at Branson Meadows
features VF Outlet - Vanity Fair Wrangler Lee, Dressbarn, Supermarket of Shoes,
Easy Spirit, The Ironworks, Rue21, Branson Pet Depot and more. Enjoy
delightfully fresh soups, salads, sandwiches, coffee, tea and desserts at The
Gardens Café - Coffee - Tearoom.
The center is located at 4562 Gretna Road across the street from Citizen's Bank
in Branson, Missouri. From Highway 65, take Highway 248 west to Gretna Road or
from Highway 76, take Roark Valley Road to Gretna Road.
Branson
Landing
The site occupies 95 acres including 1.5 miles of waterfront and is walking
distance from the edge of the Branson, Missouri tourism district. Drawing
inspiration from its picturesque waterfront setting as well as its Ozarks
ancestry, the Branson Landing project will offer its projected 4.5 million
annual visitors nearly 450,000 square feet of retail shopping, anchored by Bass
Pro Shop and Belk Department Store.
Additionally, there will be a 220,000 square foot Branson Convention Center and
Branson, Missouri tourism center, a flagged 4-star 260-room convention hotel, a
100-room boutique hotel, 140 waterfront luxury condominiums and penthouses and a
marina. All of which will increase Branson, Missouri tourism. As Branson,
Missouri tourism increases, so will the need for lodging and residences.
A cross-section of eateries from fine dining on the waterfront with spectacular
views to casual fare for shoppers on the go, Branson Landing project will become
a haven for the finest restaurant and dining choices in the Midwest.
The development will also be anchored by a new town square at the culminating
point of the city of Branson's celebrated Main Street that will serve as the
complex's entertainment headquarters. A new water feature on Lake Taneycomo,
created by the foremost fountain designers of the Bellagio Fountains in Las
Vegas, will showcase a nightly music, light and water show of spectacular
proportions.
Engler Block
See and experience the art of the Ozarks. With 30 individually-owned
shops, the Engler Block offers a whole world of the Ozarks craftsmanship and
artistry under one roof in Branson, Missouri. With artisans at work on their
creations, Engler Block is more than a collection of stores; It is sight, touch
and sound. We have plenty of free parking and entry into our vast
climate-controlled marketplace is free for your shopping. Come join us for a
spell and find out what the art of the Ozarks is all about in Branson, Missouri.
You'll be glad you did!
Branson Mill  Craft
Village
Branson Mill Craft
Village is Branson's newest
shopping attraction, where admission is always free! Branson Mill features
demonstrating craftsmen working with leather, wood, pottery, scrimshaw, stained
glass, china and more. A hand-crafted item from one of our artists will be
a great keepsake of your trip to Branson! In addition to the craftsmen,
Branson Mill has over 150 booths of shopping with unique gifts, home
furnishings, kitchen accessories, jewelry, handmade lotions and soaps and other
great items. Branson Mill is also home to
Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Company,
Bandana's Bar-B-Q, and the Leather Trading Company. Branson Mill is located at
3300 North Gretna Road in Branson Meadows -- just look for the water wheel!
Call 417.334.8436 for information and hours.
The Branson Mall
Just across the street from the Grand Oaks Hotel at 2206 W Hwy 76 in Branson
There's a reason why they say, "You can Do-It-All at the Branson Mall!" Because
you can! A visit to the Branson Mall is more than just a shopping excursion
(although that's always fun). Whatever you're after the Branson Mall has it all!
Shopping, dining, fabulous shows, entertainment, special events, beauty services
and welcoming smiles. All anchored by Wal Mart on the east end and the
Jubilee Grocery Store on the west end all at the Branson Mall.
Shows - The Branson Showcase Theatre has several new shows performing
from 10am to 10pm inside the Branson Mall.
#1 Hits of the 60's
- This award winning, all live cast & band takes you “up, up, and away” into
everything that was wonderful about this fabulous era of music and dance.
“Branson’s Best Decade Show” was voted one of the top shows to see in Branson in
2004 & 2005. Prices (all inclusive): Adult $26.00, Child (6-12) $8.00.
4 Divas & a Diva with a Difference
- vie for the the spotlight. Outstanding music & hilarious comedy featuring long
time Branson entertainer Janice Copeland with Dee Dee Hamilton, Michele Sevryn,
Cindi Barr, & “Harley Worthit”. Definitely Different & Delightfully Diva!
Prices (all inclusive): Adult $16.75.
The Magic of Taylor Reed
- Merrill Osmond presents a magical journey with award-winning illusionist
Taylor Reed! Stunning illusions, colorful sets combined with high-energy
entertainment and Taylor’s award winning show dog “Polar” make for an exciting
and fun-filled show for all ages. Prices (all inclusive): Adult $25.25, Senior
(Over 60) $21.00, Child (4-17) $8.00, 3 & Under Free on Lap.
Bringing Down The House Show
- is a new musical variety show featuring country, rock, and tropical
genres. This show will be brought to you in concert style by the lead
singer Tina Renee whose compelling beauty and show-stopping performance will
leave you breathless and enchanted. All ages….prepare to be entertained!
BLAST - The producers who brought the “TOPDOGS SHOW” to Branson, now return
with this exciting fast-paced family generated show. A magical, musical, and
animal spectacle featuring magician Blake Walker, vocalist Dee Dee Hamilton, and
comedian Hagarman. Prices (all inclusive): Adult $15.00, Child Free with
purchase of adult ticket, $6.00 addt’l child. Come see The Rocky Horror
Picture Show every Saturday night at 11 PM. This interactive show is a
great way to add some fun to your weekend!
Shopping -
Open 9-9 Monday through Saturday and Sunday 10-6
1 Hair Place, Animaland, Melody's, Aqua Massage, Branson
Fashions, Country Music USA, Maurices, Daily
Massagers, Dead Sea Products, Diamond Brite,
Embroidery Paradise, Leather Plus, Leather
Outlet, Saigon Nails, Southwest Accents,
Total Balance Orthotics
Dining
- At Ruby Tuesday, we're fully committed to preparing and serving food of
uncompromising freshness and quality - with signature choices like our premium
Handcrafted Burgers and our bountiful, Fresh Garden Bar - and we're grateful
that our restaurants are made possible by passionate employees who make it their
business to delight each and every guest with an excellent dining experience.
From our ongoing efforts to bring you the best menu in casual dining and the
best Handcrafted Burgers anywhere, to the gracious smiles and genuine
hospitality that greet you at our doors, Ruby Tuesday wants to make our Simple
Fresh American Dining your favorite dining anywhere. Rock Around the
Clock Cafe - with Branson's Breakfast Bingo Buffet only $6.00 with a free
game of bingo. Serving your favorite lunch and dinner items the rest of
the day. Hamburgers, hot dogs, cheese steaks, chicken strips, shrimp and
more. All your favorite sides like onion rings, fries and tator tots.
Great ice cream desserts and the signature dessert Monkey Ballz. Aunt
Abbey's Candies - Largest candy variety and "Real" candy kitchen in Branson,
100's of antiques, old ads, historical memorabilia displayed throughout the
store. World's tallest popcorn snowman, the only fudge in Branson made
with real whipping cream. 2206 W Hwy 76 417-334-8087. Hard Rock
Deli
- Serving sandwiches, ice cream and daily lunch specials.
So the next time you stay at the Grand Oaks Hotel visit the Branson Mall
conveniently located just across the street.
Downtown Branson Historic Walking and Shopping
Tour
Creating experiences you’ll remember for a
lifetime!
With this self-guided walking tour, you will experience an authentic
“hometown.”
Reish Shoe Store, at 120 S. Commercial, is the oldest
continually owned family business in Branson. In 1934 Charlie and Sylvia
Reish opened their shoe store one block north of here. Their son, Joe, now
operates the business with his mom helping out occasionally. If you find
Joe or Sylvia in a talkative mood, they might tell you a story from many years
ago. Ask Sylvia what happened when a pet raccoon escaped from his leash and
ransacked the store.
Directly south of the Reish Shoe Store is Ball Office Supply & Debi’s
Hallmark, at the corner of commercial and pacific. Formerly the site
of the Commercial Hotel, where the fire of 1912 started. It destroyed the entire
downtown, with the exception of five buildings. In a laundry shed behind
the hotel, sparks from a wood stove ignited linens and furniture, and quickly
spread to the hotel itself. After the fire, most of the downtown buildings
were rebuilt with brick and stone.
Burlington Store, 201 S. Commercial (formerly The McGill
Building). Built shortly after the 1912 fire, it housed a radical
newspaper, The Menace, for three years. It later served as the
Masonic Lodge and a second floor was added in the 1920s. The lower floor
was used as a Community Center for many years. Jim Owen adapted the
building to show movies in 1933 before he built his own theatre two doors to the
south. The current owners of the McGill Building recently restored the exterior
to reveal the arched brick details on the façade.
Just behind the Burlington Store is the location of Branson’s original City Hall
at the Southeast corner of Pacific Street and Business Highway 65 (it is now a
parking lot). The Mabe Brothers, later known as The Baldknobbers,
started their first music show here in 1959 at the City Hall and Community
Center. They rented a 50-seat auditorium in the basement and performed two
nights a week. Their audiences were local people and visiting fishermen
and hunters who came to Branson long before it became known as the Country Live
Music Capital. The Baldknobbers eventually moved to a larger auditorium on
the Taneycomo Lakefront, where they performed for several seasons. In
1968, they purchased a site on West Highway 76 to build their own theatre.
Owen Theatre, 205 S. Commercial (currently occupied by
Elvis & The Superstars and 2 Fluffy Women Comedy Show). Built in 1935
by Jim Owen, it was Branson’s first movie theatre. Jim Owen was Branson’s
first mayor, and had a vision that the city could become a thriving tourism
location. He promoted fishing excursions on the White River and encouraged
thousands of middle- class tourists to visit Branson after the 1880s- 1890s era
when the Ozarks was known as a rich man’s fishing and hunting paradise.
Jim Owen also hosted many celebrities who made publicity appearances at the
theatre in its early days, including Hollywood stars Gene Autry and Charlton
Heston, and artist Thomas Hart Benton. Owen often staged extraordinary
publicity stunts to promote his films, such as sending the volunteer firemen to
the train station to collect a Mae West film that was billed as “Too Hot to
Handle.”
Walk north on Commercial Street to First Community Bank.
Before the fire of 1912, Mrs. Whelchel’s Dress & Hat Shop was here. When
the fire jumped across the street from the Commercial Hotel, Mrs. Whelchel and
her clerk gathered armfuls of dresses and hats and ran out of the shop toward
the north. They dropped some of the clothing during their escape, and the
flames jumped from hat-to- dress-to- hat all they way down the sidewalk,
spreading the fire to the next block.
Parnell Building, southwest corner of Main & Commercial, 101
S. Commercial, now occupied by First American Tour & Travel. The original
Parnell and Yandell’s General Store was destroyed in the fire. The owner,
Sam Parnell, was the son of James Madison Parnell, who owned several cotton gins
and was a very rich man by yesterday’s standards. In 1980 he moved his
thriving dry goods business from Kirbyville to Branson when he learned that the
proposed railroad would not come through Kirbyville.
Branson Railroad Depot at 206 E. Main. The depot was
built in 1906, on the White River Line of St. Louis Iron Mountain Railway.
During the heyday of rail transportation, products shipped from Branson included
tomatoes, cotton, tobacco, cattle, hardwood logs, zinc and lead. At the
depot in 1930, the bank robber Jake Flaegle was caught in a sting operation by
federal marshals who had tracked him after a series of bank robberies in
Colorado. Jake was shot and died later in a Springfield hospital.
The depot is leased by the Branson Scenic Railroad. The track and the
depot are now owned by Union Pacific Railroad.
Lake Taneycomo, a portion of the White River (accessible on Box Car
Willie Drive, southbound, to the south edge of the City Campground) Look across
the water where Turkey Creek meets the White River-at this location
archeologists have found many artifacts indicating long-term use of the site by
prehistoric Native Americans. The creek formed a wide gravel bar there
which created a ford when the water level was low. Gravel is still mined
out of the lake at the mouth of the creek. In 1541 the Spanish adventurer,
Hernando DeSoto, seeking gold and mapping the territory on behalf of the King of
Spain, discovered the mouth of the river where it meets the Arkansas River.
He called it “Rio Blanco” (White River) because of the churning white foam as
the water tumbled over gravel bars and boulders in its path. Swollen by
rainfall running off the hillsides, the White River has an awesome destructive
power. Floods occurred at least four times in the late 1800s and three
times in the early 1900s. To control flooding, a dam was built at Forsyth
in 1913, and to some extent it was successful. But rambling floods
continued to occur on the White River until Bull shoals Dam, Table Rock, and
Beaver Dam were built in the 1940s and 1950s.
Lake Taneycomo is Missouri’s only body of water that permits trout
fishing year-round. The lake maintains a constant temperature of 52-55
degrees, which supports rainbow and brown trout. In the warmer tributaries
are bass, catfish, and bluegill. The lake has the characteristics of a
river, because it is narrow and has a strong current. It supports a wide
variety of fisherman and fishing techniques. Since the music industry has
come to Branson, fishermen are proud to be non-typical tourists – asking just
“point me to the water.” During the construction phase of Branson Landing,
the lake is accessible at Scottie’s Trout at the south end of the City
Campground and also at public fishing docks in the campground.
Return to the corner of Main and Sycamore, 123 E. Main
Street. For many years the building was occupied by Henry Sullenger’s
Saloon. In 1913 the building was moved here from its original location
at College and Third, nearly five blocks away. The saloon was a favorite
place for railroaders who were laying tracks and digging tunnels in 1902-1906.
It is the oldest commercial building in Branson.
Continue west on E. Main to the Bank of Branson (now
Patricia’s Victorian House) at the northwest corner of Main and Commercial.
This was Branson’s first bank building, built in 1906. It is one of five
buildings that survived the 1912 fire. When the blaze began in the
Commercial Hotel, all the men in town raced to the bank and began pouring water
on the building to keep their money and the bank building safe.
Old Branson Cemetery, (two blocks north of Patricia’s House).
While walking north along Commercial Street you are following an old wagon road
that was one of the area’s primary routes even before Branson was a town.
The cemetery was established in 1863, also before Branson existed. North
of the cemetery, the road turned northwest and crossed Roark Creek at a ford.
Rueben H. Branson, the town’s first postmaster, is buried here, and also his
partner in a dry goods store, Thomas Jefferson Berry. The Calvin Gaylor
(Gayler) family has several members buried here. In 1838 Calvin and
his wife Cassandra received a land grant from the federal government on the land
that is now Branson’s lakefront. They lived here until the 1880’s.
Calvin was a gunsmith and made guns for the Army of the Confederacy during the
Civil War. His family endured depredations from Union troops throughout
the war, and at times it was necessary for Calvin to hide out in a cave to avoid
capture by Union soldiers. The cave, now called The Soldier’s Cave, is
just west of the farmstead in the steep cliff beside Lake Taneycomo. The
Gaylor home was located about 75 feet east of the existing railroad depot.
The family owned property beside the White River nearly three miles long,
southward from the mouth of Roark Creek.
Landmark Inn, is north of the cemetery, at 315 N. Commercial.
This building, constructed in 1905, was originally the home of the railroad
stationmaster. Later, residents claimed to have seen the ghost of a
beautiful young woman strolling along the upper hallways of the house.
However, its current owners have completely renovated the house and converted it
to a guest inn. The ghost apparently didn’t care much for the disturbance
of the remodeling, and hasn’t been seen or heard lately.
Branson Hotel B & B, 214 W. Main. Harold Bell Wright
stayed in this hotel while he was writing several chapters of his famous novel,
Shepherd of the Hills. Many
residents of the region, hoping to capitalize on the Wright story, have claimed
to be the real
person the novelist wrote about. However, Wright said that the story
and all the characters were invented, with the exception of the Postmaster,
“Uncle Ike” (Levi) Morrill. Other famous guests at the hotel included
Missouri’s Governor Joseph W. Folk who stayed there while vacationing. The
building, constructed in 1905, survived the fire of 1912. It has been
maintained in excellent condition and is now being considered for the National
Register of Historic Places.
The Old Stone Church, 401 W. Pacific, the first permanent
church in Branson, built in 1909-1910. The old church has been used for
many community activities, including a charity food bank, a senior center, a
youth center, and a counseling service. The building was recently restored
to its original appearance, and is being used for Sunday worship services again.
It has two features seldom seen in old churches in the Ozarks: the high-relief
exterior chipped stone (made of native limestone taken from a railroad cut
through the mountains south of Branson in 1905-1907), and the dish-shaped floor
in the sanctuary.
Branson Café, 120 W. Main. Branson’s oldest restaurant,
established in 1910, is a popular place for local people to gather and exchange
opinions on politics, religion, fishing news, and the latest gossip. The
café is renowned for home-style cooking, fine coffee and desserts. A big
table at the back is a favorite place for tourists to get acquainted with
locals, and learn first-hand what’s going on in Branson.
Information
courtesy of the Downtown Branson Main Street Association |
