I remember House of Fabrics. I think before Joann bought it the location I go to was "Best" fabric.
In the early 1980s I worked at the Pacific Fabrics in Anchorage, Alaska. I still have a piece or two left in the collection from back then but it took about 20 years to work through most of what I bought while I working there. We didn't have a lot of choices for fabric back then, but I remember getting a lot of stuff at Fred Meyer (which was brand new there then). I don't remember what was in the mall near Sears but I used to go and drool at the sewing machines (at Sears) when I was still a teen
My first major purchase after leaving home was a good sewing machine.
I bought the fabric for my first quilt from the Montgomery Ward catalog.