Businesses popping up around Eden like spring flowers

By Heather Smith

Published: April 23, 2008

Spring is here and miraculous things are opening all over town. Pink tulips and brilliant dogwoods, azaleas and a pizza parlor, a tractor supply store and pink apple blossoms.

TSC Tractor Supply Co. announced last week that it will open a new store in Eden. It will fill the building left empty when Wal-Mart moved to a larger building not one mile away.

Tractor Supply sells farm and ranch machinery and supplies such as fencing and livestock equipment. Rockingham County’s large agricultural base was as much responsible for the company’s choice as Eden’s proximity and its growing economy.

“As far as where we like to put our stores, we tend to gravitate toward rural areas to be closer to our customers,“ said company spokeswoman Ashley Charlton.

Not only was the customer base a draw, so was the town’s location. The new Eden store makes the company’s 35th North Carolina location. Charlton said Tractor Supply executives thought carefully about where to open next so it would not be too near an existing store.

“From a real estate perspective, it was far enough away from our other stores to not be in direct competition,“ Charlton said. “It has a central location and we felt it was a community where we could fill a need.“

Charlton said the company hopes to be ready for its grand opening in July.

“I am pleased that we have found a tenant to take a portion of the former Wal-Mart building and one that meets the needs of our agricultural community,“ said Mike Dougherty, Eden’s business development director.

Dougherty said he is working with a national retail and restaurant chain interested in moving to Eden. Empty stores in Kingsway Plaza have attracted inquiries from other businesses, but in each case Dougherty said he will not know if the move is a sure thing until contracts are final and signs go up in front of new locations.

Tractor Supply, headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., is the biggest store to announce their new Eden home, but plenty of smaller shops are opening. Little Caesar’s Pizza opened a new drive-through and dine-in location on N.C. 14 last week. Brown Bag Catering opened in Draper last month and new gift and specialty shops are opening on Washington Street in Leaksville. C&W Cores on Boone Road, a scrap metal recycling business, opened a few months ago and has been so successful it will soon move to a bigger building. A new Pizza Hut is set to open near the new Wal-Mart. DRS Medical Supply, Ameristaff and more have opened where other businesses failed, and still more are in the works.

One, such as Jazze Java, is set to open this week. The small drive-through stand beside Layne’s Pharmacy on Van Buren Road in a prime place for morning commuters to buy a quick cup of coffee. Owner Serena Paschal said small delays pushed the opening date later than she wanted. Late delivery of supplies and the cash register kept her busy on top of managing her Reidsville location, Java Joez.

Besides plain black coffee, Paschal said the specialty will be more creative drinks, like fruit smoothies, frozen coffee drinks and others.

“We make regular lattes, and probably our most popular one is the mocha bianca,“ Paschal said. “It’s a white chocolate latte. We sell plenty of those.“

As hopeful as some are about Eden’s economy, there are still empty buildings, abandoned when large businesses either moved overseas or succumbed to dwindling revenue. Ralph Barrow Automotive, Southern Family Markets, Winn-Dixie, Blockbuster and scores of smaller stores have not been replaced.

Though the city’s work to recruit business goes undetected in most cases, Dougherty said plenty of negotiations with companies happen backstage. Some succeed, some fail. Some bids, such as Eden’s recruitment of a chain grocery store, are ongoing.

The city has been actively recruiting a grocery store, but the problem lies in the fact that there’s only three major players - Food Lion, Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods, Dougherty said. Though Food Lion is in Eden, Wal-Mart is strong competition. Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods still hesitate to consider Eden.

Still, growth since the beginning of the year keeps Dougherty optimistic.

“There’s been a nice spurt of commercial activity,“ Dougherty said. “It happens slowly, but these things take a long time. But it’s happening.“

Cindy Adams, director of the Eden Chamber of Commerce, said that reluctance is not a bad thing. It makes room for unique independent business owners in the market. She points to the specialty gift and craft shops started by Eden residents that makes shopping here a much different experience than what one would find in a chain store at any location in the county.

“A salesman came through here last week, and he paid Eden probably the nicest compliment I’ve heard in a while,“ Adams said. “He called it a breath of fresh air.“

Staff writer Heather J. Smith can be reached at or 623-2155, ext. 15.