Slurpees and Big Gulps are closer to being a reality in Charlotte again, as 7-Eleven says they've started closing on a deal to buy local Sam's Mart stores.
The 9,000 store 7-Eleven chain is buying the 55 local Sam's Mart stores for an undisclosed price, 7-Eleven said. The deal, which brings 7-Eleven back to Charlotte 24 years after it exited the market, was announced in January.
Most of the stores are in Charlotte, but the deal includes Sam's Mart stores in Huntersville, Concord, Stallings, Matthews, Pineville, Cornelius, Kannapolis, Fort Mill, Rock Hill and Indian Trail.
The 350 people who worked for the Sam's Mart stores have been offered jobs with 7-Eleven, the company said. 7-Eleven is also looking to hire an additional 120 workers to add to the stores' staff.
All of the store conversions are expected to be completed this year, 7-Eleven says. Sam's Mart will still operate 91 stores, in the Atlanta and Charlotte markets.
Below, you can see a list of all the stores in Charlotte that will become 7-Elevens over the coming months. I apologize for the length.
Address:
4300 Wilgrove Mint Hill Rd
6233 Albemarle Rd
9701 Sam Furr Rd
10700 Reames Rd
735 Westinghouse Boulevard
9608 University City Blvd
9025 Mallard Creek Rd
12906 Rosedale Hill Ave
7740 Speedway Blvd
9759 Charlotte Hwy
19128 W Catawba Ave
2720 West C Street
3024 Central Ave
835 Clanton Rd
2601 South Blvd
8925 Nations Ford Rd
6886 Poplar Tent Rd
6401 Old Statesville Rd
4808 Brookshire Blvd
2901 Yorkmont Rd
2825 Little Rock Rd
3800 Central Ave
105 S Polk St
6500 N Tryon St
2840 Eastway Dr
1657 Cherry Rd
5115 Old Dowd Rd
6606 Tuckaseegee Rd
5455 Brookshire Blvd
2932 Mount Holly Huntersville Rd
8101 Old Concord Rd
1920 Central Ave
4850 Charlotte Hwy
1501 N Tryon St
2701 The Plaza
2519 Beatties Ford Rd.
5200 Piper Station Drive
10806 Providence Rd.
7511 Pineville-Matthews Rd.
240 Carowinds Blvd.
12710 South Tryon St.
8010 South Tryon St
8315 Steele Creek Rd.
4401 Park Rd.
5701 Old Providence Rd.
4300 North Graham St.
10023 North Tryon St.
1901 Pavilion Blvd.
3301 Monroe Road
5124 Central Avenue
9502 Mt. Holly Huntersville Road
1700 Windsor Square Drive
11208 East Independence Blvd.
15000 Idlewild Road
304 Unionville Indian Trail Road West
Niche Market location in South End for rent
Niche Market, an apparel retailer in South End, is for rent, according to a sign in the windows.
The store couldn't be reached by phone, and the owners didn't respond to an email sent to the store's email address, so it's not clear if the store is moving or shutting down. But the red and white for rent signs in the window and in front of the store have been up for some time now.
The store, at the fork of Camden Road and South Tryon Street, was founded in 2005, according to its website. Niche carries clothes and shoes for men and women, focusing on casual and streetwear brands.
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The store couldn't be reached by phone, and the owners didn't respond to an email sent to the store's email address, so it's not clear if the store is moving or shutting down. But the red and white for rent signs in the window and in front of the store have been up for some time now.
The store, at the fork of Camden Road and South Tryon Street, was founded in 2005, according to its website. Niche carries clothes and shoes for men and women, focusing on casual and streetwear brands.
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Cigar bar open near uptown
Charlotte Cigar Club, a free-standing bar, club and cigar shop, is open at Morehead and South Tryon streets near uptown.
The business opened a few weeks ago. In addition to a public smoking area and a private smoking lounge, the Charlotte Cigar Club offers wine and craft beer. The club offers drink and cigar pairings, such as a Montecristo White and Samuel Smith pure lager last Wednesday for $10.
You can follow Larry Good, the "Czar of Cigar," for updates on the club and planned events on Twitter here.
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The business opened a few weeks ago. In addition to a public smoking area and a private smoking lounge, the Charlotte Cigar Club offers wine and craft beer. The club offers drink and cigar pairings, such as a Montecristo White and Samuel Smith pure lager last Wednesday for $10.
You can follow Larry Good, the "Czar of Cigar," for updates on the club and planned events on Twitter here.
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Super Bowl Sunday East Blvd. boutique sale
Super Bowl Sunday won't just be about football, as several popular East Blvd. boutiques are banding together to offer a sale.
The sale will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and feature store-wide markdowns of 20 to 25 percent, along with additional individual sale items. Stores participating are: Sloan, Step by Sloan, Petal, Cottage Chic, Laura James Jewelry, CORAL, Monarch Consignment and I.C. London. Wine & Design, a new shop offering "paint parties," has a $25 special football canvas deal for husbands and kids who aren't into ladies boutiques.
The idea for the sale came from Sloan Boutique and local shopping site Scoop Charlotte. For more details and to see exactly what's on sale, check out their website.
Harris Teeter a cappella jingle
So it's Friday, and what's better than a light-hearted YouTube video on a Friday? Perhaps this a cappella jingle from Harris Teeter will help your day fly by.
The song is performed by Mike Tompkins, a YouTube a capella singing sensation who's been on the Ellen DeGeneres show and racked up millions of views for his renditions of various pop songs.
The video was uploaded a few months ago, but I didn't come across it until this blurb in Progressive Grocer this week. Harris Teeter also put out a press release with the lyrics, if you'd like to sing along. The video is embedded below.
The song is performed by Mike Tompkins, a YouTube a capella singing sensation who's been on the Ellen DeGeneres show and racked up millions of views for his renditions of various pop songs.
The video was uploaded a few months ago, but I didn't come across it until this blurb in Progressive Grocer this week. Harris Teeter also put out a press release with the lyrics, if you'd like to sing along. The video is embedded below.
Drive-thru grocery opening soon in Charlotte
Swiss Farms, a drive-thru grocery and convenience store, is building a store on Sardis Road in South Charlotte, and the owner plans up to a dozen more for the area.
The company is based in Pennsylvania, and this store will be the first Swiss Farms in Charlotte. In fact, except for one store in New Jersey, the Charlotte store is the first outside of Pennsylvania.
Located at 1431 Sardis Road North, near Sardis and Monroe Road, the store is being built by Choate Construction. It will be open in March. Swiss Farms will carry staples such as milk, juice, eggs, bread and butter, along with other grocery items, fresh coffee, beer, wine and prepared meals.
Owner Mike Lang said the store will stock about 800 items. That's far fewer than a store like Harris Teeter, which can carry around 40,000, but Lang said Swiss Farms concentrates on the most common items in the most common sizes. Fill-in trips for groceries or dinner on the drive home from work drive a large part of the business, Lang said.
Here's how it works. Customers pull up to one of the store's doors, where they're greeted by a clerk. "You pull up, say I need a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, whatever you need," he said. The person collects your items, bags them, brings them out to you, takes your payment, and you're done.
Transaction times average about one minute, Lang said. Customers, on average, come to the store about 2 1/2 times a week, he said.
Lang has lived in Charlotte with his wife for about seven years, and his three children attend school here. After working for years in "the corporate life," Lang, who used to own a wireless technology company, said he wanted to find a business he could run here.
With the rights to open Swiss Farms franchises in the Charlotte market, Lang said he hopes to open more stores soon, at a pace of two a year. The next location he plans will be in Lake Norman, said Lang. You can follow the new store's progress on Facebook here.
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The company is based in Pennsylvania, and this store will be the first Swiss Farms in Charlotte. In fact, except for one store in New Jersey, the Charlotte store is the first outside of Pennsylvania.
Located at 1431 Sardis Road North, near Sardis and Monroe Road, the store is being built by Choate Construction. It will be open in March. Swiss Farms will carry staples such as milk, juice, eggs, bread and butter, along with other grocery items, fresh coffee, beer, wine and prepared meals.
Owner Mike Lang said the store will stock about 800 items. That's far fewer than a store like Harris Teeter, which can carry around 40,000, but Lang said Swiss Farms concentrates on the most common items in the most common sizes. Fill-in trips for groceries or dinner on the drive home from work drive a large part of the business, Lang said.
Here's how it works. Customers pull up to one of the store's doors, where they're greeted by a clerk. "You pull up, say I need a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, whatever you need," he said. The person collects your items, bags them, brings them out to you, takes your payment, and you're done.
Transaction times average about one minute, Lang said. Customers, on average, come to the store about 2 1/2 times a week, he said.
Lang has lived in Charlotte with his wife for about seven years, and his three children attend school here. After working for years in "the corporate life," Lang, who used to own a wireless technology company, said he wanted to find a business he could run here.
With the rights to open Swiss Farms franchises in the Charlotte market, Lang said he hopes to open more stores soon, at a pace of two a year. The next location he plans will be in Lake Norman, said Lang. You can follow the new store's progress on Facebook here.
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| Photos courtesy Doug Smith |
Boyles Furniture is coming back
Longtime North Carolina furniture company Boyles Furniture is trying to make a comeback, a year after the former company finished liquidation sales.
Conover-based Hendricks Furniture Group, the former owner of Boyles, filed for bankruptcy in 2009, citing the rough economy. The 34-store chain dwindled to five, then finally closed its last location last year.
But a new company, Home Furnishings Delivered, bought the Boyles name and intellectual property in 2011, for an undisclosed sum. Brothers Chad and Alex Hendricks, sons of the former Hendricks Furniture Group owners, are behind Hickory-based Home Furnishings Delivered.
The company is planning to open a new, 45,000 square-foot store in Mooresville in mid-March. The store, which they hope to expand to 60,000 square-feet within a year, will be located in the former Burlington Mills site, being redeveloped by Michael Bay. It will be named Boyles Furniture Direct.
The Hendricks, headquartered in Hickory, hope to use the "manufacturer-direct" retail model to offer low-priced furniture without compromising quality. They say the store will be "low cost, low overhead" and draw on their "experience in big box retailers and relationships their relationships with domestic and international vendors, and their success in large-scale sales events like Boyles’ famous Metro Sales."
"We knew this was a perfect way to re-introduce the brand," said Chad Hendricks, in a statement. "Our goal is to deliver great style at great values—all the best of what people remember about the Boyles name."
The company plans to open several other divisions, both physical retailers and online.
“This is an exciting first step back into the marketplace for the brand,” said Alex Hendricks. “For decades, the Boyles name has meant stylish furniture at the lowest prices in the country. We’re looking forward to building that reputation once again.”
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The company's new location in Mooresville. Here's a link to their Facebook page.
Conover-based Hendricks Furniture Group, the former owner of Boyles, filed for bankruptcy in 2009, citing the rough economy. The 34-store chain dwindled to five, then finally closed its last location last year.
But a new company, Home Furnishings Delivered, bought the Boyles name and intellectual property in 2011, for an undisclosed sum. Brothers Chad and Alex Hendricks, sons of the former Hendricks Furniture Group owners, are behind Hickory-based Home Furnishings Delivered.
The company is planning to open a new, 45,000 square-foot store in Mooresville in mid-March. The store, which they hope to expand to 60,000 square-feet within a year, will be located in the former Burlington Mills site, being redeveloped by Michael Bay. It will be named Boyles Furniture Direct.
The Hendricks, headquartered in Hickory, hope to use the "manufacturer-direct" retail model to offer low-priced furniture without compromising quality. They say the store will be "low cost, low overhead" and draw on their "experience in big box retailers and relationships their relationships with domestic and international vendors, and their success in large-scale sales events like Boyles’ famous Metro Sales."
"We knew this was a perfect way to re-introduce the brand," said Chad Hendricks, in a statement. "Our goal is to deliver great style at great values—all the best of what people remember about the Boyles name."
The company plans to open several other divisions, both physical retailers and online.
“This is an exciting first step back into the marketplace for the brand,” said Alex Hendricks. “For decades, the Boyles name has meant stylish furniture at the lowest prices in the country. We’re looking forward to building that reputation once again.”
View Larger Map
The company's new location in Mooresville. Here's a link to their Facebook page.
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