‘It’s just good to be home’

Tool time
Jimmy Turbeville of Tabor City looks at cordless tools during the opening day of the Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Whiteville Friday as his granddaughter Victoria Perdue plays with merchandise in their cart.

Staff photo by Mark Gilchrist

By JEFFERSON WEAVER
Staff Writer

Imagine 80,000 square feet of “new car smell.”

Lowe’s new home improvement store opened Friday in Whiteville, and crowds moved in and out of the store throughout the day and the weekend. The Mooresville-based firm announced plans to open the store last year. The retailer features more than 35,000 products, including building materials, home improvement goods, lawn and garden supplies, plumbing parts, appliances, and heating/air conditioning supplies. Company officials say the Whiteville Lowe’s is a prototype store designed to service growing middle-sized markets.

Diane Byers had a very personal reason to be pleased at the Lowe’s opening Friday in Whiteville.

“It’s just good to be home,” she said from her post in the kitchen department.

Byers worked at the original Whiteville Lowe’s, which closed several years ago. When the smaller store shut its doors, she stayed with the company. Most recently, she worked at the Lumberton Lowe’s, a 45-mile commute from home.

“I’m glad to see my neighbors have a store that’s more convenient,” she said, “plus there are a lot of people who aren’t that familiar with what we offer.”

The new Lowe’s opened Friday morning to little fanfare, said district manager Sandra Brandon. She is based out of the Shallotte store, but was at Lowe’s with dozens of other employees Friday for the first day.

“I’ve seen a lot of smiles, a lot of happy people,” she said. “When I got here a few minutes past 7 a.m., there were only a few cars in the lot, but that changed quickly.”

Brandon said many of the shoppers Friday were “just looking around, learning what we have to offer,” but others came in for more specific purchases.

“We seem to have sold a lot of plumbing supplies today,” she said shortly before noon. “Other people have been coming in to see what we have – a lot of them don’t realize everything we have to offer.

“I’ve seen plenty of home improvements, repair materials – I think some of our customers might have been putting off projects until the store opened.

“We like seeing happy faces,” Brandon said, “and not just on our customers. The employees seem pretty happy, too.”

One of those new employees is Ed Burleson, who worked for his father-in-law’s steel building company until recently starting with Lowe’s.

“We’ve been busy,” he said Friday as he pushed a box down one of the building supplies aisles. “People coming in, looking around, asking questions. I like it here, it’s a nice store.”

Burleson spent most of the last month with other local employees and workers from other stores preparing for the opening.

“We stocked a lot of shelves, learned where things are,” he said. “It takes a little bit to get ready for the customers.”

The parking lot was nearly full late Friday morning, as was the store itself. Shoppers browsed through aisles of paint, flooring, appliances and decorative trim. One of the busiest places in the store seemed to be the bathroom fixtures department, where a crowd gathered around a new model corner shower.

One couple meticulously inspected nearly every kitchen range on the floor, while another man and woman pushed two carts loaded with goods. As they found another item, the pair would mark it off a shopping list.

Betty Johnson, who lives near Whiteville, wasn’t looking for anything specific Friday morning. Her shopping cart had a few small items in it, but she said she was mainly interested in the store.

“I just wanted to see what they had,” she said, pushing her cart through the flooring section. “I wanted to just shop around a little bit and see what they have – it’s a nice big store, and I’m glad to see it here.”

While Friday was the official opening of the store, a grand opening celebration won’t be held until March. At that time, Lowe’s will announce the recipient of the local “One Grand Grant,” a $1,000 award to an area charity.

Lowe’s is a national home improvement chain, with stores in 49 states and Canada.