The Pilot Mountain Business Council hosted a Main Street ribbon-cutting for a familiar business with a new owner Monday afternoon, welcoming Will Hurley, owner of Mount Pilot Antique Mall, to the downtown business community.
The Town of Pilot Mountain took part in welcoming Hurley as did representative members of the business community.
“It was nice,” Hurley said. “I was pleased with the recognition and the show of support.”
He added with a smile that he was also pleased when, after turning on the business’s lights for the ceremony, he was able to make some unexpected sales. The business is normally closed on Monday.
Hurley had purchased the business from long-time owner Cook’e Jessup on March 27, just three days before North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay at home executive order went into effect.
“I’d made a commitment to purchase, and the transition between Cook’e and myself was great. I wanted to keep my word,” Hurley said.
Hurley, who had rented a vendor space at the location since 2012, was well familiar with the business.
“I’d always wanted to own my own business, and this was an opportunity to do that. Having been a vendor, I was really familiar with everyone. I really liked the people who came in and the small town atmosphere of the town,” he said.
Hurley’s affection for the business was a natural one. As a child, he had loved to attend auctions and as he grew older developed a particular fondness for antiques.
“Looking through all the things on hand is like being able to walk back in time,” he noted. “Even the young people can come in and find something to connect with.”
Dealing with the pandemic has created a challenge for Hurley’s first few weeks as a business owner but it hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for the venture.
“With COVID-19,” he said, “it’s been hard. We had to wait and we were finally able to open on May 9 for phase one. It’s been tough. When we were finally able to open on Sunday, that made a big difference and has helped a lot. We’ve also been able to do some online sales and promotion and that has helped.”
“I have some great vendors,” he continued. “I told them we were going to get through this but we may need to make some changes and they believed in me. We’ve had to not offer as many expensive items but to keep pushing forward and offer some smaller things. Now, some are doing awesome.”
Hurley acknowledged that he and other downtown businesses had suffered from the cancellation of several downtown events, specifically mentioning the popular cruise-ins held monthly during the summer. He noted that the business would stay open extended hours during a cruise-in with sales often matching that of several weeks of regular business. He noted that, while July has been canceled, he and other business owners are still hoping for an August cruise-in.
“The potential I saw is still here, and I’m excited about the future. Mount Pilot Antiques has been here for a long time and I want to see it continue to be here and continue to grow,” he said.
Immediately prior to the ribbon cutting, the Pilot Mountain Business Council had hosted a Town Hall Meeting under tents in the Town Hall Parking Lot. The stated purpose of the meeting was to create a setting for the Pilot Mountain Business Council to hear from local businesses and to provide help where it’s needed. Twenty-one businesses attended the meeting as did Pilot Mountain Mayor Evan Cockerham.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com