Going out ‘with a bang’: Rolesville store closing after 40 years as road project looms
Rolesville Furniture is closing after more than 40 years, preemptively shutting down on their “own terms” before town revitalization efforts can threaten their chances of survival.
The owners of the 20,000-square-foot showroom at 100 N. Main St. will hold a going-out-of-business sale on Black Friday to liquidate their inventory.
The store isn’t navigating dire financial straits; revenue has been resilient through the pandemic, the owners say. But they’re choosing to close “with a bang,” before a future road construction project forces them out of business.
“The town is going through a revitalization program and redoing Main Street,” said Kevin Eddins, Rolesville Furniture’s third-generation owner. “And as part of that, they’re taking about half of our parking lot through the eminent domain process. And we found out more recently that there’s going to be a complete road closure of the intersection here during construction.”
The store’s closure will end a legacy of local retail that began in 1980. Rick, and his father, Herbert, founded Rolesville Furniture as a flea market in a former mule stall.
The town had fewer than 400 residents at the time. Today, the Wake County town has mushroomed to almost 9,500 residents, which means infrastructure needs to be upgraded to accommodate the growth.
Main Street’s road construction is part of a multi-year overhaul that will introduce several new businesses, including a Publix, and upgrade infrastructure, The News & Observer reported.
“In today’s world, there’s just too much overhead really to survive that,” Kevin Eddins said. “So we decided we’ll just start selling what we’ve got now while we’re still doing well and go out on our own terms.”
Construction timeline
The road construction project could begin in the summer of 2022, according to town representatives, but plans are incomplete. The intersection where Rolesville Furniture sits is expected to shut down for 60 days.
“Long term, from an economic standpoint, we feel like all the businesses and the buildings and property owners will be very positively impacted,” said Rolesville Mayor Ronnie Currin. “We don’t want to do anything that affects the legacy businesses. I would hate to know that a business could not survive after the work is completed.”
Rick Eddins, Kevin’s father, agrees revitalization efforts will ultimately improve the town. But he thinks the construction timeline is unrealistic and will take longer than expected.
“They told us two months,” said Rick Eddins, who previously ran the store. “But people told me, ‘Rick, they can’t even do a turn lane in two months, let alone this long list of things in two months.’ And I agree.”
The store is intertwined with the town’s history, said Rick Eddins, who served six terms in the N.C. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007.
“It’s really tough to start something from scratch and see it come to an end,” he said. “We were there as the community grew, and the community has been there for us, which just makes it more sad that there’s nothing to be figured out about how to keep this going.”
Kevin Eddins assumed the store’s main operation about four years ago. He anticipated a bright future for Rolesville Furniture as more transplants moved to the fast-growing Raleigh suburb.
“My intention was to be in this for at least 15 to 20 more years,” said Kevin, who is 39. “This is how my dad built his career, and this was my opportunity to do the same. But unfortunately I just don’t see any way to make it through.”
The family considered alternative locations for the store, but moving didn’t pan out.
“I promise we looked under every rock for an answer that would do it,” Rick said, “and we decided there’s no way of not shutting down. Rolesville Furniture will be gone forever.”
The Eddinses do not have immediate plans for the property, but will likely rent the space when inventory runs out. Any outstanding furniture orders will be fulfilled, the family says.
For more information, visit rolesvillefurniture.com.
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 8:25 AM with the headline "Going out ‘with a bang’: Rolesville store closing after 40 years as road project looms."
