Please support Raleigh’s local retailers—nearly all are currently operating through their websites and offering curbside pickup and/or local delivery.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Plenty of locally owned businesses that rely on foot traffic have had to get creative during the coronavirus shutdown but none more so than Raleigh’s independently owned retailers. From running promotions to taking their sales almost totally online to offering new products and services, Raleigh retailers are finding ways to stay afloat while they can’t connect with their customers in person.
Offering New Products and Services
Emily Sexton owns the Flourish Market—a boutique that partners with national and international brands which provide jobs and fair wages to artisans in vulnerable communities—in downtown’s Warehouse District. Sexton went straight to her customers to find out what they wanted to buy at a time when the shop’s traditional staples—think colorful, flowy Easter dresses and statement earrings—weren’t in as high demand as they would be under normal circumstances.
“I called about 15 of our longtime customers and we held virtual roundtables over Zoom, meetings for people who wanted to help,” Sexton explains. “We figured out people just needed an easy way to gift others with things. With Amazon on delayed timelines and people wanting to support small businesses, they wanted something $30 or under to send to friends and workers on the front lines. Just little bits of encouragement.”
So Sexton and her team created gift bundles for kids and adults, packed with two to four fun, witty or inspirational small gifts, priced at $29.99 apiece.
“We had a hundred sell out overnight and we brought back 300, and they sold out in a few hours,” Sexton says. “We released 300 more, and we have sold more than half, and we’re releasing even more this week.”
Sexton says the gift set sales have allowed her to keep paying her staff and to send thousands of dollars in new orders to the groups the store partners with that are in need of financial provisions right now.
“Our customers are always right,” Sexton says.
Lisa Kaufman, founder of the North Hills boutique Scout and Molly’s, similarly leaned in to her client base. Kaufman says she reached out to individual customers personally and offered to send them boxes of clothes to try on. In the last week, she shipped out 125 boxes to clients for free.
“It’s a try-before-you-buy,” Kaufman explained in a text message to Raleigh Magazine. “They can try on and send back what they don’t want and then pay for what works. It’s been really fun for the clients to get surprises in the mail. Getting dressed makes everyone feel better.”
Going Virtual
Many local brick and mortar retailers have had to shift their sales models from in-person to online.
Chuck Millsaps, vice president of the North Carolina-based specialty retailer Great Outdoor Provision Co., says he has seen a rise in interest in boating and kayaking since the shutdown. He has been fulfilling orders for the company’s nine stores through its Cameron Village headquarters.
“If I’m isolated and can’t go to work, I want to enjoy time by myself on the lake and go fishing,” Millsaps says. “Our brick and mortar sales model was a high service, very intimate sales situation where we’re helping people in and out of boats, sizing paddles and giving instructions on features and how to paddle the boats.”
Now, customers can consult web tutorials on the company’s website, order online and pick up kayaks and accessories–as well as anything else they want to order–during the store’s curbside pick up hours.
“Our pivot has been to make resources available in a contactless manner,” Millsaps says.
Ashley Webb, owner of the North Hills designer label boutique Vermillion, is doing more online to reach her customers as well, including coordinating website exhibitions of designer collections with the shop’s Instagram stories and email blasts to customers.
North Hills boutique Vermillion’s recently remodeled interior. Photo credit: @catnguyenphoto Design by Hobgood Architects and interior by La Maison
This Friday, Vermillion will feature a virtual trunk show with a fine jewelry partner and soon, one with designer Natalie Martin’s dresses. Though Vermillion featured all of its inventory online previously, Webb says most of her sales generally happened in the store. Now, more sales are taking place through the website and Webb says she has had to think ahead to how she’ll promote future collections with social distancing.
“For the next brainstorming session with my team, I want to figure out how to do a trunk show for pre- order for our fall collections,” Webb says.
As with the Flourish Market, Webb says she has been able to keep her core staff working their same number of hours and on the payroll, though many are working from home and balancing work with taking care of kids.
“Our hours have changed but everyone is still working as hard as ever,” Webb says. “I am also realizing we are not as reliant on traffic as I thought. Really, it is these relationships with our clients we have had that has been our support system. Shutting down was not an option for us. People are still shopping and we are just trying to get more creative while still abiding by the rules.”
Gift Cards, Promotions and Online Stores
Some local boutiques, including Uniquities and Copper Penny that didn’t previously feature their clothes online, are now selling items through their websites or through Facebook shops.
Copper Penny is offering a 20 to 30 percent discount on items storewide and Uniquities has a large number of items on sale as well. To coincide with its 15th anniversary this year, Vermillion is offering a 15 percent discount on its spring collection.
As with local restaurants and salons, the gift card has played a major role for Raleigh stores, too.
“We never had a digital gift card before but figured out how to create one and launched that 10 days ago and our customers have been wonderful,” says Millsaps from the Great Outdoor Provision Company. “Now is a gift giving period with Mothers Day, graduations, Father’s Day coming up. Gifting is taking on new shapes and forms and we’re hoping people can use [gift cards] to buy from our online site and in stores when we’re allowed to re-open.”
If you’re looking for gifts, now more than ever it’s important to support local businesses instead of buying from large chains or ordering on Amazon.
“We have had a wonderful community rallying around local businesses for years,” Millsaps says. “We miss our fellow merchants. All of us do what we do because we have a passion for it and for our customers and neighbors and we hope to get back to it soon, in as safe a way as possible.”
Escape the February chill with cozy candles from local candlemakers.
Brandy’s Soy Candles
Brandy Mutchler’s hand-poured soy candles are inspired by North Carolina breweries, including Raleigh’s Neuse River Brewing, Lynnwood Brewing Concern and Gizmo Brew Works. Mutchler curates her scents with essential oils. Try Lemon Verbena Saison and Vanilla Cinnamon Coffee Milk Stout. brandyssoycandles.com
Ella B. Candles
Made by Charlotte’s Tassy family and sold in stores nationwide, including DECO, Paper Buzz and Zest Cafe in Raleigh, Ella B. specializes in candles inspired by the nation’s 50 states, plus custom-made, neighborhood-inspired fragrances. ellabcandles.com
Wicks For Wags
With every purchase of Raleigh-based Wicks for Wags’ candles, 10 percent goes to animal shelters and rescue groups around the country to help care for animals in need. The candles are vegan, chemical-free and clean-burning and made with phthalate-free fragrance oils and soy wax. wicksforwags.com
Blinking Toad Workshop
Saturdays and Sundays at the Fairgrounds’ Raleigh Market, you’ll find Blinking Toad’s signature wooden wick candles. The wicks burn with a calming crackle, continuous fragrance and an even, 25-hour burn. Try Hot Apple Pie, Oakmoss and Amber or Cinfully Vanilla. blinkingtoad.com
Light Is Love Artisan Candles
Light Is Love’s 100 percent soy wax-based candles are popular with those who suffer headaches. The affordable, small batch candles include Spiced Pear, White Birch, Snickerdoodle and Clean Cotton. Find them at pop-up markets around Raleigh. lightislovecandles.com
Benji Johnson creates handmade soaps with local ingredients.
Aromas of freshly brewed coffee from Counter Culture. A whiff of local honey from the State Farmers Market. Rich notes of chocolate from Videri. These are just a few of the delightfully familiar scents from Naked Body Skin Care, a handmade soap bar brand made here in Raleigh. Creator and owner Benji Johnson stumbled into the soap making business somewhat accidentally; the idea stemmed from his other business, Ball Player’s Balm, a handmade baseball and softball glove cleaner and conditioner product line. Through researching and developing balms in 2018, Johnson realized he had a passion for creating handmade products that led him to start making bar soaps as well. “The soap making surprised me; I never expected it to be as fun as it is, but I love it,” Johnson says. “It allows for so much creativity and serves as an expressive outlet for using different scents, designs, colors and naming the bars.”
Johnson recognized the health benefits for people using handmade soaps. They naturally contain glycerin, a sugar alcohol derived from animal products that Johnson has found can help skin cells mature properly while protecting and moisturizing skin. Many store-bought soaps have glycerin removed during manufacturing and can contain harmful ingredients.
Johnson’s unique soaps include “Icelandic Breeze,” a teal and gray bar made up of shea butter and Icelandic black sand for a gentle exfoliation; an Arizona-themed bar inspired by the landscapes of the West, and a collection containing Counter Culture-brewed coffee and coffee grounds in flavors such as Vanilla Latte and Mocha. Next, Johnson will make a collection of beer scented soaps using beers from local breweries. They’re sure to make you thirsty. instagram.com/nakedbody.skincare
The owner of Glenwood South’s Cupcake Shoppe has the business of sweet treats all figured out.
Glenwood South has seen the rise of many an entrepreneur over the years, but none quite like the Cupcake Shoppe’s Sara Coleman Fitzpatrick.
Just a decade ago, Fitzpatrick, an NC State graduate, was working for Johnson & Johnson, living between Florida and Georgia and traveling constantly to New York City for work. She baked to balance the chaos of her corporate career and dreamed of moving back to Raleigh.
One day when she was visiting town, Fitzpatrick saw a little shop with windows that opened out onto the Glenwood South sidewalk. She envisioned the “what could be” for the empty storefront—a warm, walkable gathering place for the neighborhood nearby, where lasting friendships could be born.
Fitzpatrick signed the lease.
Fast forward ten years and that “what could be” is now Fitzpatrick’s everyday reality. The Cupcake Shoppe welcomes all into its sweet space with light pink-painted walls, marble countertops, an antique cash register, cozy booths and fun light fixtures. Guests hunker down to work over coffee, cupcakes and savory bites, or they meet their friends there and celebrate life’s special occasions.
It’s been a challenging business at times, as Fitzpatrick will plainly tell you. In the Shoppe’s early days, guests would find Fitzpatrick smiling behind a tablecloth-topped table with a cupcake stand, offering samples and handing out business cards, serving as the store’s accountant, janitor, baker, event coordinator, marketing manager and more.
“When you’re first starting out, everything seems like it’s a big deal,” Fitzpatrick says. “Every negative comment, staffing issues, all the road bumps you encounter all seem so difficult.”
But where local and national chains in Raleigh have shuttered their doors—think Sprinkles, Crumbs, Gigi’s and locally owned Sugarland, which filed for bankruptcy last year—the Cupcake Shoppe has thrived and grown into one of the city’s premier bakeries, ready to provide a baked-from-scratch treat to the guest on the go or to cater at weddings serving cupcakes by the hundreds.
“It’s taken a very calculated approach on how to adjust to the market,” Fitzpatrick says. “Stay true to what you do and to your market. Do what you do and do it really well, stay current and relevant and have a plan of where you’re going.”
Fitzpatrick credits her business’s success with its ability to adapt. As dietary fads and restrictions became more marked among consumers, The Cupcake Shoppe reacted accordingly, offering a variety of dietary options—vegan, dairy- and gluten-free—as well as adding savory and sweet breakfast pastry options to the menu. There’s been a shift in the kinds of experiences consumers are seeking nowadays, too. In the past, everyone wanted elaborate options, where more was more, Fitzpatrick says. Now, they want more personalized experiences and variety.
These days, Fitzpatrick is in direct competition with everyone from out-of-state grocery chains to food trucks serving cupcakes on the go. But her classic branding, charitable focus and the niche she’s carved out in the local wedding industry means she’s found a way for the Cupcake Shoppe to come out on top.
Fitzpatrick says over the years she’s learned how to clearly communicate her expectations to staff and hires people with like-minded vision. She says she works to empower her staffers based on their strengths and skills, and she always rewards her team for jobs well done.
“While I love being an entrepreneur,” Fitzpatrick says, “it isn’t for everyone. Owning your own business can be glamorized, especially when it’s a pretty pink cake shop. You get what you work for, not what you wish for.”
But Fitzpatrick says she likes being able to set her own schedule, being her own boss and using her creative talents. Also, getting to taste cupcakes on a daily basis—for quality control purposes, of course—definitely doesn’t hurt.
Fitzpatrick’s Personal Favorites:
Pastry: Cinnamon Roll
Cupcake: Pretty in Pink
Martin is the executive director of Shop Local Raleigh/Greater Raleigh Merchants Association.
Videri makes a peppery chocolate bar with it. Cary’s Pizzeria Faulisi adds it to a hot honey pie. Whiskey Kitchen uses it in a zesty aioli and the list goes on; Benny T’s Vesta brand of hot sauces, made right here in Raleigh, has been bringing the local flavor for over a decade. Produced by New York City native and self-described “chili and spice enthusiast” Ben Tuorto, the innovative, dry hot sauce varieties are the only products of their kind on the market. Tuorto wanted to share his love for hot peppers with others but in a way that wouldn’t burn their mouths. With each of Benny T’s five different sauces, Tuorto aims to bring out the true, robust flavors of different chilis while taming the heat just enough to make them enjoyable.
His secret? Sautéing the chilis with caramelized onions and toasted breadcrumbs—an ode to his Italian heritage—before blending them into sauce. This method, he says, helps stretch the flavors and spread out the heat and oils from the chilis, which are sourced solely from North Carolina farms. Once it’s cooked, with the assistance of his son Paul, Tuorto dries out the chili mixture and grinds it down into a sifted mix that can be shaken out onto all your favorite foods. “It’s so fulfilling because people will have one taste and buy it,” the senior Tuorto says.
Ben Tuorto
In addition to helping with production, Paul Tuorto serves as the creative director for Benny T’s Vesta brand. An Appalachian State graduate with a degree in design, he created the Vesta products’ bold, cheery packaging. He also works with his dad in their commercial kitchen at Posh Nosh and at local events, making Vesta a true family business.
Vesta varieties range from Hot, made with mild to medium hot chilis including jalapeño, serrano, Thai and habanero, to Reaper, a seasonal flavor comprised exclusively of Carolina Reaper chilis, the hottest chili pepper available to the public. Other seasonal varieties include Scorpion, which rates up to 1.5 Million Scoville Units (a measure of the pungency of chili peppers and other spicy foods) and is Benny T’s hottest Vesta sauce to date. Very Hot remains Ben Tuorto’s favorite variety—he says he has it almost every day, though you have to like heat to really enjoy it yourself. The dry hot sauces can be used for anything you’d use a traditional hot sauce for; sprinkle it on tacos, pizza and pasta—add it to a bagel with cream cheese, one of Ben Tuorto’s favorite combinations—or find it in dishes all around Raleigh.
“All collaborations are a testament to what Vesta is—a great addition to food,” says Paul Tuorto. “We’re proud to have a product that comes from Raleigh and uses chilis grown in this state.” While tasty, Benny T’s Vesta dry hot sauces are not for the faint- hearted. If you can handle the heat, find Vesta products online, at Whole Foods on Wade Avenue or at various restaurants including Oakwood Pizza Box, Capital Club 16, Plates and Happy and Hale. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you. vestatoppings.com
