Renovations are underway on the former Stein Mart department store to make way for new retailers, including the relocation of Fleishman’s Tiny Town children’s store and an Ace Hardware store scheduled to open in March.
Stein Mart closed all 281 of its stores in August 2020, and the space at Highland Centre on Raeford Road has been vacant since then.
Tiny Town, located at 3015 Fort Bragg Road, opened in 1951, according to its website.
It will settle into space adjoining the new Ace Hardware, said Highland Centre co-owner Alex Thompson.
A third new tenant at the shopping center, School Tools, will move from its Robeson Street location near downtown to the east wing of Highland Centre, according to Thompson, who shares ownership of the property with his sister, Lisa Thompson.
Harris Teeter is the anchor store at the shopping center, which also includes a Hallmark store, post office and Pet Supermarket.
Lori’s Ace Home & Hardware is scheduled to open March 14 in Suite 24A, part of the Stein Mart space.
“This community really deserves and needs an Ace,” said Lori Tracy Stobbe, who will own and operate the business with her husband, Nate Stobbe. “What Ace provides is that quality product but really great customer service and the convenience. We hope to build a really great, helpful team of employees.”
The Stobbes plan to hire about 15 people for the store, including for the positions of store manager, sales associate and cashier. For more information on jobs, visit https://nowhiring.com/loris-ace/.
A grand opening is planned for the first weekend in May, including grilling and power equipment demonstrations.
The Stobbes relocated to Fayetteville from Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, in June.
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Before the move, Lori Stobbe worked roughly 25 years in marketing and public relations. Nate Stobbe has owned or run manufacturing companies after starting out as a journeyman carpenter. She said he has extensive knowledge of construction and manufacturing.
“We started this venture together,” she said. “We came down here specially to open this Ace store here in Fayetteville.”
In September, they opened Ace Handyman Services, also in Highland Centre. It will merge with the hardware store when that opens.
The former Stein Mart space will provide the couple with about 18,000 square feet, plus an additional 5,000 square feet for a garden center, Stobbe said.
Alex and Lisa Thompson's father, Joe Thompson, was one of the original partners in Highland Centre. The landlord is Thompson Properties.
Renovations on the property are ongoing. Once the three new retailers are open, Alex Thompson said, about 6,900 square feet will remain available to rent.
Lori Stobbe said she and her husband are often asked why they picked Fayetteville for their new business.
“The first decision was North Carolina,” she said. “We wanted to move to a warmer climate and near the ocean. We felt like it was a comfortable place to land. People are all friendly. The climate is fantastic. Once we decided on North Carolina, then we had to figure what was going to be the best site to open an Ace Hardware store. That takes a while to find that sweet spot. You want to make sure it's a good fit. And that it fits into your financial model as well, of course.”
She said they looked at areas around the state and found the old Stein Mart space in Fayetteville.
“We walked through that and the space looked perfect. We were able to drive around Fayetteville a lot (and see) where the retail was and wasn't. It's a pretty large city,” she said. “This Raeford Road is very busy all day long, all evening long. This just felt like the sweet spot."
There's a nostalgia component at work here as well.
Lori Stobbe said her hometown had an Ace Hardware and she always enjoyed going there.
“For a lot of people, as well, they grew up with Ace Hardware and remember going with their father or mother or brothers and sisters,” she said. “It was always a great experience, and I continued to go there as an adult.”
What's nice about the Ace Hardware model, she continued, is that it's not a franchise but a co-opt.
“You can customize it to what you want it to be,” she said. “Each one around the country is going to be a little different. You'll find the traditional things you normally see in a hardware store — you'll find your nuts and bolts, you'll find your plumbing, you'll find your power tools.
Because Lori's Ace Home & Hardware will be a large store, she said, it will include sections for grilling and patio furniture; home decor and gifts; and toys and games for kids and adults.
“We are local,” Stobbes said. “We live here; we are based here. We are not corporate-owned. We want … to have it be a good addition to the community. We're going to be listening to what people want when they come in. ‘Is there something that you need that we don’t have?' We’re going to be really open to that type of feedback.”
Michael Futch covers Fayetteville and education for CityView. He can be reached at mfutch@cityviewnc.com.
