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GREENSBORO — In its heyday, State Street was a bustling retail district with grocery and hardware stores, restaurants and a movie theater.

Redevelopment transformed the shops along the street into State Street Station, a boutique destination of chic, upscale stores and fine-dining restaurants.

It’s a quiet street these days: Empty retail spaces. Less foot traffic. Long-standing businesses have made adjustments to stay in operation.

State Street is no longer the thriving retail district it once was, a result of the economic decline seen throughout the country. But many of its merchants say they wouldn’t be anywhere else. And the company that owns most of the buildings promises redevelopment soon.

Alliance Commercial Investments, a commercial real estate investment and property management company, is planning a complete renovation of State Street’s retail buildings.

This year, construction will begin on upscale apartments adjacent to State Street. The project was delayed last year because of the economy, but the company’s president, Jimmy Black, says things are improving.

He signed three leases this week, which will bring another restaurant and retailers to the street.

'Town within a city’

State Street and the area around it was developed in the early 1900s as McAdoo Heights, a residential and commercial area for Cone Mills workers.

The workers lived in the mill villages surrounding Cone’s Revolution, White Oak and Proximity plants. McAdoo Heights, also known as The Heights, flourished through the 1930s and ’40s.

Some described it as a “town within a city.” It had restaurants, hardware stores, drugstores, apartments, churches and a movie theater. The Heights even had its own school and police officer. A newspaper columnist reported on Heights happenings for The Greensboro Record.

Those who lived outside of McAdoo Heights thought of it as a wild and unsafe place because it had rowdy bars and smoky pool halls.

Those who grew up there remember it differently. At reunions in the late 1980s, they described it as a close-knit community where people helped each other. They reminisced about hanging out at Mashburn’s Cafe. Everyone called it Pop’s, for its well-known and ever-present proprietor, Charles “Pop” Mashburn.

The street began to change after World War II. Business began to decline. People moved away. What once was a family movie theater — the Star Theater — began showing X-rated movies in the 1960s.

Shopping habits also began to change as people turned away from downtown streets and went to shopping centers and malls. Friendly Shopping Center was built in 1957, and Four Seasons Town Centre — originally named Four Seasons Mall — opened in 1974. It was the city’s first enclosed shopping center.

State Street underwent a major transformation in 1983, and the shopping area became State Street Station.

Developers John Harmon and Lynn White created a village shopping district with French architecture. The street featured brick sidewalks, and storefronts were accented with striped canvas awnings.

It attracted upscale specialty shops and fine-dining restaurants and began to draw the Irving Park housewives, who once avoided the street.

When Richard and Jill Wall opened Pewter Place in 1983, there wasn’t a paved parking lot. But soon, State Street’s unique boutiques drew customers from places such as Asheboro, High Point and Danville, Va. Most were women, Richard Wall says, and they often spent the entire day there, shopping and dining.

Mark Holder opened his jewelry store there because of the area’s charm and because it was considered safe. It was also near his target customers in the Starmount, Irving Park and New Irving Park neighborhoods.

The storefronts were well-kept, and annual festivals drew lots of foot traffic. There was a merchant’s association and camaraderie between shop owners.
“For a good 20 years, it was the place to go,” Wall says.

Economy brings change

The vibe on State Street began to change in the late 1990s and early 2000.

Businesses began to close as some owners struggled financially or experienced personal hardships.

Holder says there was frequent merchant turnover on State Street, even in its heyday. But that’s the nature of shopping centers, industry professionals say.

Some merchants saw declining sales after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But the latest recession — stretching between December 2007 through June 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research — was particularly hard on small-business owners like the Walls and Holders.

People had more difficulty getting bank loans to maintain or start new businesses. In fact, most of the businesses on State Street always have been independently owned.

Shoppers also became more thrifty, Wall says, and it became harder to compete with stores such as T.J. Maxx and Stein Mart.

Wall says it became apparent about 2008 that he would have to close his gift store. Pewter Place, which had been in business on State Street for 28 years, closed in 2010.
The longtime businesses that remain evolved through the recession. Holder, who specializes in fine jewelry, accepts more repair work now.

Ray Essa’s family restaurant, Cafe Pasta & Grille, provides more catering, and signs around Church and Elm streets alert drivers to the restaurant’s $5.95 lunch.

“Since 9/11, we’ve had to cater to the economy,” Essa says. “The economy kind of weeded out mom-and-pops (businesses). Mom-and-pops need to keep creative stay in business.”

Mechelle Lindenberg started her clothing business, Mechelle’s Boutique, on State Street next to Pewter Place. Her sales declined when her neighbor left.

When a space became available downtown, Lindenberg moved her shop to Elm Street.

“Things just fell into place, and I felt like I could grow my business here,” she says. “It was a positive move for me, and I’m a lot busier.”

But she maintains fond memories of her two years on State Street. She and other merchants organized Ladies Night Out events, and she enjoyed the area’s architecture and history.

“I loved the street,” she says. “I loved what it used to be. It’s one street I’d love to see come back.”

Still a destination

It’s easy to find parking on State Street.

A block off North Elm Street and two miles from downtown Greensboro, it still has the tucked-away feel of a European village.

Although it no longer attracts the foot traffic that it did in the mid-1980s and 1990s, the merchants from that era don’t want to go elsewhere.

Essa and Holder say their spaces are perfectly fit for their needs. Holder also likes that his rent is reasonable, he can set his own hours and there are no merchant’s association fees.

State Street remains a destination for shoppers. Merchants Tavane Taylor and Yosuke Yamamori, a jeweler, say their customers would follow them anywhere.

Taylor’s store, Eclectic By Nature, specializes in aromatherapy, herbal healing and other earth spirituality products.

“I could survive anywhere,” she says. “But so many people still don’t know about State Street.”

She wants to work with other merchants to reinstate the annual street fairs that drew large crowds.

Essa speculates that more people are headed to the nearby Village at North Elm, downtown and Friendly Center. Still, he’s optimistic that State Street could thrive again.

“I still think we could have something strong over here,” he says.

What would it take?

Some merchants speculate that State Street needs more retail stores to draw shoppers.

Holder’s wife, Robyn, says the street could use another coffee shop. For years, it was home to Carolina Coffee and then to Greensborough Coffee until it closed last year.
Upscale apartments also could help the businesses, the Holders say, and she would like to see more specialty shops there.

Black, who has been in commercial real estate for 30 years, says economic decline and demographic shifts affect a shopping center.

When he moved to Greensboro in 1985, a lot of retailers wanted to be on High Point Road, he says. Now, they want to be on Wendover Avenue.

National and regional retailers want to be clustered together, he says, but most small business owners can’t afford the rent at such spots as Friendly Shopping Center.

That’s what makes such areas as State Street appealing.

Black’s company wants to convert State Street from an area of mostly retail to one of residential, retail and office space.

The first phase of that effort begins with the apartments: 12 units that will rent for up to $1,200 a month.

The rest of the project, requiring renovation and construction, could take a few years, depending on the economy, Black says.

“We’re making a commitment to fill it back up and spruce it back up,” he says.

It’s all about local

Nancy Moore’s store, The Saltbox, was among the first to open on State Street. She has had opportunities to go elsewhere, but she won’t.

She believes that such retail districts as State Street are what makes a city unique. Every city has big box stores and chain restaurants, she says.

But places like State Street are often locally owned and carry unique merchandise.

“State Street is a great street,” she says. “It’s a great place to shop if you want to buy local. I think that’s very important today.”

Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or tina.firesheets@news-record.com