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If you’re passing through North Carolina on Interstate 95, a series of billboards will ensure that you don’t miss the chance to stop at a sprawling gift emporium called DeWayne’s. It’s hard to believe this expansive shop started 25 years ago as a pumpkin patch
run by DeWayne Lee, a 20-year-old son of a produce farmer. His location: the lawn in front of a busy outlet mall. Forced to get creative one year when he lost his entire pumpkin crop, Lee diversified with a fruit and produce stand and wooden cutouts, and eventually Christmas trees. In its beginnings, the business was no more than a pop-up greenhouse, a port-a-john, and outdoor tables laden with merchandise.
DeWayne met his wife, Tina, when she was just 16, and she grew to be as passionate about the business’ success as he was. Together they evolved from the produce stand and garden center, realizing that the interstate travelers are more likely to buy smaller gift items than a plant or a garden sculpture. Eventually they moved to their current location, a 6-acre lot about a mile down the road from the outlet center where it
all began.
GROWING UP AND OUT
The space offers plenty of opportunities to grow, and their latest phase includes an atrium that will centralize the cash registers and incorporates a year-round Christmas shop. The additions bring the square footage of the store and its offices to nearly 42,000 square feet, with departments including a greenhouse and garden center, outdoor statuary, a ladies’ clothing boutique, a gift shop, a gourmet foods department,
a jewelry department, home decor and more.
The store has become a local destination for sought- after brands. Tina says Pandora is its top-selling line, with Vera Bradley, Yeti, Brighton, Sanuks, Vineyard Vines, Jack Rogers, Tervis Tumblers and Simply Southern also strong sellers. The Christmas shop— dubbed Christmas Land—includes offerings from Regency International, Border Concepts, RAZ Imports and Renaissance 2000, to name a few.
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