Residents aim to keep the Pace

For 53 years, Pace Gift Shop has been known as a place with unique charm, excellent personal service and those perfect little gifts for special occasions.

After working there for more than 20 years, Wendy Maxwell will retire as the store's owner at the end of the month, leaving the future of the shop unknown.

"I think it's a one of a kind," Maxwell said. "It has such a wonderful history and tradition to it."

Many are hopeful that someone will buy the store and carry on the Pace tradition, and Maxwell expressed optimism that someone will take interest.

The store will be forced to close if it isn't sold before the end of January.

"It's been there for a long time," said property manager Claire Corsmeier of Grubb Properties. "We would love for someone to be able to purchase the store."

Maxwell's decision to retire was driven by her desire to spend time with her husband and grandchildren and to travel.

She said leaving the store will be emotional and difficult.

"There's just so many really, really good memories," she said. "The whole thing will be a wonderful memory, and I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity."

Maxwell said the store's commitment to customer service is what set it apart from other gift shops and kept it in business despite competition from larger retailers.

Pace is the only original store in Glen Lennox shopping center still in business.

It was opened in 1952 by Ray Staples and has changed hands only twice.

That continuity is why Maxwell says, "The shop has so much tradition."

In the spirit of tradition, Pace still sells some of the product lines originally sold there.

In the mid-1980s, Maxwell purchased half ownership of the store from then-owner Carolyn Harrell. The other half soon was purchased by Margaret Herrington.

After Herrington's death, Maxwell didn't want to run the store with anyone else.

Like Maxwell, Pace's customers are sentimental about possibly losing a desirable shopping location.

The store's shelves, quickly emptying from the going-out-of-business sale, are stocked with everything from greeting cards to fine china to a stuffed ram bearing the famous North Carolina symbol.

"People like gifts from here," said Anne Carr, a Durham resident who frequently shops at Pace. "When you open a present that says 'Pace' people's faces light up."

Bren Cheatham, who has shopped at the store on and off for 40 years, said she doesn't think she will find any place like Pace.

"They had something for everybody," she said.

When asked about the future of Pace, Maxwell said, "I would just love for the tradition of Pace to carry on because there's definitely a place for it in the community."

 

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