All up in your business

Fleet Feet expands in new location

To accommodate its growing popularity, Fleet Feet Sports Carrboro moved to a larger location at 300 E. Main St. on Sept. 29.

“The old space was small, it had a nice homey feel, but it interrupted the flow of our customer base as it grew,” said store manager Nick Krouse.

The store, which opened in 1994 in Carr Mill Mall, has since grown to a 90-store franchise.

The new location, which Krouse said is the flagship, offers 5,100 square feet of space, compared to 2,400 square feet provided by its old Carr Mill Mall location.

Krouse said the decision to move stemmed from a need to accommodate the store’s growing staff and products.

“The new space has better accessibility with store-front parking,” Krouse said.

The store has added a Nike concept shop, which features Nike displays and products.
It also includes an indoor track strip from the shoe company Saucony.

Southern Season sees changes

As the holiday season approaches, A Southern Season will be seeing changes spurred by new ownership.

TC Capital Fund, LLC., a local investment group, bought A Southern Season in August and has since began implementing changes to the speciality food store.

Marketing Manager Wendy Sease wrote in an email that TC Capital Fund has made an investment to improve the physical aesthetics of the store, including redesigning the house and home and wine departments.

Weathervane, a restaurant owned by A Southern Season, will also see updates, Sease said.

She said A Southern Season is also making a new push to become the top employer in the local specialty food and culinary industry by providing jobs that offer advancement and health benefits to all full-time employees.

The store opened in 1975 as a tiny coffee roastery, and has expanded since.

Chapel Hill Sportswear moves

Chapel Hill Sportswear has left its home of 23 years but can still be found on Franklin Street — just with a little more space.

The store recently opened at 119 E. Franklin Street, where Tar Heel Bookstore was previously located.

“We rented the building we were in for 23 years and had the opportunity to buy that property,” said manager Holly Dedmond.

Chapel Hill Sportswear fills the building’s second floor with Nike clothing and UNC sports T-shirts instead of textbooks.

“We have two floors of merchandise now,” Dedmond said. “We have expanded our own selection of clothing.”

Chapel Hill sportswear was previously located at 133 E. Franklin St.

It also runs an online store, chapelhillsportswear.com. It previously ran the store located at tarheelblue.com for the UNC Athletic Department, starting in 1999, before consolidating into one site.