Tar Heel Travels Right: A half-million people a year shop at the Hickory Furniture Mart Hickory Most visitors come here to buy furniture but many stay for the fun of it By Bill F. Hensley

North Carolina’s top travel attractions are a highway, a house, a casino, a mountain and . . .  a shopping mart. As almost everyone knows, the highway is the famed Blue Ridge Parkway, the house (Biltmore) has 250 rooms and was built by George Vanderbilt, the casino (Cherokee) is on an a popular Indian reservation, and the mountain (Grandfather) has a mile-high swinging bridge and an animal habitat.

The shopping mart? That would be the Hickory Furniture Mart, where a half-million people a year go in search of furniture. And while the visitors are there they enjoy the many things to see and do in the picturesque foothills that straddle I-40 and Highway 70, the state’s main east-west thoroughfares.

In the million-square-foot home furnishings complex — it covers 20 acres — prospective buyers find more than a hundred factory outlets, stores and galleries in professionally decorated showrooms, plus a shipping service, visitor center, museum, restaurant, coffee shop and a motel, making it one-stop shopping at its best. The mart offers more than a thousand lines, representing the top furniture manufacturers.

In the rare instance when buyers can’t find what they are looking for, they can take Highway 321 north to Lenoir through the area known as “20 miles of furniture,” where there are another 60 stores that represent more than 600 lines. As the old-timers like to say, “ If you can’t find the furniture you want in the Hickory area, maybe you didn’t need it in the first place.”

Linda Kennedy of Sun Valley, Idaho, was a recent visitor who was looking for a pair of plush leather chairs for her mountain retreat. “I found exactly what I wanted at half the price they were asking in Sun Valley,” she says. “And I still saved money after shipping them home. That’s quite a place.”

Nearly 60 percent of the nation’s furniture is made within a 200-mile radius, which makes a large retail facility a natural. Unfortunately, tours of furniture and textile plants have been discontinued for liability reasons. A third industry — fiber optics — has helped make Hickory a highly diversified industrial center as well as a desirable place to live.

But shopping doesn’t stop with furniture in this lively, historic area that is located in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Antique lovers will find more than a dozen fine stores and a like number of boutiques that feature arts, crafts and collectibles.

If shopping isn’t your bag, visit the Hickory Museum of Art, the Catawba Science Center, or the Firefighters Museum; take in a stock-car race at the local speedway or, in summer, see the Crawdads, a minor-league baseball team, in action. Popular NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett, a native, has a retail shop and museum on Highway 70.

There are a number of historic sites to be seen, including the Bunker Hill covered bridge, Murray’s Mill and Old St. Paul’s Church, all a vital part of the local heritage. In addition, the Hickory Landmarks Society proudly displays Maple Grove and the Propst House, two classic old homes that are closely linked to the city’s colorful past.

There are approximately 2,000 rooms in chain hotels and a half-dozen B&Bs, a wide variety of fine restaurants, and meeting space to take good care of the city’s many visitors throughout the year. Lenoir-Rhyne College offers a full schedule of cultural and athletic events that blend well with the city’s many festivals, shows and fairs that welcome outsiders.

Visitors came from near and far in late September to Rock Barn Golf & Spa owned by local business executive Don Beaver that hosted a PGA Champions Tour event.

“The tournament was a fun event,” offers club president John Hemmings, “and it gave us an opportunity to put our unique club on display for the world to see. Our new spa had just opened, and it was a hit with the players as well as the fans.”

The spa is a 20,000-square foot state-of-the art facility that offers a variety of therapeutic services. There are two spacious clubhouses in the complex with restaurants and large meeting rooms available. The club also offers swimming, tennis, fishing ponds and equestrian activities.

“We are an attractive small town with a lot of big city amenities,” says Millie Barbee, director of the Hickory Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau. “In addition to the many individuals who come here, we are a popular site for meetings and conventions because of our fine facilities and the many things that visitors can see, do and enjoy.”

With a population of 37,222 (156,500 in Catawba County), Hickory’s growth in the past decade has been steady. “I see us continuing to grow,” says Barbee, “because we have all the essentials for success. Our people, beautiful location, diverse industries, and many fine-living assets make us a place that people want to be a part of.” For more information, contact the Hickory Metro CVB at 800-509-2444 or the Hickory Furniture Mart at 800-462-MART.

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