The Parlor – taking you back to a simpler time

ELIZABETHTOWN – The rare and eclectic scent of floral and fresh tobacco wafts through The Parlor.

Sounds like it could be the beginning of a novel. It is, in fact one of the newest downtown shops located at 107 W. Broad Street in Elizabethtown. The building was secured by Erin Wall and Matt Rogers last October and after remodeling and building a quaintness to the shop, it has seen a steady flow of visitors and shoppers.

Wall was part of the last graduating class at Tar Heel High School and grew up in Dublin

They have yet to experience the tourist season in full swing, and the couple are expecting to get very busy. In addition to starting a business, farming and Real Estate, they add one more thing to their plate as they are engaged and looking down the road toward planning a wedding.

When asked when, Rogers said, “Who knows. When you’re starting up a business and trying to get everything going, you just kind of realize that time is going quickly, and we need to come back to that on a later date.”

The couple are homegrown and have lived in Bladen County all of their lives. Wall was part of the last graduating class at Tar Heel High School and grew up in Dublin. Rogers grew up in Bladenboro.

Little did they know, growing up that they would be business owners downtown Elizabethtown.

“I always thought that the outside of the building was really cool,” Wall said. “I have also been interested in flowers. So, for probably two years, I reached out to Jane (Skipper Priest) who owned the antique store.”

Wall inquired as to the future plans for Priest and the building since the business wasn’t open all the time and it seemed a shame to let a good building stay closed. After a short time, Priest approached her and said that she would be willing to let The Parlor become a reality in her building.

“It came at a time when I was working for a nonprofit and they had gotten rid of the position that I was currently in,” she said. “She said that I could rent it and put whatever I wanted in it, and that she was willing to move out. And that’s how it happened.”

Wall admits that she was scared, but Rogers told her to take the leap of faith and do it.

“We moved in – October of last year,” she said. “For me the fear was finances – but Matt’s a risk taker and I am not. It was like, ‘if you’re going to do it, this is your chance.’”

“I told her that if you don’t do it now, you won’t ever do it,” Rogers said. “You’ll never get a home run unless you get up to the plate and swing.”

His motivational coaching paid off as the couple are at home in their parlor – at The Parlor.

The Elizabethtown – White Lake Chamber of Commerce is making plans to have a ribbon cutting ceremony and an official welcome to the business community. That time is still yet to be determined.

The shop is a full of everything eclectic. From old bubble gum cigars reminiscent of the early 1900s to brand-new adult cigars on the cigar bar. Being a florist has been a great new find for those in Bladen County as Wall puts together spectacular bouquets along with live potted plants. There is an “all Carolina” flavor with hand crocheted goods to soaps and candles and even a pet section where you can find a nice array of dog toys.

“The flavored popcorn comes from Midtown Pop in Wilmington, there are handmade soaps, seasonings, microwaveable pork rinds, a clothing line and handmade crocheted products which are all North Carolina products,” she said.

From now until April 20, you will see the entire store decked out in rabbits and pastels as Easter is approaching. It’s definitely a store that evolves daily and you will never be able to take in that sensory overload in just one trip.

“It’s really a mixture of things I love and I’m interested in; things that Matt is interested in,” she said. “My mom and my sisters brought some of the items in the shop. Y’all have a full florist… that’s my love. Originally, I was just going to open a florist shop, but I didn’t know if just a florist aspect could carry us.”

Wall was trained by an Elizabethtown florist seven years ago and presently, she is busy putting that on-the-job training to good use as the floral business has been good.

“I’ve always been very artistic and craftsy,” she said. “So, it just comes kind of easy I guess. I am kind of more of a ‘boutique florist.’ I did have one guy call me and say, ‘please tell me you have flowers and can you please deliver them because you will keep me out of the doghouse. I think I delivered them by 6 p.m. that night.”

As for Rogers, he is an old soul who chooses to smoke a pipe and he came up with some ideas for his tobacco bar. Tobacco, according to tobaccoroad.web.unc.edu “Tobacco Road is the nickname given to the Durham-Chapel Hill area of the North Carolina Piedmont for its substantial role in the marketing and sale of tobacco crops from all over the state for decades during the 20th century.”

The ever-talented Wall even created a framed tobacco leaf artistic piece for behind Roger’s bar. As you travel down main street you will see the sign that proclaims “The Parlor – Florist, Tobacconist & gifts.”

According to Rogers who is licensed now as a tobacconist, he said, “It’s pretty much you have to go through the state and tell them what your intent is and what type of product that you are wanting to sell. I didn’t want to be like the normal corner shop that has vape products and cigarettes. I wanted to be more of an upscale place where you could come in and buy a cigar or a pipe to enjoy for more relaxation purposes. I think this fits in with the whole theme of the store with the eclectic look.”

It’s not only eclectic, it’s classy and brings you back to the parlor of the ‘40s with cigars, comfy parlor furniture and the smell of fresh cut flowers. And of course, the tobacco bar minus the southern bourbon is a show piece and was a part of the store when the couple moved in.

“It’s very seldom that you see somebody else other than myself smoking a pipe nowadays,” Rogers said. “If you want to take that chance like we did in the store, then come by and I’d be glad to show you how to pack a pipe up and enjoy a great American pastime as I like to call it.”

While pipe smoking is less common than it once was, it still exists as a niche hobby, with some pipe smokers enjoying it in their cars, on porches or in communal settings.

In addition to his work at The Parlor, Rogers said that he is a self-employed farmer in Bladen County. He is a livestock farmer who raises broiling chickens for Mountaire. Currently they are raising 250 thousand birds.

There are some precious items in the store, not for sale. Like the “daisy picture” that belonged to Wall’s grandparents and hangs above her bouquet creation station.

“The name, The Parlor, the furniture that is in here was in my grandmother’s parlor,” she said. “The couch, the chair, the organ and the crocheted quilt that hangs over the couch that my grandmother made. My whole life it’s been on the back of this couch.”

She is surrounded with memories of a childhood that she adored and even to this day still lives in a home that her grandfather built in 1948.

“This shop is kind of our hobby,” Wall said. “Obviously when he has chickens at the farm, we have to be there, but when we do get a break, we go to ‘Somewhere in Time’ in Lumberton. We love to go to antique stores and thrift shops. That’s where Matt picks up a lot of his things for the shop, although he is also big in online auctions.”

A walk into The Parlor really is a step back in time and remembering when things were a little less cluttered in the world. A time when things didn’t move as fast and people worked hard, played hard and found time to relax in their moments.

“I have always been a resident of Bladen County,” Rogers said. “I couldn’t ask for no better place to live. I definitely couldn’t ask for no better place to carry on a local business and service to locals and visitors alike. We want you to be welcome here. And we want you to come back.”

(More photos can be found on the Bladen Journal Facebook page from March 16)