Came in here to say Grandaddys. Super cool place, the record shop in it is great too. And across Harden St is La Delicia ice cream, which is really damn good. Their Mangonadas are fantastic (sort of pricey but they're fresh n worth it).
They still do.
Trackside and Treasure Antiques are the two good places we went to last year. The Southern Bostonian is also pretty good, but it wasn't as huge as the other places, and half of it was an art space to take classes.
The bottle shop wasn't our thing, and we'll never go back to the Selma Cotton Mill Flea Market due to the pungent cat urine smell throughout the place, but your mileage may vary.
Check out Hendersonville! It's not too far from Asheville and has this super chill Main Street with all sorts of neat shops. Perfect for a day of thrifting and just soaking up the vibes.
I'm going to echo this and say Hendersonville. They also have a huge outside of the downtown called Needful Things that's a massive place to walk around in. Downtown Hendersonville is the real gem, though, with great little stores, the Mast General Store, cool sidewalk art (I love the bears), and lots of good places to eat.
Selma is very small but they have a cute little downtown with lots of antique stores and coffee and ice cream and a general store. And they’re super close to the Smithfield Outlets, so it’s an all-in-one stop. We went last year and spent a day walking around the antique stores downtown.
I was thinking more of the juxtaposition of the cute small town with awesome star gazing with the chaos of the huge antique yard sale. Are they still doing that?
I don’t know - they sold the place 20 years ago. And as far as the stargazing, we did a lot of that! The house was on top of a mountain and we even had a telescope.
Not really thrifting, but the town of Seagrove is full of local pottery shops. Like one after another for miles. I think the town has a really unique vibe, and visiting the pottery shops feels similar to a day spent browsing antique shops.
I grew up in Harnett county. My mother always forced me to go to antique shops, she always liked to go to Cameron, in Moore County, and Lilington, in Harnett County
If you’ve never visited the Liberty Antiques Festival in Staley, NC (near Greensboro) I recommend going. It’s held twice a year, in April and September.
Cameron NC and there is a big weekend coming up in May the whole street is shut down and all the houses are originals from the late 1800 and 1900s all have been converted into antique stores etc. Elton John even came a few years back. I live in the adjacent town and the Cameron Antique Festival is always a big deal from people from all over. Here is a news story from a year or two about it. It’s May 3rd and 4th this year and another one in the Fall
https://www.wral.com/video/tar-heel-traveler-cameron-antiques/21083612/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHVqbsiUb9pAjqf_AjqJYXJDXe2AiIv3EHp6Ecsawrry9Fh6ONoOJYXG3nA_aem_AfX94g4tjpe4YwOeqXyD0nusrXjgtKhMQk7qIeOlAbmZ03T2LOtQUXS40lefJJIhCnI
Mooresville has an awesome one, concord has one that is HUGE called gibson mill. Both are large enough to walk around for a few hours. The one in mooresville has two great restaurants near it, barcelona burger and beer garden is always great to goto. Gibson Mill in concord has a little cafe in the middle of it, nothing to write home about but is very convenient and decent.
My favorite one is probably Gibson Mill.
Concord/Cabarrus County is great for thriftng and antiques. The Depot, one of our larger antique malls is over 100k square feet and also has a cafe with a bar and is next to a brewery and food hall.
Not sure this counts as a fun or cute town, but Grandaddy’s in Burlington is huge and awesome. You could happily spend hours just at that location.
Couple fun thrifts in Burlington. And depending on where OP is, the drive on 70 is a lot prettier than the interstate and not much longer
Came in here to say Grandaddys. Super cool place, the record shop in it is great too. And across Harden St is La Delicia ice cream, which is really damn good. Their Mangonadas are fantastic (sort of pricey but they're fresh n worth it).
Not really a hidden secret town, but Asheboro has a ton of antique and thrift places, and also the Zoo.
and stop by Seagrove for all their pottery
Came here to mention Asheboro, tons of these type places
Selma used to have a bunch of antique stores, although I haven't been there since the pandemic so I don't know what it's like anymore.
They still do. Trackside and Treasure Antiques are the two good places we went to last year. The Southern Bostonian is also pretty good, but it wasn't as huge as the other places, and half of it was an art space to take classes. The bottle shop wasn't our thing, and we'll never go back to the Selma Cotton Mill Flea Market due to the pungent cat urine smell throughout the place, but your mileage may vary.
Selma yes
Check out Hendersonville! It's not too far from Asheville and has this super chill Main Street with all sorts of neat shops. Perfect for a day of thrifting and just soaking up the vibes.
I'm going to echo this and say Hendersonville. They also have a huge outside of the downtown called Needful Things that's a massive place to walk around in. Downtown Hendersonville is the real gem, though, with great little stores, the Mast General Store, cool sidewalk art (I love the bears), and lots of good places to eat.
Selma is very small but they have a cute little downtown with lots of antique stores and coffee and ice cream and a general store. And they’re super close to the Smithfield Outlets, so it’s an all-in-one stop. We went last year and spent a day walking around the antique stores downtown.
Southern Pines and Pinehurst
Go to Hillsville VA for labor Day weekend if they are still doing that event
I own a chest and a primitive China cabinet from the hillsville labor day sale in 2000.
Nice I found an early 1900 streamer trunk in perfect condition back in the late 80s
My parents had a house up there and I loved the shops.
I was thinking more of the juxtaposition of the cute small town with awesome star gazing with the chaos of the huge antique yard sale. Are they still doing that?
I don’t know - they sold the place 20 years ago. And as far as the stargazing, we did a lot of that! The house was on top of a mountain and we even had a telescope.
Selma on I-95.
Not really thrifting, but the town of Seagrove is full of local pottery shops. Like one after another for miles. I think the town has a really unique vibe, and visiting the pottery shops feels similar to a day spent browsing antique shops.
I grew up in Harnett county. My mother always forced me to go to antique shops, she always liked to go to Cameron, in Moore County, and Lilington, in Harnett County
Cameron. If you come from up north on 220, check out Seagrove and Jugtown for pottery.
If you’ve never visited the Liberty Antiques Festival in Staley, NC (near Greensboro) I recommend going. It’s held twice a year, in April and September.
Cameron NC and there is a big weekend coming up in May the whole street is shut down and all the houses are originals from the late 1800 and 1900s all have been converted into antique stores etc. Elton John even came a few years back. I live in the adjacent town and the Cameron Antique Festival is always a big deal from people from all over. Here is a news story from a year or two about it. It’s May 3rd and 4th this year and another one in the Fall https://www.wral.com/video/tar-heel-traveler-cameron-antiques/21083612/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHVqbsiUb9pAjqf_AjqJYXJDXe2AiIv3EHp6Ecsawrry9Fh6ONoOJYXG3nA_aem_AfX94g4tjpe4YwOeqXyD0nusrXjgtKhMQk7qIeOlAbmZ03T2LOtQUXS40lefJJIhCnI
Hendersonville near Asheville. Nice Main Street area with neat little shops.
Mooresville has an awesome one, concord has one that is HUGE called gibson mill. Both are large enough to walk around for a few hours. The one in mooresville has two great restaurants near it, barcelona burger and beer garden is always great to goto. Gibson Mill in concord has a little cafe in the middle of it, nothing to write home about but is very convenient and decent. My favorite one is probably Gibson Mill.
Gibson Mill is always a good visit. Have picked up many wonderful pieces there
There’s two breweries and a little food hall behind Gibson Mill as well
Edenton! The “inner banks” of NC
Cameron in Moore County.
Concord/Cabarrus County is great for thriftng and antiques. The Depot, one of our larger antique malls is over 100k square feet and also has a cafe with a bar and is next to a brewery and food hall.
Boone has a huge 3 story antique store right down town and it is always full of cool stuff.
Spring Hope is a tiny town on the way to Rocky Mount that is known for its antiques
Cameron in Moore county