When Alan Holcomb closed his Mecklenburg Lumber yard, he needed to put the site to some other use. A flea market turned out to be the answer. “I had a lumber company with 70,000 square feet of space under roof, and I had to close it down,” he says. “I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I had to do something, so I said, ‘Let’s give it a shot.’ ”
He opened his doors for two weekends of a soft open, and then held his grand opening this past weekend. The Queen Bee Market, located at 10801 Nations Ford Road in Pineville, N.C., has 85 booth spaces, mostly 10×10, with some doubles and triples. For the grand opening, 40 vendors took up 60 of the spaces, and the bigger booths were pretty much filled up. The grand opening featured music and kiddie attractions. “I’ve got music and jumpy houses for the kids. On Saturday, there’s a DJ, and on Sunday, a live band,” says Holcomb. The market also featured give-aways and drawings for gift certificates.
Holcomb advertised in local newspapers and on Craigslist. He included a huge candy and clothing store in the center of the market, and barbecue outside the market. It will be open Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, call the Queen Bee Market at (704) 572-0869.