Salvation Army moves to River Village; Queen City Homestore works on Morganton return

For almost a year, the Salvation Army Thrift Store has been homeless in Morganton. Now, it’s preparing to open a new location in River Village the first week of July.

The thrift store will open at 307 Sanford Drive in the former Queen City Homestore building, said Andrea Beatty, corps director of development for Salvation Army’s North and South Carolina Division.

Beatty noted that the landlord did a “wonderful job” at clearing up the facility after Hurricane Helene. The Salvation Army plans to spruce up the floor and knock down one wall to open up the space more before opening.

The Salvation Army lost its lease at 412 W. Fleming Drive Suite A in Tannery Square, closing its doors last July. The ABC Store has since moved into that location.

Beatty said the team has the keys for the new location and will begin the move-in process in early June. In July, the Salvation Army plans to hold a ribbon cutting with the Burke County Chamber of Commerce.

QUEEN CITY HOMESTORE

Queen City Homestore closed its Morganton location in September after Hurricane Helene swept through, flooding the building.

While customers could make purchases through the online store, CEO Roddey Player Sr. said that he is eager to get a physical location back up and running in Morganton. In the last six months, the company has added furniture in addition to appliances. The expanded offerings require a larger location.

The search for a 20,000-square-foot building has been a priority for Player and he said the company has been looking at a few different locations and should know more in the next couple of weeks.

Player said the company has kept its Morganton employees by temporarily reassigning them to other locations. Those employees, he said, are ready to get back to Morganton as well.