Auto parts store opening, mall store closing
May 30—A new locally owned car parts business is opening on Memorial Day while Decatur Mall is losing a retail store in July.
The owners said Carquest Auto Parts is opening Monday in the former Rite Aid building on Danville Road Southwest. Bed, Bath and Beyond posted banners last week promoting its closing sale.
A spokeswoman for Bed, Bath and Beyond said Friday that the store will likely close in the last week of July. She said the final closing date hasn't been set.
Carquest Managing Partner Willie Maynes said Friday that he and his fellow co-owners, Josh Poss and Jesse Harrison, were working together at NAPA Auto Parts in Madison when they decided to open their own store.
Poss, a Decatur native, said the trio has a combined 43 years of experience working at car parts stores in the area. The new store will start with six employees. Maynes is from New Hope and Harrison is from Hartselle.
They said they were excited when they found the former Rite Aid building, especially because it didn't need a lot of improvements. They didn't have to do any construction that required a building permit from the city, which issued a certificate of occupancy last week.
"We were very fortunate we really only had to paint and do the floors," Maynes said. "And then I pressure-washed everything outside."
On Friday, a large group of people was filling up the shelves with inventory in preparation, and Poss said they made so much progress in the past week that they're confident they can be open on Memorial Day.
Crystal Brown, vice president of retail and residential development for the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, said it's great to have the three local businessmen willing to reinvest in the city.
"It shows they believe in the local economy," Brown said. "Obviously, everyone realizes the local economy is booming and they want to take advantage of this so they can be successful, too."
Brown said the loss of Bed, Bath and Beyond isn't a bad reflection on Decatur because the company is having problems nationwide.
"I think they struggling in other cities like J.C. Penney's and Sears," Brown said.
The company's revenues have been falling for several years, although it is in the midst of a restructuring, according to corporate documents. In July, it announced plans to close 200 stores over two years.
Brown said Bed, Bath and Beyond is moving toward an online model as it faces stiff competition in the home goods market.
"People got accustomed to shopping online pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, so this is their way of staying competitive," Brown said.
— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.
