Jones: They hope to revive plaza on Fayetteville’s Murchison Road

Rakeem “Keem” Jones
·3 min read
John David Rose, owner of the Murchison Marketplace and J.R. Furniture, believes when Walmart left the area, a void was left. He hopes activity at the site, including a Food Truck Park will help revitalized the area.
John David Rose, owner of the Murchison Marketplace and J.R. Furniture, believes when Walmart left the area, a void was left. He hopes activity at the site, including a Food Truck Park will help revitalized the area.

Members of the Murchison Choice project recently held a community meeting in the student center of Fayetteville State University. During the meeting, plans were displayed that depicted a Murchison Road of the future.

The area included a makeover of the Murchison Townhomes and revitalization of the Murchison Marketplace. The Murchison Marketplace, located at 3421 Murchison Road, has been the site of Winn Dixie, Revco, Central Park, Subway and a WalMart Neighborhood Market.

More: How a food truck park on Murchison Road helps address a need along the corridor

John David Rose, owner of the Murchison Marketplace and J.R. Furniture, believes when Walmart left the area, a void was left. There is no grocery store, pharmacy or bank.

Rakeem Jones
Rakeem Jones

The 42-year-old father of three was raised just minutes from the Murchison Marketplace, in the Country Club Drive area of Fayetteville. Rose has been in the furniture business since birth. His family owned a successful furniture store. After learning the business, he opened his own store in 2014. The store was located in a 15-by-30-foot booth inside the Bragg Boulevard Flea Market.

More: As Murchison Road neighborhood asks for supermarket, what's next for former Walmart?

Destined for growth, J.R. Furniture was relocated to the 6000-square-foot Clinton Road location. Through adversity, greatness is birthed.

After flooding due to a hurricane, Rose began offering his signature three-room special to help victims who lost their possessions. However, he understood the impact of location and needed more space.

More: Rakeem Jones: Fayetteville ‘You, Me, and Us’ garden is outreach to residents along Murchison Road

In 2018, he opened up the Murchison Road location that boasts 20,000 square feet of showroom space. He opened another location on Reilly Road in 2020. Outside of J.R. Furniture, John owns commercial property, including six parcels of the Murchison Marketplace.

Tonya McNeill owns The Salad Box and NZone Social Venue. She also operates the Food Truck Park on the Murchison Marketplace property.
Tonya McNeill owns The Salad Box and NZone Social Venue. She also operates the Food Truck Park on the Murchison Marketplace property.

One of those parcels is The Salad Box, owned by Tonya McNeill.

McNeill is also the owner of NZone Social Venue and operates the Food Truck Park on the Murchison Marketplace property. NZone is the home of Busta Brown’s Food Truck Warz. It only made sense for the Food Truck Park to play host to a BBQ Cook Off, scheduled for Aug. 21, to expand the impact of local entrepreneurs like Bruce “Boo” Yeomans, owner of the Noth'n Fancy food truck.

John Rose hopes to convert the Murchison Marketplace into a social hub where citizens can shop and visit with friends. In addition, he wants the area to serve as a catalyst for change in the Murchison Road corridor — change that includes more housing.

Rose Burgess prepares some footlong hot dogs Tuesday, March 12, 2002, at Vick's Drive-In. The footlong dogs were considered a specialty of Vick's, which was located off Murchison Road in Fayetteville, NC and closed in 2014.
Rose Burgess prepares some footlong hot dogs Tuesday, March 12, 2002, at Vick's Drive-In. The footlong dogs were considered a specialty of Vick's, which was located off Murchison Road in Fayetteville, NC and closed in 2014.

A celebration of Vick’s

On Sunday, the Murchison Marketplace will be the site of the 2nd Annual Sunday On The Square street art festival hosted by grassroots organization Cora’s Community Foundation and presented by CannaFay. This year’s theme is Remembering Vick’s. The event is scheduled for noon to 7 p.m.

Vick’s Drive-In was one of Fayetteville’s first privately owned businesses and a pillar in the community. The establishment closed in 2014.

Sunday On The Square will include performances by Static Boom Drumline, Dextorist Timmons and EBF’s 2x and OG Case. Along with the performances, there will be live art by Carlos Tolentino and Nathaniel Parrish, games, free food and a climbing wall.

Sunday On The Square is sponsored by the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Royal Stitches, Berean Talk, Sheva’s Scents, MCP Rentals, Hazel’s Eyes Photography, Maxtint Concepts, I Love Balloons and Weldon’s Smoking Hot Catering.

Vick’s Drive-in restaurant in Fayetteville on June 24, 1987.
Vick’s Drive-in restaurant in Fayetteville on June 24, 1987.

For more information, contact (910) 709-0826 or corascommunityfoundation@gmail.com.

Salute to every activist getting active. Peace. Happy Birthday to me.

Rakeem “Keem” Jones is a community advocate and father of three from the Shaw Road/Bonnie Doone area of Fayetteville. He can be reached at keemj45@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Jones: They hope to revive plaza on Fayetteville’s Murchison Road