Simple Treasures expands to E-Town

ELIZABETHTOWN – Randy and Patricia Johnson make a great retail entrepreneurial team in two of the most important ways you could possess.

They both know what they like and they know what other people can’t live without. Adding a third factor into that equation is good quality retail goods at an affordable price.

“They call me Patty,” she said with a welcoming smile. “The store was opened in 2019 kind of on a whim. Me and my friend, Sharon Jessup had a bunch of stuff for a yard sale.”

The one-time yard sale drew so many people and the friends were so successful that they kept it going for a few months.

“Then people started coming in and asking, ‘well… can you get this?’” she said. “We were looking at each other thinking, this is our stuff that we’re just selling. So we go to looking on the internet and found where you could buy pallets of liquidation items. There was a warehouse that you go to – to buy the pallets from.”

There were a lot of pallets in the warehouse and you could go in and have your choice as to which pallet(s) you would like to choose from. And very quickly, their foundation was being laid for their retail liquidation and overstock. They discovered after a while that some pallets were good, and some were not so good. Patricia being the perfectionist that she is was not happy with the “not so good,” and things were about to take another turn in their road.

“I did a lot of driving,” Randy Johnson said. “Since you had to pick up the pallets yourself.”

“We got to thinking,” she said. “If that place can get truckloads, why can’t we get the truckloads? After researching we found where and how we could buy in bulk by the truckload. And now, we go through every item to make sure it’s good. We test it and check it.”

Simple Treasures opened their shop at a more rural setting and Simple Treasures one was opened at 10,000 NC-41E in Harrells, North Carolina. Five years later, they have expanded to the quaint downtown area of Elizabethtown at 168 S. Poplar Street. Both are similar, but each has a unique retail flavor pallet to it.

Although Patricia is a general overseer for both stores, the new store which had its grand opening and ribbon cutting Sept. 6 will be run by her daughter, Hannah Butler. Butler said that it has been an awesome experience being in business with her parents.

“We’ve had family businesses my whole life,” she said. “It’s awesome. I’ve had some of my friends who aren’t as fortunate as I am to have the family I have. Also, I have friends who are very supportive of our businesses and me.”

Another business that the family runs is called “A Touch of Country,” which is a wedding and special events venue: atouchofcountryvenue.com The brick-and-mortar actual address for the event center is located at 9700 NC Hwy 41E in Harrells, North Carolina.

“We have an outdoor chapel on our site,” Randy Johnson said. “Plus, we have a gazebo and a big facility and so we stay pretty busy. It’s a venue where, if you want to cook your own hog, you can do that and if you want it specially decorated, you can do that too. Whatever you want done, we can accommodate.”

The family built this venue, and although they don’t have a person designated as a wedding planner, they are there to facilitate wedding planners and people looking at finding a site. They have several packages that they offer.

“We built that venue to help people that want to have a wedding, but don’t have a lot of money,” she said. “We are kind of in the middle of the price range. And we can do as much as you like or you can just rent the venue from us and do your own thing.”

The couple, at middle age have kept themselves quite busy with running a farm, raising two children, Hannah Butler and Ryan Johnson and running local businesses. In addition, they have a 32 acres grape orchard and raise grapes for Duplin winery.

In the most recent expansion, the Johnsons said that the first thing on the list was finding a location in a place where there are not a lot of properties available that would suit their needs.

“At one time we couldn’t find anything,” she said. “Hannah was coming through town one day and saw a sign in the window and told me that this was available to lease. Mr. Henry Cashwell who owned the building was willing to meet with me that same day.”

They originally found the store in June and were open by July fourth weekend. There is no moss growing under those rolling stones.

“We kind of let people know we were here, but I wanted to do a grand opening,” she said.

Butler said that the main way of communication has been through the business’ Facebook page.

“Everything we get in on our truckloads, you can find it all on our Facebook page,” Butler said. “We also have a webpage at simpletreasuresliquidators.com”

The Johnsons have been in North Carolina all of their lives, Patty being born in Bladen County and Randy was born in Wilmington.

“We love it here in this area,” he said. “All my family is from down here, so I am back home here. And do you know what? This ain’t a job, this is something we love doing. We love seeing and dealing with people. That’s one of the reasons we started the wedding venue and the store. We’ve met a lot of great people through the years.”

A family that has a genuine servant’s heart has reached out in the true spirit of North Carolina friendly and they say that they were born with it. The store and the businesses are sometimes more philanthropy than a “for-profit” entity. There are many stories within southeastern North Carolina about the graciousness, the kindness and the willing to give and share with others what they have been blessed with. They have given possessions, retail, money and above all, their time.

“The Lord has blessed us in every which way we can ask,” he said. “We keep striding forward, and without Him we wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere.”

Simple Treasures can be found in Harrells with manager Sharon Jessup (910-588-4712) and Elizabethtown with manager Hannah Butler (910-885-8364). You can also find them on Facebook by visiting: https://www.facebook.com/SimpleTreasures19/

According to their website:

“At Simple Treasures Liquidation Store we truly love what we do. Our philosophy is simple. Make bargain hunters happy by offering quality products and great prices. Whether you shop online or swing by our store, you’ll always find a friendly face and helpful staff. Everyone loves a deal, especially when the products are great. We simply make it easier for bargain hunters to find the deals at one location or online. We have new products arriving regularly so check back often to see what’s new. If you’re in the area, we’d love to meet you!”