
DATE: Friday, September 12, 1997            TAG: 9709100214

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  118 lines

CROSSING THE BORDER NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS KEEP THE REGISTERS RINGING IN CHESAPEAKE.

ONCE A MONTH or so, Molly Royals and a few of her sisters pile into a mini-van and head for Greenbrier Mall for a day of shopping.

For Royals and her sisters, the drive to the mall is a bit further and definitely more time consuming than it is for most other shoppers. That's because Royals and her clan begin their trek in their hometown of Mann's Harbor, N.C., a small fishing village near Manteo.

The trip is a day of fun for the women. But for Chesapeake stores, it's a sale.

Mollie and her partners in shopping aren't the only ones making the commute from North Carolina to area stores. According to local merchants, our residents to the south are dropping dollars, lots of dollars, across Chesapeake.

Although the city does not keep records on revenue generated from out-of-state shoppers, area merchants believe the bottom line is significant.

According to Ivan Scott, manager of Kay Jewelers in Greenbrier Mall, North Carolina residents account for more than 20 percent of his overall client base. Connie Todd, owner of Connie's Kids, an infant and children's clothing store, said a quarter of her merchandise is sold to Carolina shoppers.

``They are really good customers too,'' Todd said. ``You can count on them to come back over and over again. They aren't just one-time shoppers.''

Merchants said the majority of Carolina shoppers come from Moyock, Nags Head and the Elizabeth City area. While the Outer Banks is home to numerous outlet stores and boutiques, the tourist area does not have an indoor shopping mall. And Elizabeth City's indoor shopping mall, Southgate Mall, offers only 35 stores. By comparison, Greenbrier Mall is home to some 120 shops.

Some of the Carolina shoppers, like Royals, are retired folks looking for bargains. Others are commuters.

``I think a lot of them work in Chesapeake but live in North Carolina,'' Scott said.

According to the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, approximately 1,500 people commute everyday from North Carolina to work in Chesapeake. Merchants believe many of these commuters are shopping on their lunch hours and after work before hitting the roads home.

Susan Brown, assistant manager of Taste Unlimited in Great Bridge, believes North Carolinians are spending their discretionary income in Chesapeake because city businesses offer products they might not ordinarily find in their small home towns.

``One of our customers comes up fairly regularly from Elizabeth City to buy a special jerk seasoning we sell,'' Brown said. Others, according to the assistant store manager, shop at the gourmet food store for hard-to-find cheeses or wines.

But for Royals, the trip to Chesapeake is based partly on economics.

``It's cheaper for us in Chesapeake,'' she said. ``Beach prices are always a little higher than anywhere else.''

Competitive prices aren't the only lure for out-of-state shoppers. City merchants also are capitalizing on other Chesapeake draws, such as the hospital and medical community.

``All of our doctors are in Chesapeake,'' Royals said. ``When we come up to see them, we'll turn it into a shopping trip, too.''

Scott said that new retail development, such as the Greenbrier MarketCenter, has attracted Carolina shoppers to the area as well.

In order to foster the relationship with out-of-state shoppers, some merchants go the extra mile to please their customers.

Scott, for instance, tries to fill customer orders the same day so that shoppers do not have to make an extra trip up.

Todd gives her out-of-state shoppers her 800 number so that they may call in special orders or quiz her about current inventory.

Kirby's Office and School Supply store in Great Bridge keeps its doors open after hours for North Carolina teachers. The teachers seek out Kirby's for its extensive inventory of school supplies and classroom decorations.

The extra effort seems to be paying off. Dolores Kirby, co-owner of the store, said her store attracts numerous North Carolina teachers even though she does not advertise out of state.

``It's all by word of mouth,'' she said.

The reason merchants are eager to please out-of-town shoppers is obvious, Scott said.

``North Carolinians are coming here to make a purchase,'' he said. ``Would you drive 2 1/2 hours just to walk around and window shop?''

While Royals admits to occasionally venturing into Norfolk or Virginia Beach to spend her discretionary dollars, most of her bargain hunting takes place in Chesapeake. And the reason for that, she said, is convenience.

``We used to go to Military Circle a lot,'' Royals said. ``But the roads are so confusing there that we tend to avoid it.''

Chesapeake merchants believe the convenience that draws Royals and other shoppers is being threatened by the city's ever increasing traffic.

If in the future, Carolina commuters find trips to Great Bridge and Greenbrier too cumbersome, other regions of the city could still prosper.

``If they (shoppers) decide it's too congested in Greenbrier, they will just go to Chesapeake Square Mall by way of Route 17 and I-664,'' Scott said.

And that, said Scott, is not an acceptable solution for his store or the city.

``If we're going to be a major marketplace, we have to make the area accessible,'' he said. ``As long as the city stays ahead of the traffic, I'm not worried.''

What does worry Scott and other area merchants though, is competition.

``I hope they never build a mall at the Outer Banks,'' Scott said with a laugh. ILLUSTRATION: Photos including color cover by GARY KNAPP

Mollie Royals, left, inspects her bag while her sisters, Lilliam

Pain, Millie West, Ruth Creef and Lucinda Baum, standing, take a

break in their shopping excursion.

Myrkie Stevens, left, and her sister, Ruth Creef, shop at a

bookstore in Greenbrier Mall. There are no such malls on the Outer

Banks and only a much smaller one in Elizabeth City.

Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN

About once a month, sisters Ruth Creef, left, Lillian Bayne, Mollie

Royals, Millie West, Myrkie Stevens and Lucinda Baum gather from

parts of North Carolina and Hampton Roads to shop in Chesapeake.