The reason that New Bern’s Historic Trolley Tour pauses in front of Mitchell Hardware is not so that tourists can pick up batteries for their cameras, though they would surely find some in stock. It’s to allow those on board to look along the sidewalk, where folks are sweeping, watering plants, and waving hello outside a general store that’s been part of the city’s landscape for 125 years.
Even considering the store’s history, hardware would seem to be an unlikely draw for visitors to one of North Carolina’s first capitals. Winnie Smith, who owns the business with her sister, Lindsay Sims, enjoys watching first-timers walk in off Craven Street with no idea what’s in store for them. “The first thing they say is, ‘We were told to come to the hardware store,’” Winnie says, chuckling over their confusion. “You can tell that it’s their first time because they immediately look up at those ceilings. They’re just in awe.”
Greg Smith was responsible for adding the gift items that customers have come to know and love. photograph by Baxter Miller
But it’s not just the antique tin ceiling tiles, the vintage case cabinets, or the worn wood floors that cause guests to linger. From floor to ceiling, Mitchell’s is filled with items both functional — like nails, oyster knives, and bulk seed dispensed from Mason jars — and just plain fun.
“We’re not just a hardware store,” Lindsay says of the eclectic inventory that includes local pottery, jellies, and barbecue sauces located a few aisles away from flashlights and water coolers. “It’s an experience that you want to remember. We want every time you come in here to be kind of a surprise.”
• • •
Mitchell’s was founded by Thomas J. Mitchell in 1898 as a livery stable that sold horses and harnesses, mules and wagons. The business later transitioned into a general hardware store and remained in the family for almost 90 years before Thomas Mitchell IV retired in 1987. Craven County residents Harold and Pat Talton bought the business and hired their nephew, Greg Smith — Lindsay and Winnie’s father — to run the store, which moved to a 1912 building across the street in 1988.
Over the next 30 years, Greg, who added gift items after he was hired, became so associated with the store that people mistakenly referred to him as “Mr. Mitchell.”
The late Greg Smith was a familiar face at Mitchell Hardware, and was often called “Mr. New Bern.” Photography courtesy of Mitchell Hardware
Lindsay and Winnie, whom customers called “the girls,” grew up at Mitchell’s, often arriving with their father before sunrise to help him sweep the sidewalk out front. When Greg unexpectedly died in 2018, his daughters let go of their newly launched careers to hang on to the business that he loved. “There was never a question that we were going to do it because it’s a part of us,” Winnie says. “It’s home. This is our favorite place to be.”
Like their father, “the girls,” now 32 and 34, are often seen outside the shop, gardening and greeting. Lindsay’s 6-year-old daughter, Savannah, has picked up on the tradition, waving to tourists and regulars, friends and neighbors. “In the spring, one of us is out there all the time, so that’s kind of what we’re known for,” Lindsay says. “My dad’s saying was, ‘See you on the sidewalk.’”
Mitchell Hardware
215 Craven Street
New Bern, NC 28560
(252) 638-4261
facebook.com/mitchellhardware
North Carolina is known for many things, but nothing more important this week than the qualities of endurance, resilience, and hope.
By day, this adventure park in the Triad is a fall festival to die for. By night, the undead come alive for Halloween tricks. Welcome to one man’s vision of year-round merrymaking.
North Carolina’s border dances across the mountains as it traces four different states. Life here can be more remote, but good neighbors are never far away.
The Blue Ridge Parkway stands out among America’s national parks: Unfurling across six Appalachian mountain chains, it connects dozens of rural communities and binds together generations of families through shared memories.
