The Cozy Skein's first home was a 12-by-12-foot booth. Jess Kucel's knitting and crochet group called it the "Cozy Couch," and it got crowded. "We packed so much yarn in that little 12' X 12' booth, and we couldn't fit more people," she told News of Orange. "We were on the floor. We were bringing chairs in from everywhere else, just piling in."
That booth was inside Sweet Grace Market at 137 W. Clay St. The yarn shop is now moving into a building of its own just down the block. It isn't the only business to make that move this year. Three of the newest shops in downtown Mebane started inside that one multi-vendor boutique. Each one waited until it had more customers than room, then moved only a short walk away.
The Building Behind the Newer Shops
Diana Parker, owner of Majestic Home & Outdoor Décor, and Celeste Parker, owner of Cocoa & Parker, opened Sweet Grace Market in May 2020, right as the pandemic began. In 2021 they took over Melville Trading Co., whose owners were retiring after about 12 years in business. They describe the shop as a multi-vendor specialty boutique with "selectively curated booths" of gifts, home décor and repurposed antique furniture. The market's website lists hours of Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The setup works well for small businesses. A booth or a single shelf lets a new seller find out whether downtown customers want what they sell, and the seller doesn't have to sign a lease on a whole storefront, buy fixtures or staff the floor alone. Nobody calls Sweet Grace an incubator. Still, three businesses have followed the same path out of it, and this year's local business news has followed them one at a time.
Three Shops, Three Ways Out
Each owner left the booth in a different way.
| Shop | Where it started | Where it is now | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Elements | A booth at Sweet Grace | 132 W. Clay St. | Open since April 1 |
| The Cozy Skein Yarn and Fiber Shop | A 12-by-12 booth at Sweet Grace, opened April 2025 | 105 W. Clay St. | Being renovated, with Saturday pop-ups |
| No Bad Books | A shelf on the wall at Sweet Grace | Inside Solgarden, 115 N. Fourth St. | Open, sharing space |
Earth Elements belongs to Lisa Allen. She started selling rocks, minerals and crystals from a booth at the co-op about seven years ago and opened her own shop at 132 W. Clay St. on April 1. She told News of Orange she had looked at spaces as far away as Hillsborough. "What I wanted more than anything was to be downtown though," she said. When she heard the Clay Street space was coming open, "I pounced on it." The bigger shop has room for rocks, minerals, fossils, jewelry, clothing and bags, plus inventory she used to keep in storage because the booth was too small to show it.
The Cozy Skein grew faster. Jess and Jeff Kucel opened in April 2025. Jeff said the first year "surpassed our wildest dreams." When the booth next to theirs came open, they took that space too, and they still needed more. Their new home at 105 W. Clay St. is a two-story building that used to house Paul Walker's DeLuxe Barber Shop. The couple is redoing the inside and giving the outside a facelift. The plans include a bigger area where people can sit and stitch together, embroidery supplies, a wider range of hooks, needles and books, and possibly staff.
No Bad Books started even smaller. "It was just a little shelf on the wall," owner Collier told News of Orange. She meant it as "a fun little side thing," but within a few months the shelf couldn't hold the books people were asking for. She decided against a storefront of her own. She went into business with Kelli Potter, who owns Solgarden at the corner of Clay and Fourth streets and has run it by herself for 11 years. That arrangement let No Bad Books grow without a small-business loan or thousands of dollars spent on shelves and fixtures. "I'm not in a rush to have an entire building to myself," Collier said.
Why the Moves Are So Short
The addresses tell most of the story. Earth Elements sits across the street from Sweet Grace. The Cozy Skein is moving down the same block. No Bad Books is around the corner on Fourth Street. None of the three left downtown to grow.
Allen told News of Orange that sales at the new shop have been climbing steadily as regular customers make "the short trip across the street" from her old booth. A short move lets a shop keep its regulars. When a business has spent a year or more building a following in one building, moving to a storefront a few doors away keeps it close to the people who already shop there.
The model also works for owners who aren't ready for a building of their own. Collier talked to Potter about selling books at Solgarden before she ever set up at Sweet Grace. She chose the shelf at first because it "kept her expenses very low," and she came back to the Solgarden idea once the books needed more room. Sharing a store with someone who is "here all the time" gives her more flexibility in running the bookstore, and she doesn't have to hire staff. The market gave Collier and the others a smaller, safer first step.
The bookstore also covers a gap. Fifth Street Books, a big used-book store on U.S. 70, has closed. McKays, a used-book store on I-40/85 near Mebane Oaks Road, is much larger and sells far more than books. Collier's stock leans toward contemporary fiction, romance and fantasy. Her children's section focuses on books that include kids with disabilities and other differences. She and Potter are also working out how to host author events and signings.
Where the Yarn Shop Stands Right Now
The Cozy Skein's move is still underway. News of Orange reported in August that the owners hoped to open at 105 W. Clay St. in October. The City of Mebane's "Mebane Scoop" blog, published August 31, said the plan was to be fully open by the holiday season. It described the new space as a future home for Sip & Stitch evenings, classes and workshops.
For now, the shop's website says the new location is under renovation and has "NO SHOP HOURS." The shop holds pop-ups on Saturdays and posts updates on Facebook and Instagram. The next event on its calendar is October 9, "A Night in Stars Hollow," a Gilmore Girls themed evening. Classes currently meet at Everyday Goddess on the second and fourth Fridays. Students range from a nine-year-old who knits hats on tiny double-pointed needles to a knitter in her 80s.
Newcomers Who Skipped the Booth
Not every new downtown business started at Sweet Grace, and the ones that didn't show how much harder the direct route can be. Maria Jessica Sanchez-Browning opened Taste of Filipino at 110 N. Fourth St. this summer. It's a small market with Filipino groceries, frozen foods, condiments, locally baked items, and a menu of Saturday specials made by local food vendors. New menus go up every Monday. She told News of Orange that getting there meant "finding the right location, completing permits and inspections, preparing inventory, and overcoming unexpected delays." A booth tenant handles much less of that list before deciding whether to take on a building.
One storefront on Clay Street is still waiting to open. Fratelli Italian Kitchen has announced plans for 119 W. Clay St., the former Crafted space. In August, News of Orange reported a hoped-for opening in early September. We couldn't confirm an opening date before publication, so check the restaurant's own channels before you plan dinner there.
Fall Dates on the Same Few Blocks
AutumnFest was on October 3. Here's what's still ahead downtown this fall:
- October 9: "A Night in Stars Hollow" with The Cozy Skein
- October 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Downtown Mebane Halloween Spooktacular, with costume contests, downtown trick-or-treating, music, performers, food trucks and vendors
- Saturdays through November, 8:30 a.m. to noon: Downtown Mebane Farmers Market at 102 E. Ruffin St.
- Friday, December 4, 7 p.m.: The 47th Annual Mebane Christmas Parade, starting at Second and Clay streets and ending at Mebane Community Park
The parade starts at Second and Clay, and the shops in this story are all on Clay or around the corner on Fourth.
Our family has watched these Clay Street storefronts fill in, and we enjoy helping neighbors figure out what it would look like to live within walking distance of them, or to sell a home near downtown Mebane. If you're thinking about either one, Headen Homes would be glad to talk it through with you, no pressure. Let's Take the Next Step.
