Jun. 9—HENDERSON
Adjacent to its Raleigh Road location, the green-and-red lettering on the Supply Line Country Market's primary signage, along with the similarly-shaded and bucolic mural painted on the building's broadside facing the parking lot, helped make this place an iconic landmark for the last 33 years. The nostalgic nature of the goods, services, decor, and fellowship that were offered inside makes Supply Line's loyal customers feel like they've lost something greater than a grocery that opened in 1990.
Unknowing patrons have still been showing up to the front door in hopes of shopping, only to find that Supply Line is now closed for business and undergoing an online liquidation auction that ends on Tuesday.
Summarizing the reputation Supply Line carved out in Henderson, Councilwoman Sara Coffey said on Thursday, "A well-respected, loved piece of the community."
Owned by the husband-and-wife pair of Ralph and Ann Mayes, the store was known for its wood floors, wine, deli, meat market, gift shop, and down-home aura. It was a throwback to the bygone era of country and general stores and indirectly, a descendant of the former B.M. Newman's Grocery on Breckenridge Street that belonged to Ann's father.
Many of the store's collectible items available via the auction by A.B. Cole and Associates of Suffolk, Virginia were either acquired specifically for Supply Line's antiques market, or are Ann's family heirlooms. But there are some artifacts of local, historical significance, like the vintage butcher block table that survived the Newman Grocery fire of 1986 — and the large metal and wooden luggage carts that were once used in the Henderson train station.
"What we have here is a situation of a span of many decades of collectibles and equipment and inventory," said Barry Cole of A.B. Cole and Associates. "And the clientele I would say as a whole, they have been very disappointed in the fact that they're no longer going to have this very unique situation here. I think overall, mostly it's a sad day for a lot of folks that age and illness have caused this to happen."
Cole said Thursday more than 100,000 online visitors from all over the country have viewed the auction, noting a bidder from Louisiana that landed a rare corn stick pan for an estimated $125.
Other more practical and industrial items have been up for grabs since the auction started May 30. Drill in hand, Kerr Lake resident and New Jersey native Barbara Harrison worked on Thursday to prepare Supply Line's wine display shelves for removal. Harrison is restoring a plantation home and will use the shelves for general storage space, while some are headed for her neighbor's nascent wine cellar.