One of my earliest memories of shopping in Farmville was the Saturday trips to Roses “five and dime.”  I still recall the squeaky wood floors and the volume of totally affordable things that even a broke ten year old could save up for. Shopping at Roses was a part of living in Farmville.

Then after more than 60 years of serving our community, Roses closed.

But thankfully, we were not forgotten.

Variety Stores, a subsidiary of Variety Wholesalers, Inc., who operates retail stores familiar to all of us, such as Roses, Maxway, Super Dollar, Super 10, and Popes (another familiar Farmville downtown business), has renamed their Farmville Maxway location and have expanded and updated the retail store and brought the familiar “Roses” back to Farmville.

The company has opened up an unused portion of the building, doubling the retail space of the former Maxway location.  The store will offer a combination of “Value-Priced” merchandise that includes clothing & shoes for the entire family, home furnishings, housewares, toys, food, health & beauty products, and seasonal products such as; lawn & garden and Christmas décor, all at “Value Driven Prices”.

Variety Wholesales, Inc. is a family owned business that has been operating since 1922, and has been listed in Fortune 500 magazine as one of the largest, privately owned companies in the United States.

Variety Store’s operates over 425 stores across the southeastern states with a mission of providing great value, convenience, and a pleasant shopping experience for their customers.

The Roses history in Farmville dates back to 1927 when the downtown location was opened. It was the 28th Roses location whose origins go back to 1915 when Paul H Rose opened his original store in Henderson, NC.  Rose named his store “Roses 5, 10 and 15¢ Store”.  Most of us remember that very sign hanging over the downtown storefront.

The Farmville Chamber of Commerce, along with the citizens of Farmville who grew up shopping there, welcomes Roses back to our community. Roses is located at Brightleaf Shopping Center, 8482 West Marlboro Road. Roses is open everyday from 8 am to 9 pm.

The Chamber, in conjunction with Roses management, held a ribbon cutting and grand opening on Thursday, June 3. Please view the slideshow here and make sure to see the store for yourself. You will be impressed with both the variety and quantity of merchandise that Roses has to offer.

For more information or for the Roses sales flyer, please visit their website at www.vwstores.com.

By Donna Kemp
Communications/Programs Coordinator
Farmville Chamber of Commerce