Moonset General Store open for business

Published 5:49 pm Monday, July 8, 2019

A popular old Stanly hangout has been given new life.

The Moonset General Store, at the northeast corner of Valley Drive and Morrow Mountain, is once again open for business thanks to William and Laura Fields.

Moonset General Store opened last month.

Established in 1939 as the Moonset Inn, the building was a popular location for Civilian Conservation Corps workers creating Morrow Mountain State Park. They often stopped by for refreshments and enjoyed the Inn’s jukebox.

The building eventually turned into a grocery store, where people would stop by for candy and drinks.

“All of our parents have memories of going there as kids when it was a store,” Laura Fields said.

The grocery store has been closed for many decades. The building was most recently someone’s private residence.

“It’s never been open in our lifetime,” William Fields said, “we just always heard about it.”

“We wanted to recreate those memories for people in this area,” Laura added.

The couple is thankful to all of their family and friends who have helped them open the store.

Moonset General Store is a stop for individuals traveling to Morrow Mountain to learn more about Stanly County and the many attractions it has to offer, William said.

“It’s a great place for outsiders to get some of Stanly County’s finest goods,” he said.

Speaking of goods, the store has plenty. It has candy, hand-dipped Blue Bell ice cream, coffee, soda, chips. camping and fishing supplies and local crafts.

The store has many items including soda, candy, chips, camping and fishing supplies.

The store has Moonset T-shirts provided by Make it Personal Embroidery and Custom Apparel from Albemarle, grits and pancake mix from Stanfield-based Old School Mill, Inc., leather products from Bearded Leather of Albemarle, fresh brewed coffee from the Speckled Paw of Mount Gilead, beard oils and scented candles from Uwharrie Spa Essentials, mugs from Keystone Pottery, honey from Kleine Beine Apiary and treats from Peachberry Farms & Bakery.

The Fields family wants people to be relaxed and comfortable when they come to the store.

This includes encouraging customers to sign a guest book. The book is a virtual footprint showcasing where everyone who visited the store is from. Though they’ve only been open for a few weeks, they’ve already had a customer from Nicaragua.

The Fieldses want to know more about the building and its history so they encourage anyone with pictures or information to come by and meet with them.

The store will be seasonal, but for the summer, it is open 8 a.m. until dark Thursday through Sunday.

“We want everyone to come together and enjoy each other’s company,” Laura said.

About Chris Miller

Chris Miller has been with the SNAP since January 2019. He is a graduate of NC State and received his Master's in Journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously wrote for the Capital News Service in Annapolis, where many of his stories on immigration and culture were published in national papers via the AP wire.

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