Special Occasions Bookstore closing after 27 years

A Winston-Salem minority-owned bookstore for 27 years will be closing.

 Special Occasions, owned by Ed and Miriam McCarter, is one of the largest black owned bookstores between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta.

"It is a testimony to clientele in the community," Ed McCarter said.

"We appreciate the support from everyone."

Special Occasions inventory includes books, church supplies, Greek paraphernalia, greeting cards and other gift items.

"Now churches print their bulletins in-house," Ed McCarter said.

This, along with e-books, online booksellers and a down falling economy brings the close of Special Occasions.

"There is a transition in the marketplace," Ed McCarter said.

"The sales of books have declined because they are now downloadable."

Ed McCarter said that he has no desire to expand to e-books.

Special Occasions provides Afro-centric products to the Winston-Salem community, and has clientele that stretches as far as Charlotte, Durham and Greensboro.

The McCarters, former teachers, started selling products out of their home. They opened the business on July 4, 1983, in the Jetway Shopping Center on New Walkertown Road. In 1989, they relocated to the building at 112 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

"There were very few places to find Afro-centric greeting cards, or Afro-books," Ed McCarter said.

"That was our niche in the community. We sold items geared towards the black community."

The store will close after Mother's Day, May 8. The final date will be decided by how quickly their inventory is sold.

Although Special Occasions will not close for two months, the McCarters started their 20 percent off sale Feb.15.

Ed McCarter said that since the sale started, they have sold almost 30 percent of their books, and 70 percent of their paraphernalia.

The store also has a good, long relationship with the Winston-Salem State community.

"Students would bring their parents in the store and they would buy books," Ed McCarter said.

"Then after students became alumni, they would come back to the store to purchase items."

Aside from selling Afro-centric products, the McCarters have provided a black Santa since the early 1990s. This was one of Ed McCarter's fondest memories.

"The look on the teenagers faces, to see someone that looks like them, as Mr. Pickett played Santa," Ed McCarter said.

According to the Winston-Salem Journal in an article written on Feb. 16, the McCarters are considering leasing the building, or selling the business or its merchandise and equipment.

When asked will they open another store in the future, "It's hard to say," Ed McCarter said.

"The future is wide open, and I will not block it out."