The Chrstmas Shop F I V E FACT S
The Christmas Shop on Roanoke Island, circa 1967. Photo courtesy of Edward Greene.
While a white Christmas might not always be in the cards on the Outer Banks, there’s at least one spot that still celebrates the wintery holiday year-round – and it’s been doing so for more than a half-decade now. Known to most as The Christmas Shop, the sprawling store located right off Highway 64 isn’t just another shopping establishment, it’s an experience, and many vacationers claim their trip wouldn’t be complete without a stop at the relatively unassuming-looking red building in Manteo. But beyond the bright (holiday) lights, there are at least a few things you might not know about one of the Outer Banks’ most iconic retail fixtures. BY KATRINA MAE LEUZINGER
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Lights, Camera, Christmas
New York transplant Edward Greene fell in love with the Outer Banks when he was here dancing in The Lost Colony alongside actor Andy Griffith in 1953. Back then, the fledgling tourism industry was just getting started, and lacking the aptitude for farming or fishing, Greene wasn’t quite sure how to make a year-round living here. One thing he did know a lot about though was Christmas decorations – a skillset he picked up in the city where he once worked as a decorator in between dancing gigs. Armed with the idea, Greene invested in a lot with a small wooden building for about $10,000 in 1964 and never looked back.
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Not So Humble Beginnings
Few locals and visitors alike are unfamiliar with the name Edward Greene…and for good reason. The man who inspired The Christmas Shop wasn’t content with establishing just one business, so he branched out in a number of directions – including starting two local newspapers, The Outer Banks Current and The Outer Banks Sentinel. Along with his fellow Lost Colony alum Andy Griffith, architect and artist David Stick, and famed local businessman George Crocker, Greene was also a founder of the Outer Banks Community Foundation – a nonprofit dedicated to fostering charitable giving that still exists to this day.
Eleven Times a Charm
Although The Christmas Shop might have started out small, that didn’t last long. In 1967, Greene and his business partner Richard Lacerre purchased a second building that was once an old World War II mess hall and had it hauled over to their lot from Airport Road on the north end of Roanoke Island. And they didn’t stop there. Over the years, Greene and Lacerre purchased nine other buildings that they connected a bit like Lego pieces – until The Christmas Shop eventually evolved into the 25,000-square-foot interconnected maze of holiday-themed rooms it is today.
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It’s the Inside that Counts
With an eye for the aesthetic, Greene and Lacerre also painstakingly crafted each room in The Christmas Shop to heighten the shopper’s experience. Brightly colored paint adorned the walls in some rooms, while others sported quilts, tin siding, shingles and fabric, or – in true Outer Banks fashion – lumber that had washed up on the beach. Traditional merchandise display racks were also passed over in favor of antique furniture, including a baker’s table from the 1840s. And when the old Manns Harbor general store and movie theater was slated for destruction, the partners sought to preserve it by moving the whole front façade to its new home inside The Christmas Shop.
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Hard to Say Goodbye
A “Closed Forever” sign was first posted on the front door of The Christmas Shop in 2006, prompting a flood of heartbroken letters, phone calls and emails from loyal customers who couldn’t bear to see the store go. Only two years later they got their wish – lacking a buyer during that time, Greene and Lacerre reopened the doors and started buying new antique displays to replenish the ones they had auctioned off. A decade later the shop briefly closed again and reopened under new management in 2016 – allowing Greene to retire at the age of 90 with a list of 90 things he planned to do in retirement, including “start a new dance craze” and “enjoy being a sex symbol.”
