New store, The Wild Cholla opens doors to Cherryville shoppers

Described as “a boutique with a beer and wine bar”, all in one place, or one shop

by MICHAEL E. POWELL Editor michael@cfmedia.info

As one of the newer businesses in town, Randi Hicks’

The Wild Cholla (pronounced “Choy-ah”, she noted) is, in her own words, “a boutique with a beer and wine bar”, all in one place, or one shop, if you will.

Hicks, the owner of The Wild Cholla, and fiance’, Gary Nadal, call Lawndale home, and have for the past 10 years, but both said they chose Cherryville as the location for her new shop, and eventually for his antiques store, which he is currently working to get opened up after Randi’s store gets really going.

“I’m originally from Seagrove, N.C.,” said Randi, who noted that she and Gary were in the process of trying to find a place to open a business that wasn’t in a large city, as they both liked and wanted a small-town vibe to their businesses. To that end, she said her store is a family-owned and operated business, at least for now.

As for how she came upon finding and using the Wild Cholla name, Hicks said, “I wanted to have a (business) name that wasn’t like anybody else. Also, this is the first business I have ever owned; I like clothes, and I have a passion for style,” said Hicks, who was formerly in the health care profession.

“I’m a people person, having worked, as I said, in health care in High Point, and having my own business was something I always wanted to do,” she said.

Having her own business is all part of Hicks’ main miracle-laced personal history, as she said she was diagnosed with Stage 0-1 breast cancer on October 2022, on Halloween.

“There was a mass about five inches in diameter that they found, and it was a shocker, of course. I never felt it or anything but a small twinge of pain before I was diagnosed,” said Hicks, who added she had a double mas-