I had to run over to a cute home I have listed for sale in Ballantyne and grab the key out of the lockbox to make a copy. Now, let me preface that by saying I know the Ballantyne, Stonecrest and Blakeney area very well. But, for the life of me I could not think of the closest place to get a key made!
The days of the Mom and Pop hardware stores are just about all gone. I knew there was a Lowes in Providence Commonsand right across the street was a Home Depot in Promenade on Providence over on Providence Road and Ballantyne Commons. May I digress a moment…why do Lowes and Home Depot always open right across the street from each other? Are they afraid they are going to miss that one customer?Both competing for thatone customer they snagged away from each other when they might have gotten more customers by opening a few miles down the road?? And drug stores…they do the same thing too! Anyway, those stores were 7 miles away which doesn’t sound very far but you have to go through at least 7 traffic lights in a heavily-traveled area -15 minutes,40 minutes round trip, including getting the key made.
My other option wasanother Lowes store up Johnston Rd. in Pineville which was about 5 miles. Again, I had to go through at least 10 stop lights in another heavy-traffic area. Well, I was trying to get the copy of my key made, get it back in the lockbox and get to my weekly Uptown Rotary Club meeting on time. I had about an hour. So, I just ditched the idea of getting it back in the lock box, opted for the Lowes up Johnston Road in Pineville because I was heading in the general direction of my meeting.
Well, I posted a plea to my Facebook friends and got several responses. My directionally-challenged friend, Ms. M, said to go to “Renfrows”which was further than my first option by at least another 5 miles. (But if you have the chance to go to Matthews, NC, you must check out Renfrow Hardware – a cool little retro hardware store right next door to the awesome Matthews Farmers Market!)
But, what I didn’t know wasthere is a Lowes Store about 2 miles south of Ballantyne right over the NC/SC line. BINGO!
So, bottom line, there might be a nice money-making opportunity for some entrepreneur in Ballantyne…anybody up for it? Hmmmm, maybe I could get one of those cool lunch wagons like Roaming Fork to add key-making to their offerings….well, maybe not…
