Dual Supply Is Leaving West King Street. The Woods Family's Hardware Counter Already Has a New Home.

This fall, where do you find the little brass set screw that holds a 1930s glass doorknob in place? Tom Rankin used that exact example in his News of Orange County column on Dual Supply's closing. In his telling, Wesley Woods would head off, sometimes down to the basement, and come back with the part, often with a story and some installation advice too.

The answer is 1218 Hwy 70 E. Dual Supply Co. is closing at 115 W. King St., and much of what it sold already lives on the shelves at Woods Farm & Garden. The third generation of the same family runs that store. The block on King Street hasn't suddenly lost its practical side, either. That change has been happening one storefront at a time for about two years, partly inside Dual Supply's own building.

The block was already turning over inside Dual Supply's walls

Jeff Woods, the current owner, told The News & Observer that he put the "Going Out of Business Sale" sign in the window on Monday, Aug. 24. He planned to start the sale in early September and close at the end of that month. His father, Wesley, bought the former Western Auto in 1973. The end of September came and went without a final day. In its Oct. 1 roundup, Chapelboro reported the store was still in its "final days of business."

In Rankin's account, Dual Supply had been shrinking for some time. He describes The Town Scoop on its east side and Anne & Arthur on its west, "both businesses resting on what had been floor space of the former of Dual Supply." Here are the storefronts that carry the block now, laid out by address:

Anne & Arthur's move is the newest piece. According to the News of Orange County, the shop first opened on Churton Street in fall 2023, soft-opened at 117 W. King on April 15 and scheduled its grand opening for April 24. It's one more storefront carved out of space that used to belong to the hardware store.

None of this happened overnight. Dual Supply also wasn't the first Woods store on the block to close. The News & Observer noted that Jeff Woods' Carolina Game & Fish tackle shop closed in 2018 after 28 years. Rankin remembers the test he used for years to judge whether the town was doing well: as long as he could buy live crickets and a café au lait on the same King Street block, all was well. The crickets went first, with the bait shop. The nails, bolts and Stihl chainsaws are going now.

The hardware errand moved out to Highway 70

The errand itself has a place to land. Adam Woods, Jeff's son and Wesley's grandson, runs Woods Farm & Garden at 1218 Hwy 70 E. In its Sept. 3 coverage, Chapelboro reported that the family bought more than three acres off U.S. 70 near St. Mary's Road in 2019 for the store.

Here's what the store lists:

• Landscape materials, plants, seeds, trees and shrubs
• Hardware and garden tools
• Outdoor décor and seasonal goods
• Sheds
• U-Haul rentals

Rankin's column fills in the parts people would have missed most from King Street. The store sells fishing supplies and live minnows by the dozen, and carries Malcolm Hester's handmade wooden fishing floats, "no two alike." It also delivers mulch, dirt and gravel, and sells new lawnmowers. The bait counter that closed on King Street in 2018 has, in effect, come back on Highway 70.

The trip is a different kind of trip, though. Woods Farm & Garden sits on a highway with acreage and a rental truck lot. It isn't a storefront you walk past with a coffee. The family business is still going. The walk-in, downtown version of it is what's ending.

Across the street, the Lloyd's name stays on the building

Lloyd's Pharmacy at 118 W. King followed a similar path. In its April through June roundup, Chapelboro reported the pharmacy hadn't been open for several months and had never announced an official closing.

The next tenant is a wellness business. The News of Orange County reported that Hillsborough residents Chris and Kimberly Paolucci signed a five-year lease on the 1,727-square-foot space for Begin Again Yoga. Evelyn Lloyd and her father, Allen Lloyd, ran the pharmacy there for decades. As the storefront gets renovated, a newly designed, permanent Lloyd's Pharmacy sign will stay above the space as a tribute to the family business.

Landlord Jim Parker told the paper the studio "will continue that tradition of wellness in a different way." The studio's FAQ says it hopes to open in early November 2026, so the doors could open within days of this post. It advertises yoga, Pilates, creative flow, mobility, Yoga Nidra, breathwork and sound healing, with both heated and unheated classes. The studio ran free pop-up classes around town in October to build interest before opening, including a family-friendly movement session on Oct. 18 and an all-levels Adapted Power Yoga class on Oct. 21.

Both of the block's oldest service storefronts, one for repairs and one for prescriptions, are changing hands in the same season. Anyone walking down West King toward Churton will still see a sign from the old block, because the Lloyd's name is staying up on purpose.

What the block holds after this week

On Wednesday evening, Oct. 28, Yonder at 114 W. King hosted "Celebrate the Woods Family and Dual Supply," a 6 to 8 p.m. send-off that Visit Hillsborough listed as a chance to "lift a glass" to the years the town had the store. Yonder opened in 2019, which made it a fitting host for the farewell: the bar sits on the same block and belongs to the newer era of King Street.

Jeff Woods' own view, as Rankin relayed it, was practical. He said we live "in the age of the Jetsons," where Amazon brings anything to the front door, and he talked about how hard it is to run a retail store in a small town. Rankin also listed the small street-level details he already misses: the seasonal window displays, the sleds and snow shovels set out on the sidewalk when winter weather was forecast, and the apples, peanuts, rocking chairs and lawnmowers out front.

No new tenant has been announced for 115 W. King. Rankin ended his column looking forward to "what new business will be moving onto King Street." For now, the block shapes up like this:

1. For a doorknob screw, a mower blade or a load of mulch, drive out to Woods Farm & Garden at 1218 Hwy 70 E.
2. For a book by a local author, Purple Crow Books is at 109 W. King.
3. For art supplies or a print job, Anne & Arthur is at 117 W. King.
4. For a class once the studio opens, look for the Lloyd's sign at 118 W. King.
5. For ice cream or a drink, The Town Scoop and Yonder face each other at 113 and 114 W. King.

If you'd like another downtown afternoon before the holidays, the new Hillsborough Harvest Festival runs Saturday, Nov. 7, from noon to 4 p.m. at 319 N. Churton St. WHUP 104.7 FM and the Elizabeth Keckly Center at Burwell School are hosting, with live music, local vendors, food trucks and ticketed admission, according to the News of Orange County.

Over 20 years in this market, we've watched Hillsborough's storefronts change hands, and keeping up with which family business moved where is part of how we know the town. If you're weighing a move, or just thinking about how a changing downtown fits into your plans, Pat Dillon Real Estate is glad to talk it through. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation.