From Clicks to Bricks: Greenville Native Wins Uptown Retail | Eastern North Carolina Now

    News Release:

    GREENVILLE, NC     Erin Barfield, Greenville native and winner of the Uptown Retail Challenge, has fulfilled her dream of being able to open a storefront location in the Uptown District.

    The Uptown Retail Challenge, an incentive program and showcase of business owners from Greenville and surrounding areas, was designed to award one promising startup with a $15,000 incentive to open a business location in Uptown Greenville.

    Truly Yours will be located at 403 South Evans Street in the Uptown Commercial District and plans to open its doors on Friday, October 2. The women's clothing boutique prides itself in offering the latest fashions for women ranging from every day wear to special occasions. The Uptown storefront will coincide with the store's already existing ecommerce site, transitioning it from clicks to bricks.

    "This is a women's boutique offering fun and trendy clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories at an affordable price," says Barfield, President and General Manager of Truly Yours and graduate of the Merchandising program at East Carolina University.

    "The Uptown Retail Challenge grant has played a big role in me opening a physical location," says Barfield. "It will give me the ability to allocate more hours for employees and increase my advertising budget, which will be very important in getting the brand out in the community".

    Barfield received $500 in advertising credit with the Greenville Times, a logo design package from Seven by Design, a matching advertising package from the Daily Reflector, Greenville Utilities Commission-sponsored utility support services, a Pirate Radio advertising package, rent subsidies sponsored by Uptown, the City of Greenville and Electricities, membership with the Greenville-Pitt Chamber of Commerce and with Uptown Greenville, and WOOW-AM 1340 radio advertising.

    By adding Truly Yours to the array of Uptown businesses, the Uptown Retail Challenge program hopes to promote a vibrant city center full of cultural and economic opportunity by placing businesses in the midst of university foot traffic for a fraction of the traditional cost.

    "Opening a retail store in Uptown will allow me to contribute to the growth of the place I call home as well as help give students a good option for shopping close to campus," says Barfield.

    The aim is not only to reseed the center city, but also to create a great place to live, work, play, invest, and shop Truly Yours!


    For more information about Uptown Greenville, go to uptowngreenville.com or call Director Bianca Shoneman at (252) 561-8400. Contact Carl Rees, Economic Development Manager with the City of Greenville at crees@greenvillenc.gov or (252) 329-4510 or Kelsey Anderson - (828)329-5309, Kelsey@uptowngreenville.com