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MILL SPRING—The Tryon International Equestrian Center’s shopping plaza has become home to one of the area’s newest and most unique shopping experiences, Imperial Mercantile & Outfitters, a modern-day general store and clothier concept offering a diverse range of products.

Imperial Mercantile and Outfitter’s inventory includes a variety of everyday clothing, home goods, drinkware, dry goods, toys, and gift items, featuring renowned brands such as Smithey, Piedmont Pennies, Poppy, Ariat, Kuhl, Feetures, Free Fly, Swan Creek Candles, Yeti, BruMate, Stanley, and many more.

Owner David Stone explained the store’s origins, sharing that it was founded in Kings Mountain.

“We were renovating a building in the downtown area, and we were going to end up with 3,000 square feet of retail space. And one day, I went home to my wife and said, ‘I think we need to put a general store in there.’ So we traveled the Southeast looking at similar stores, and in November 2022, we opened,” Stone said. 

“In 2023, we bought another Kings Mountain company, Patriot Jack’s, which added the outfitter’s side of our business and all the great clothing brands we now sell.”

According to Stone, the partnership with the Tryon International Equestrian Center stemmed from the interest of TIEC and its patrons. 

“The Equestrian Center folks reached out to us last year,” he said. “Some of their people had been in our store and asked if we would consider doing something here. And after a few months of negotiation, we opened. We thought this would be a great location because Tryon and TIEC bring a lot of tourists to the area, and we get a lot of foot traffic.”

The store doesn’t forget the little ones, stocking Schleich toys, animal figurines, playsets, and TIEC-branded items.

“We are a modern-day general store with something for everyone,” Stone says. “We want to provide year-round clothing to the area. Whether casual clothing, workwear, or active lifestyle clothing, we want to be where they come to get those items.”

For more information on Imperial Mercantile & Outfitters, visit imperialmercantilekm.com.