Beard’s Antiquities on Fifth is leaving downtown Columbus.
Jeanette Beard told The Dispatch this week her antique store will move to a spot near the intersection of Highway 45 North and Bluecutt Road in July. Why? The business is growing and evolving.
Antiques will still be offered at the new location. But so will new furniture. Specifically, a furniture line known as “Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines” that debuted in the fall.
Beard’s Antiquities on Fifth has been at 124 Fifth St. for four years. That spot is approximately 3,000 square feet. The new location — it’s a building on Chubby Drive — is approximately 24,000 square feet.
In mid-June, Beard’s Antiquities on Fifth will have a moving sale. In late July, it will reopen at its new home. When it does, it will be rechristened as Beard’s Furniture and Antiquities.
(Several other businesses will occupy spaces in the new spot, too, including Heritage Draperies, Southern Land and Home, and GameTime Athletics.)
The Chubby Drive location for years was owned by Ceco Building Systems, one of the nation’s largest designers and builders of steel buildings.
Gregg Smith, the company’s operations manager, said the building was primarily used as a storage space. The company is in the process of clearing it out now.
Ceco still owns two other pieces of property in Columbus: An office spot on Bluecutt Road, as well as a 329,000-square-foot building at 2400 Hwy. 45 N.
Smith said both of those locations are for sale.
The Highway 45 North location housed one of the company’s manufacturing plants before it closed down several years ago. However, the location is still home to roughly 70 Ceco employees who work in sales, estimating, accounting, field service, etc.
By the way, Ceco has no plans to leave Columbus, where it has been since 1947.
Smith said the plan is to eventually construct a brand new building to operate out of in Columbus.
The company has two manufacturing plants: One in North Carolina, one in Iowa.
One more note on Jeannette Beard. She and her business partner, Joyce Walker, are conducting an estate sale at the home of the late artist Carole Elizabeth McReynolds Davis today through Sunday. The home is located at 501 Louisville St. in Starkville. Available during the sale will be more than 400 pieces of Davis’ art, furniture, oriental rugs, yard art, swings, etc. The sale is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday
Lastly, in honor of this being National Burger Month, Back Yard Burgers is holding two special events during May.
One, the eatery has launched a national petition to get this month’s name changed to “Burger.” The petition can be viewed at change.org/p/make-may-burger. It’s slow going thus far — only 27 had signed by 8 a.m. today — but someone who signs it will receive free Back Yard Burgers for a year. The winner will be announced in June.
Also, the eatery in April teamed up with No Kid Hungry and aims to raise $100,000 by year’s end. The Columbus location — it’s at 1913 N Hwy. 45 Frontage Rd. — has thus far raised $1,086.
Back Yard Burgers has 57 locations in the U.S.
The Columbus eatery opened in 2005 and employs about 20 people.
Browning on Business is a weekly column that runs each Thursday. We want your input. Send items and tips to [email protected] or [email protected].
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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