21 Best Places to Shop in Central North Carolina, North Carolina

Offering a heavenly trifecta of books, coffee, and chocolate, Epilogue has a diverse selection of titles, lovingly chosen by the staff. The café serves hot drinks, Mexican treats like churros and conchas (sweet bread), and locally made chocolates. The adjacent Prologue has rare and used books, and hosts community events.

This shop and gourmet sandwich counter offers kitchenware, cookbooks, plush toys, and specialty foods, as well as wines, chocolates, teas, coffees, and scads of candy. Breakfast and lunch is served until 4 pm. Gift baskets can be shipped all over the country.  This shop is known for its pimento cheese. Take some to go, or have it spread on a BLT to enjoy at the tables outside or a pink banquette inside.

The Platonic ideal of bookstores, Scuppernong has a well-chosen selection of new and used books, with plentiful staff suggestions and reading lists, along with a café serving hot beverages, wine, and beer. The back room hosts book clubs, story times, author readings, and open mic nights for poets and authors.

Open year-round and seven days a week, this 75-acre market is the place to go for locally grown fruits and vegetables, flowers and plants, and North Carolina crafts. There are also a few restaurants serving country cooking for breakfast and lunch, and Calabash-style fried seafood.

A near-constant stream of students and staff from nearby Duke University and Hospital, and NC School of Science and Math, are making Durham's funky 9th Street transition from college-kid drag to international-minded destination. Long-standing shops Regulator Bookstore and Vaguely Reminiscent gifts, and beloved restaurants Dain's Place and Banh's Cuisine, have paved the way for popular newcomers Möge Tee boba tea, Tiny toys and kids' gifts, and Szechuan Mansion hot pot.

One of the first retail stores to reinvigorate downtown Raleigh in 2012, Deco moved to bigger digs a few years ago, all the better to fit items from more than 100 local and independent artists and designers. The place for funky souvenirs and gifts like Krispy Kreme collage art or Holly Aiken leather bags, Deco even has an exclusive line of Carolina Hurricane–themed products.

You won't make it far through this maze of vintage, handmade, and local craft dealers without something catching your eye, possibly an antique ceramic animal, pair of statement earrings, or a T-shirt that reads "I Kinda Like Greensboro." A smaller curation of interesting objects is open to browse next door on weekends, while a second store serves Winston-Salem shoppers at  636 W. 4th St.

Opened in 2002 in Wilmington near NC's coast, Edge of Urge is a cool-kid boutique with an array of gifts, clothing, accessories, toys and art. Their "brother" shop Unlikely Professionals is more male-centric, and just across the street. The shopping center is also home to Wine Authorities, Two Roosters ice cream, and Person Street Bar, all excellent spots to stop in or stay awhile.

With more than 1 million square feet of showroom space, this complex, the biggest furniture retailer in the world, makes an IKEA look like a corner store. This goes far beyond an average shopping experience—a visit here could easily take all day. Customers register with the front desk and are given tips by a Furnitureland consultant on how to maximize their time in the sprawling store, which includes innumerable galleries from leading manufacturers and a discount center. Meals and refreshments are available at a Starbucks and a Subway (the largest one in the United States, of course).

Deep discounts are part of the draw to this furniture store. Don't be put off by the nondescript brick exterior beside the highway—inside, expect more than 150 well-known brands and some pieces offered at below manufacturer-direct prices. The Discount Furniture Warehouse and Furniture Value and Clearance Center, at 2035 Brentwood Street, is only one exit from the main store.

Franklin Street's premier clothier since 1942 is known for outfitting former UNC men's basketball coach Roy Williams when he takes the court. The traditional haberdashery creates unique and custom suits, shirts, ties, and some women's clothing.

Downtown Durham's independent bookseller since 2013, Letters moved down the road in 2021 to a two-level former bank with a stained-glass ceiling. Letters has a good selection of new and used fiction and nonfiction, local-interest books and bestsellers (at a discount), and a small beverage counter with puzzles, games, and cards upstairs.

Part vintage store, part taxidermy museum, part art installation, all oddball. Major Tomms is where the kids go when their parents are looking at arts and crafts galleries, a true one-of-a-kind.

This former shopping mall has developed into three open-air districts with everything from a bowling alley to a French brasserie. Stores range from the independent Quail Ridge Books to a multi-level REI outdoor outfitter. Three full-service hotels, a movie theater, apartments, and office buildings are also found in this retail and dining center.

Contemporary and traditional works from 350 craftspeople fill this gallery and shop in Winston-Salem's arty hub. The organization has held an annual fair in November since 1963.

A true Durham original, the Scrap Exchange has promoted creativity through reuse since 1991. One building is like a traditional thrift store, with books, furniture, clothing, and home goods, while the other has barrels full of empty film canisters, bolts of deadstock fabric, and bins of mysterious plumbing supplies someone might incorporate into a sculpture or a Halloween costume. An Artist Marketplace sells pieces of art made from traditional and nontraditional materials, and regular workshops allow guests to make and take art home.

This village-like mall has restaurants, a movie theater, and nearly 150 stores, including Nordstrom and Crate & Barrel.

Solo and group shows rotate through several exhibition spaces at this sculpture and painting gallery in the Congdon Yards complex. The frequent art openings are always open to the public.

Follow the sweet smells through this Warehouse District chocolate factory and trace the chocolate-making process from bean to bar. The chocolate counter offers samples of Videri’s high-quality chocolate bars and confections, and Black & White Coffee Roasters serves coffee and hot chocolate.

Raleigh's first shopping center continues to reinvent itself with new upscale boutiques and restaurants. Expect everything from home decor to yoga studios to locally roasted coffee.