North Carolina- Nasty, distasteful and immoral. These are some of the words Kionda Worrell first associated with the new Adam & Eve store on Fayetteville Road.
The Hillsborough-based chain that sells adult apparel, DVDs and toys has been closely watched since two Woodcroft residents started a petition saying the store should be classified as an adult establishment.
Worrell, 23, who works at Walgreens, visited the store Jan. 22 and was surprised.
"Beforehand, everyone was making it seem like it would be a dishonest business, but their store looks normal to me," she said.
Some products such as condoms and lubricant are cheaper at her store, she said.
Starting out as an adult mail-order business in 1970 under the name PHE Inc., Adam & Eve now has stores in Burlington, Charlotte, Concord, Greensboro, Lumberton and Winston-Salem.
Mark Goswick, 33, and his business partner, Jason Hoke, 34, own Adam & Eve stores in Clayton, Raleigh, Durham and Wilmington. After working for the company's retail division for nine years, in 2005 Goswick, along with Hoke, decided to buy both the Raleigh and Durham stores.
The store at the intersection of Fayetteville Road and N.C. 54, near The Streets at Southpoint, relocated from 4125 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd. because business was slow there.
"At the old location, there was hardly anywhere to park and the facility was not quite in shape," Goswick said. "We wanted to go where the people are."
They're gearing the store mostly toward women (70 percent of their customers) and couples by maintaining a clean, upscale feel.
Still, residents such as 60-year-old Kenneth Crawford, a grocery store clerk at Kroger supermarket on N.C. 54, think it might eventually attract the wrong crowd to that side of town.
"It should be morals over money," Crawford said. "I'm not going to judge anyone, but they have to answer to a higher power when it's all said and done."
An online petition, "Adam and Eve Sex Shop in SW Durham -- Just Say No," was started by Woodcroft residents Joe and Ellie Mayer.
Joe Mayer said the store should be deemed "adult" because it sells books and DVDs. But Goswick said 80 percent of the store's revenue comes from clothing.
State law defines an adult establishment as a place that receives most of its revenue from book or video sales.
Store employees check identification and don't let minors in the adult toys and DVD sections, even if they're with someone over 18, Goswick said.
"We're not here to disrupt the morality of the community," he said. "We just want to run a business."
With the economy struggling, some residents think Adam & Eve could be good for the area.
Derek Crews, 26, manages Mattress Firm across the street and said the store could help other stores.
"Business-wise, it was a smart move on their part," Crews said. "This is a high-traffic area with a lot of younger people who really don't care about things like that."
Community organizer Tradell Adkins doesn't care whether the store is open or not but says he is more concerned some residents didn't know it was coming.
"Citizens really need to look at themselves," said Adkins, 26. "They could've gone to these meetings prior and voiced their concern, but they didn't."
"It's a little too late now."
