Replanted ‘Garden Shack’ sprouts up in new spot
Mellie Mac’s heads to Black Mountain Avenue
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 23, 2020
Mellie Machserry debuts a new location for Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack and the eventual return of unWINE’d at Mellie Mac’s. Fred McCormick
It’s not uncommon for springtime conversations in Black Mountain to turn to gardening and landscaping, as the weather warms and folks begin heading outdoors to enjoy it. When they do, many offer the same advice when it comes to finding the newest addition to an existing plot or the right shrubs and flowers to spruce up a yard — “You should go see Mellie.”
Since 2011, people in the market for botanicals could find Mellie Macsherry on West State Street, where she owned and operated Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack. She expanded her offerings in 2015 with the addition of a wine bar, unWINE’d at Mellie Mac’s. While the popularity of both has grown through the years, on May 11, Macsherry unveiled a new home for her businesses.
Mellie Mac’s sprouted up in a new location at the intersection of Black Mountain Avenue and Terry Estate Drive last week, but the seeds for the move were planted some time ago.
“Things were getting too chaotic at the previous location,” Macsherry said. “I was hosting too many events, which would cause me to close down, so garden shoppers couldn’t shop when they wanted to and wine bar people couldn’t come drink wine when they wanted to.”
She set out to maintain the rented West State Street location as an event space while moving her garden operation and wine bar to Black Mountain Avenue, but Machserry was met with a series of challenges.
“I bought this space in July of last year,” she said. “We hit stumbling block after stumbling block, and then the week that I finally got permits to build here was the week that the stay-at-home order started.”
As the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread, Macsherry, and her business plans, were not spared. The crisis took a toll on her financial investments, forcing her to put off many of the projects she’d planned for the opening of her new location.
Macsherry, however, wasted no time settling into the new space. Moving the inventory from her former location to the current one was the first of several undertakings she has planned for Mellie Mac’s, and the community was quick to offer assistance.
Mellie Macsherry began greeting customers in her new location, at the intersection of Black Mountain Avenue and Terry Estate Drive on May 11. Fred McCormick
“Peter Mudge, who is part of the Black Mountain Beautification Committee, came up to me at the old location one morning while I was totally exhausted and overwhelmed,” Macsherry said. “He told me that they wanted to help me. I said, ‘that is so nice of you, but…’ Then I paused and started crying and it occurred to me that I just couldn’t do this move on my own.”
She accepted the offer from the beautification committee and met with members of the local nonprofit organization to coordinate the move.
“We had a brainstorming session and they got all of my ideas written down and sent those along to the beautification committee,” Macsherry said. “There were 16 members who volunteered to help. They were amazing.”
With the help of the volunteers, who Macsherry estimates moved nearly 90 percent of the store’s inventory, the new Mellie Mac’s began to take shape.
“I’ve always been of service to the Black Mountain Beautification Committee and tried to support them in any way I can,” she said. “I was so appreciative of their help; they really stepped up to support me when I needed it.”
While Machserry’s previous location featured indoor and outdoor space, the Black Mountain Avenue site, surrounded by views of the mountains, is entirely outdoors.
“I am so excited to be here,” she said. “This space is beautiful and, because I’m me, I have all kinds of ideas for things I want to do to improve it.”
The first phase, according to Macsherry, will be the return of unWINE’d.
A diverse selection of plants, trees and shrubbery fill the new location of Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack. Fred McCormick
“The wine bar complements the garden shop perfectly,” she said. “Customers really enjoy coming in and having a drink with friends and neighbors, and a lot of times they pick up plants to take with them when they’re done. So I definitely plan on bringing that business here once we have a better idea of how that will look with the COVID-19 situation.”
There are several other projects in store for Mellie Mac’s in the coming months, according to the owner.
“People always used to tell me how much they enjoyed the atmosphere of the old location,” said Macsherry, who plans to eventually offer a venue for events in her business’s new home. “My goal is to bring that same special feeling to this space.”
As Mellie Mac’s begins its next chapter, Macsherry credits the success of her business to the support of the community, adding that the outpouring of support she’s received through the years in Black Mountain has been "humbling.”
“I think I have a servant’s heart, and I really love helping people,” she said. “One of the ways I can do that is by helping people beautify their yards. Life is so hard, and I believe one way to bring a little peace is to get home, dig in the dirt and get that feeling of having your own sacred space.”
Mellie Mac’s Garden Shack is open 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Saturday.