Pace General Store

History has been kept alive in the small town of Saluda. On Saturday, the M.A. Pace General Store reopened with new owners. According to new owner Leon Morgan, the historical store is celebrating 112 years of operation today and sells everything from bread and milk to rakes and paints.

The store was started in 1899 by M.A. Pace and was later taken over by his daughters and son. Robert Pace had run the store after his father M.A. Pace died. Robert Pace passed in October, and the Morgan family purchased it in April.

“We did a tribute to the Pace family on the left side when you walk in the store,” said new co-owner Leon Morgan. The Morgan family has been living in Saluda for generations and has an older connection to the store. A grandfather, Gen. Benjamin Russell, worked in the store during the 1920s. “He worked for M.A. Pace, the original owner,” said Tangie Ciarvolo, Leon Morgan’s daughter.

On Saturday, it was a family affair to open the store. Granddaughters were behind the counter. Judy and Leon Morgan were walking about the store, among the food items on the left side and the hardware items on the right, greeting guests. Bits and pieces of history can be found throughout. The giant old cash register, which Robert Pace used until the store closed last fall, sits next to the new one. Original scales and carts are perched on display cases to illustrate the long history of the store.

Local vegetables, jams, and honey are available for purchase. At a ribbon-cutting Saturday morning, Robert Pace’s daughter, Kay Richardson from Clinton came to cut it. “We wanted to still keep it running the way it was,” Ciarvolo said. Ciarvolo added she grew up in Saluda and with the Pace Store.