Entrepreneur achieves lifelong dream of opening his own business in downtown Concord

Palmetto Market, located at 11 Cabarrus Avenue West, is the realization of owner Chrissy Santos’ lifelong dream of running a brick-and-mortar business.

“To be honest, it still feels surreal,” Santos, 39, told this newspaper about the first week of the market. The grand opening was February 24th. “This place has been on my vision board since college.”

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, she has lived in Kannapolis with her husband and children since 2020. She ran her own online business, Christy’s Custom Creations, as a hobby for many years while working full time at a fitness company.

But her passion has always been retail, and she held out hope that she could open her own space without having to sell products from her home on sites like Facebook and Craigslist.

During the pandemic, Santos was up for long hours juggling her regular job and online business, but she faced a “crossroads” and gave herself a chance.

Shortly after quitting her fitness job, she enrolled in Retail Lab Boot Camp, a six-week program designed to help entrepreneurs who want to open their own retail store. The curriculum covered topics such as business fundamentals, strategy, branding and marketing, e-commerce, POS, and inventory.

As Santos prepared to solicit $2,500 micro-grants from Entrepreneurship Council members (think of the TV series “Shark Tank”), she quickly decided to pay homage to her South Carolina roots. changed its name to Palmetto Market.

“I thought, ‘If I’m going to be taken seriously, I have to make a change,'” Santos said of the necessary rebranding of the business. Her pitch was successful and she received $2,500 to start her business.

Santos was planning to sell her products at Market 94, another new business in downtown Concord, but fate intervened. As she was choosing her booth, she received an email from an acquaintance of hers, the owner of the playroom Her Social, who was preparing. Leaving downtown and heading to a new part of the city.

“I was screaming because as soon as I came (to the space) I knew,” she said. “I thought, ‘This is what I’m supposed to do.’

Santos signed a contract to take over the property, received the keys a few weeks ago and hasn’t looked back. After years of participating in various pop-ups and festivals and having her products featured in other stores, Santos finally has a physical space.

This also had another meaning. Her favorite number in Santos has always been 11, so the significance of her number 11 on Calle Cabarrus was not lost on her.

She said she was especially touched when several downtown business owners came to show their support during the grand opening. “It was an amazing moment,” she said. “I hope you never forget it.”

Santos specializes in made-to-order and personalized gifts, especially laser-engraved wooden acrylics, greeting cards, earrings, and embroidered hats. She utilizes several different printing presses and will soon be introducing a mobile she laser and printer.

“You’ll be able to print any image and engrave anything on the fly,” Santos said. “It’s something that I can do that’s a little bit different and that other people aren’t offering right now.”

Wanting to give back and provide space to other vendors in the area, Palmetto Market sells dog treats from Harrisburg-based Barley Jean Biscuits and Bakery and Little Bee Keeper, founded in 2016. Products from 16 other small businesses are also on display, including honey products. In 2016, a 9-year-old girl named Leila became the state’s youngest certified beekeeper.

Santos also uses that knowledge to mentor other aspiring small business owners, currently teaching marketing classes in the Retail Lab program and the Small Business Center at Rowan Cabarrus Community College.

“I have found my passion and I want to be able to not only run my own business and make it successful, but also help others in the process,” she said.

Palmetto Market is open Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.