Joan Edge would like to open another gift store one day "if I find something and it feels right."

But for now, Edge is shutting down her store, Edwards Hallmark at Mayfaire Town Center, after being unable to renew her lease. The terms Mayfaire owner CBL Properties wanted were not a good fit for her store, said Edge, who, among other factors, didn't want to move to another section of the shopping center. 

Edwards Hallmark at 6875 Main St. was one of the first businesses to open its doors at Mayfaire Town Center, which began welcoming customers in 2004. Before that, Edge's parents, Durwood and Wanda Edwards, had opened the store's original location in 1984 near Wrightsville Beach.

For the past eight years, Edge, whose father died in 2022 and whose mother died in October, has managed the store. Edge's mother took care of the bills while she did the buying, but she and her parents agreed about the kinds of items they wanted to sell in addition to Hallmark cards and collectibles.

"We've always focused on that, to have good quality, but it not be a crazy price point. And I think that's something that people have really appreciated, was just the type of gift lines that we carry," Edge said.

The closing sales Edge has been holding has made her realize how much customers loved the store, she said.

"I mean, they've become our friends. Some feel like family that have been here. So this community is crushed," Edge said. "I knew it would hit hard. I thought it would, but it's beyond what I thought it would do."

While Edge will continue to sell her inventory and fixtures through Saturday, March 22, she said the focus of the last day will be a customer appreciation day, a time when customers can come in and say goodbye and sign the same guest book the Edwards used when they opened the Mayfaire store 21 years ago.

Mayfaire Town Center's Main Street has been undergoing a transformation in recent years, gaining momentum when Anthropologie opened in the former Pier 1 space at 6885 Main St. in 2023. A cascade of clothing stores popular among tweens, teens and 20-somethings replaced some of the corridor's older stores last year and this year, including Free People, FP Movement and Aerie. Jewelry store Kendra Scott is expected to open soon at 6880 Main St.

Correction: This version corrects the date of the closing of Edwards Hallmark.