‘Southern Roots’ boutique relocating to downtown Rockingham

ROCKINGHAM — Local store Our Southern Roots will be moving from Richmond Plaza to downtown Rockingham.

The boutique, which sells a variety of clothing, accessories, jewelry, and gifts, has been located in the Plaza for four years. Owner Tina Sugg said there’s no definitive timeline for the move, and that she had hoped it would have been completed by June. She’s had trouble getting contractors to work, which has led to the delay.

Our Southern Roots’s new location will be in the space formerly occupied by the Rockingham Fitness Center. It’s a bigger store which will allow the boutique to offer more and newer items, Sugg said. Renovations of the new location are ongoing.

“I’m running out of room,” Sugg said of her current location. “We do a lot of custom stuff and people don’t really know about it because I don’t have room to display it.”

Employee Julie King said she thinks the downtown location will bring in more customers as well.

Sugg added that she hopes the addition of her store will add to the revitalization of downtown Rockingham post-COVID-19. She said that the events downtown will bring people from outside Richmond County.

“Southern Roots will be a welcome addition to downtown Rockingham and further evidence of the appeal of relocating great retail opportunities offered by Rockingham’s central business district,” Rockingham City Manager Monty Crump said in a text.