Murphy
It’s lucky that Jeremy Davis decided to get married. If he hadn’t driven through town from Blairsville, Ga., on his way to the casino for his bachelor party, he never would have noticed the abandoned building with Murphy 66 sign standing sadly above it.
Perhaps due to the headiness of a wedding and starting a new life with his bride, Davis and partner Jeff Marcum decided to take a chance. They tracked down the owner, and after Davis returned from his honeymoon, the two of them opened Murphy 66 car repair shop – and business is booming.
Murphy used to be a place where they enjoyed a pint. Davis said he often wanders down to Chevelles for a drink after work, but he’s also partial to Parson’s Pub. Now that they have settled their business here, Murphy has become a second home.
They believe their success rests in Murphy’s growing population. Davis said they were both “hot about Murphy. The need was here as people move to more rural locations based on the political situation.”
They have a bit more pocket change these days, which they occasionally still spend at Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino & Hotel, but they hold to a longer-term vision. Marcum hopes they will weave themselves into the history and heritage of Murphy.
‘No place better’
These two young men represent a glimpse of the changes occurring in and around downtown. Many of the shops and restaurants are owned and operated by enthusiastic people who migrated here from less-desirable places.
Back when Murphy was still in its infancy, and the Cherokee County Courthouse continued to be burned down no matter how many times the townsfolk rallied and rebuilt it, businesses were connected to the people of these mountains. The business district was often an extension of their own neighborhoods. However, the town being beautiful and alluring, it became a destination location, and soon businesses opened with non-natives running them.
Fast-forward 100 years or so, and the business district in Murphy looks and behaves differently. For one thing, the railroad stopped running in the summer of 1988, which altered the import of both goods and customers. But local folks are plucky, and the town kept growing, so by 2020 census, 1,677 people claimed it as home.
There is a large industry dedicated to tourism downtown, and even stores that don’t directly cater to the visitors still push merchandise to attract them. Harold Helton is one of those merchants.
He owns H&H Sports in the center of the Valley River Avenue block in town. It used to be the Collins & Crane department store in the 1950s. He opened in 1985 as a silk screening, trophy and plaque engraving store but, as a savvy businessman, learned to bend with the times.
Today, the shop mainly sells sporting equipment, with a bulk of his inventory geared toward fishing. Up near the front of the shop, he sells postcards and kitsch that he said will “attract the tourists.”
Helton has seen many businesses open and fail before they reach their first-year anniversary. He believes his shop has such longevity because he “caters to repeat business.” In other words, his customers are his friends. He knows most of the people in town, saying, “They are good to me.”
And he’s not going anywhere. He plans to sit behind the glass counter talking to his neighbors with no thought of retirement. He loves Murphy, adding, “No place I like, I reckon, any better than this.”
Family run business
Down the street from Helton is a family owned business that follows Helton’s belief system. Kathy and Steve Cousins opened Downtown Pizza more than 20 years ago. Their children, Liz Aquarian and Sean Harold, run the restaurant today, along with Liz’s husband, Sequoyah.
The Cousins used to visit family who lived Murphy, discovering there wasn’t a place to get a warm, fresh meal with any kind of expediency. The family previously made their living in Louisiana working as car washers for dealerships. The hard-earned money barely afforded the mobile home they lived in, and as the kids grew older and helped with the business, they soon grew weary of the intense heat.
Every summer they would holiday in Murphy, and one year they made the decision to stay. Liz remembers the school bus dropping her off at the family pizza place. She and her brother would run down to Parker’s Drugstore for a cherry Coke.
“They used real cherry syrup,” she said. She believes their business remains a “Murphy institution” because although they are “delighted by tourists, our bread and butter are our neighbors.”
Their restaurant is filled every day with “local business workers from dentists to police officers.” These days, Liz said she watches her own son hop off the bus at the business. She has “a lucky family. We are always here. This business is our home.”
The old Parker’s is now home to Exit Realty, but the soda fountain still shines brightly from the back. Sadly, it’s no longer operational, but it’s easy to picture people Liz and her brother sitting on the stools, sucking sweet cherry syrup through striped straws.
Exit is new to Murphy proper. Their old place was out on U.S. 64 West, across from BB&T. Kathy Vetton, the real estate company’s owner and broker, said they moved downtown to “increase our foot traffic.”
At the bar
Chevelles is owned and managed by another transplant couple, Thea and Larry Butler. They opened in July 2009, moving here with their four children from Hampton Bays, New York. Thea said they migrated here to live “in a safer, better cost of living, peaceful environment.”
The Butlers chose their location soon after the liquor licensing changed and restaurants were permitted to serve alcohol, after first operating a restaurant at the old Cherokee Hills Golf Course. They arrived here with a worthy pedigree, as Thea earned a degree in marketing and merchandising, while Larry graduated from the Culinary Institute of Hyde Park.
Thea said Chevelles’ clientele has changed over the years. “We have seen a lot more traffic and day-trippers here in Murphy over the years.”
Like the Cousins, the Butlers grew their business through sweat equity. “If one plans on opening a new business in Murphy, they must believe in their idea and see it through with much sweat, equity and tears,” she said.
When asked if they would do it all over again, she replied, “Yes! Most definitely! Our adventures and life improvements have grown tremendously here. Larry and I are proud to call Murphy home.”
And so it goes, shop to shop, business to business. Some businesses still reflect the older ways. Charles McHan Jr. opened his real estate law practice across the street from Davis and Marcum’s car repair shop in 1998. He grew up in Murphy and has no intention of ever leaving.
He said he “saw a big change in Murphy back in 2015, when the casino opened.” McHan feels a protectiveness over Murphy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. He bought a giant outdoor heater so his clients could still sell and purchase homes during the thick part of the pandemic.
Like other business owners, whether they were born here or arrived later, McHan said he “loves the small town and knowing the people here.”