Three months after Southern Lion opened in Carolina Place Mall, owner Sonja Nichols said she has finalized plans to expand next spring — grabbing an additional 85,000 square feet to go with the 50,000 square feet she currently leases.
The additional space, she said, will allow the Black-owned home goods store to accommodate more than 300 merchants, nearly tripling the number she currently serves.
“Our goal is to be the premier multi-merchant marketplace in the Southeast region,” Nichols told QCity Metro. “We want to be that one-stop shop for your home needs.”
Located in a former Sears store, Southern Lion opened in September, selling products stocked by independent merchants — everything from furniture to home goods to artwork. As owner of the store, Nichols receives a commission from each sale.
Nichols said her expansion will encompass the lower level of the former Sears store, where she plans to add additional vendor space, a food cafe and a men’s sports lounge.
Preserving a Charlotte staple
Nichols said her business model was inspired by BLACKLION, a popular home decor store that operated in south Charlotte for nearly 30 years. BlackLION’s owners announced their retirement in late 2022, foreshadowing the store’s closure in February 2023.
Nichols described herself as a longtime customer of BLACKLION, and she initially wanted to buy the Brand. She said she connected with BLACKLION owner Bob Emory, who helped her in the early stages of her planning, but the BLACKLION name was not for sale; Emory’s daughter had already opened a BLACKLION store in Chicago.
“God put it in my spirit that I’m supposed to help find a new home for these merchants,” she said of the former BLACKLION vendors.
Nichols said the name Southern Lion is a combination of BLACKLION and her favorite holiday market, the Southern Christmas Show. After leasing the initial 50,000 square feet, she began reaching out to BLACKLION’s former vendors, inviting them to be a part of her new concept. Some declined, she said.
Nichols runs Southern Lion alongside her son Richard.
The challenge, she said, is letting BLACKLION’s former customers know that they now have a new place to browse. She hopes the Christmas shopping season will help solve that problem.
A new opportunity
Lauren Schipni, who owns House To Home by LC, a home decor business, was one of the former BLACKLION merchantes who joined Nichols at Southern Lion.
After seven years at BLACKLION, Schipni said, she was saddened to learn of the owners’ decision to close the store. “I had put blood, sweat and tears into this. I had built so many generational connections with my customers,” she said.
Schipni said being invited by Nichols to join Southern Lion was an “answered prayer.”
“Now, [my customers] will have somewhere to go,” she said. “I will have somewhere to go.”
Schipni said she was glad to connect with old and new customers and witness the future of the Southern Lion brand.
“It’s very exciting to be at the beginning because I get to see it grow,” she said.
Joseph Locke, owner of JRL Artistry, is a new merchant at Southern Lion, selling metal paintings and apparel, among other items, with his abstract designs and photography.
After moving to Charlotte in 2020, Locke said, he wanted to find a marketplace to sell his work but had only part-time flexibility in handling his sales.
He had previously tried to get join BLACKLION, so when the opportunity came to join Southern Lion, he jumped at the chance.
“When Sonja sat down with all the vendors, I knew this could be something special,” he said.
Locke said he hopes to some day open a brick-and-mortar store and believes Southern Lion will provide him the space to grow his clientele.
Congratulations Southern Lion, Mrs Sonja Nichols.I love this Jalon excellent coverage and very needed information to support our Sisters ,Brothers and Community. I would like to connect with Joseph Locke to sell some of his painting in my boutique in Massachusetts and Lauren Schipni also.
Oh my goodness, this article is so inspiring, I wish them all the best 🥰
Love the article on tSouthern Lion
Wonderful inspirational information, would like more to help start my own business.
Thank you
Great article.. Very inspiring!