Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
    Johnston Jewelers – A Good Catch
    The Battle for Safer Mining
    Largest LGD grower continues rapid expansion
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    AGTA GemFair™ Las Vegas is kickoff point for Rapaport’s natural pearl auction and sales
    Plumb Club study underscores a bright future for the diamond category
    GIA’s Gems & Gemology Spring 2023 now available
    Virginia jewelers unite for Children’s Hospital of Richmond
  • Podcast
    Behind the Success of running a jewelry trade shop
    Episode 31 – Ross Wesdorp, Behind the Success of Running a Jewelry Trade Shop
    Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Episode 30 – Doris Butler, Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 29 – David Siminski, Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Darling of the Industry Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Episode 27 – The Darling of the Industry: Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Success in Jewelry and Writing
    Episode 26 – Success in Jewelry and Writing. Chuck Koehler of Anthony Jewelers
    Permanent Jewelry How Sunstone is Changing the Game
    Episode 25 – David Holloway, Permanent Jewelry: How Sunstone is Changing the Game
    Jewelry-Store.-Mark-Priest-of-Legend-Jewelers
    Episode 24 – From Bordello to Jewelry Store. Mark Priest of Legend Jewelers
    he-Jewelry-Industry-in-the-Eyes-of-Management-Consultant
    Episode 23 – The Jewelry Industry in the Eyes of Management Consultant, Kate Peterson
  • Columnists
    3 digital marketing lessons from great jewelry radio ads
    Joel McFadden Fine Jewelry
    Successful Custom: The Silent Selling Tool
    5 fun, powerful hacks to try using AI
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: A year late and a dollar short
    The Story Behind the Stone: The Maine Thing
    Joel McFadden Fine Jewelry
    Successful Custom: A Tale of Two Commitments
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Just Say No! If You Can
    The Story Behind the Stone: The Wonder of it All
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
  • Digital Magazine
    • Southern Jewelry News
    • Mid-America Jewelry News
    • Archive
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
    Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple
    Johnston Jewelers – A Good Catch
    The Battle for Safer Mining
    Largest LGD grower continues rapid expansion
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    AGTA GemFair™ Las Vegas is kickoff point for Rapaport’s natural pearl auction and sales
    Plumb Club study underscores a bright future for the diamond category
    GIA’s Gems & Gemology Spring 2023 now available
    Virginia jewelers unite for Children’s Hospital of Richmond
  • Podcast
    Behind the Success of running a jewelry trade shop
    Episode 31 – Ross Wesdorp, Behind the Success of Running a Jewelry Trade Shop
    Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Episode 30 – Doris Butler, Downsizing positioned Butler Diamonds for success
    Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 29 – David Siminski, Inside the United Precious Metal Refining
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Episode 28 – John Bruggemann, Secure Your Financial Future by Diversifying
    Darling of the Industry Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Episode 27 – The Darling of the Industry: Konrad Darling of Darling Imports
    Success in Jewelry and Writing
    Episode 26 – Success in Jewelry and Writing. Chuck Koehler of Anthony Jewelers
    Permanent Jewelry How Sunstone is Changing the Game
    Episode 25 – David Holloway, Permanent Jewelry: How Sunstone is Changing the Game
    Jewelry-Store.-Mark-Priest-of-Legend-Jewelers
    Episode 24 – From Bordello to Jewelry Store. Mark Priest of Legend Jewelers
    he-Jewelry-Industry-in-the-Eyes-of-Management-Consultant
    Episode 23 – The Jewelry Industry in the Eyes of Management Consultant, Kate Peterson
  • Columnists
    3 digital marketing lessons from great jewelry radio ads
    Joel McFadden Fine Jewelry
    Successful Custom: The Silent Selling Tool
    5 fun, powerful hacks to try using AI
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: A year late and a dollar short
    The Story Behind the Stone: The Maine Thing
    Joel McFadden Fine Jewelry
    Successful Custom: A Tale of Two Commitments
    Image of Chuck Koehler
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Just Say No! If You Can
    The Story Behind the Stone: The Wonder of it All
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
  • Digital Magazine
    • Southern Jewelry News
    • Mid-America Jewelry News
    • Archive
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured Articles

Drive-through jewelry store?

Liz Pinson by Liz Pinson
May 18, 2016
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Reading Time: 9 minutes

With no serious injuries and a great attitude, owner can laugh

Mccarty car intMcCarty’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry owner Bob McCarty was at home eating breakfast, looking forward to a routine day at his Evansville, Ind., store in late April when he got a jolting text from a friend.

“He asked me if I was OK, and I said what do you mean? He said I just went by your store and there’s a car in your store! You’d better get there! The police and everyone are trying to get ahold of you. About that time my sister called and said, ‘There’s a car in your building and it’s on fire!’

“So I ran to get ready and raced to the store. My house is about 10 to 15 minutes from the store. I think I made it in five! Come to find out, a 95-year-old lady had just left the bank and had come up around the corner from the exit of Walmart. She said she’d had mechanical failure, that the throttle had stuck. The people at the bank kind of corroborated her story; they said her engine was revving really high when she was there and it’s very possible that could have happened.

Mccarty Bob Mary
Owners Bob & Mary McCarty are hopeful things will be repaired and back to normal in 3 to 4 weeks.
“So when I got here, there were three fire trucks, an ambulance, five or six cop cars and 10,000 people taking pictures! I walked up and they were pulling her out. She was sitting up on a stretcher and she was coherent, so that was a good thing.”

The accident happened about 9:30 a.m., which was fortunate because the store opens at 10 a.m. and no one was inside. It was a good thing, too, that Bob and his wife, Mary, were running late, as was a salesman who was planning to meet the couple at the store.

“Mary got here a little before me,” Bob says. “She called me on my way and her reaction was, ‘It’s bad, but it could have been worse.’ We were just like anyone else, in shock.”

The Buick LeSabre plowed through brick, siding, wood and drywall, landing in the engagement and wedding ring section, Bob says. “My wife and I are the only two who work in the store, and we both had errands and were running a little late; otherwise we would have been standing there. The sales desk area where we would have been meeting the salesman is right in that area, as well.

Mccarty car from rear“No one was seriously hurt; the lady only had scrapes and bruises. She had about $100,000 worth of insurance, and we’re close to that with damages to the building and property. I had some stainless steel wedding bands, and it destroyed that case. I’d finally just broken down and bought a brand new computer and CAD system from Matrix and that’s another thing that got destroyed, my rendering stuff. I keep going back and saying hey, no one got hurt. It could have been worse; it’s just property damage.”

It could have been far worse. If it weren’t for the brick chimney, Bob says, “I think she would have gone right through the building and right down the hill. The chimney kind of stopped her.” The chimney, he says, is cracked and will have to be rebuilt.

“The amazing thing is that she was coming straight for my front door. She had the mind to veer to the left, so it took out the corner of the building. She missed the store’s sign; she was trying to miss everything. Police estimated she was doing 40 or 45 miles per hour when she hit the store.”

Mccarty car side
McCarty’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry got an unexpected visit from a Buick LeSabre.
Bob took the story of his mangled mess straight to Facebook, assuring his customers: “This is how my morning went . . . how was yours . . . we are very lucky that everyone is OK including the 95-year-old lady that drove through our store this morning. We will be reopened soon and don’t worry ladies, we are working on all of your wedding rings for this weekend’s weddings.”

Facebook friends were gracious in return: “My family has been given permission to postpone my Mother’s Day and birthday shopping until you re-open,” one wrote.

Bob says honestly that the exposure has been good for his store. “We don’t do a lot of advertising; we’re a small store, locally owned. I’ll probably be three or four weeks out of business, and then remodeling on top of that,” he says, adding with a laugh: “I’ve heard a million and one jokes about opening up a drive-through jewelry store.”

Mccarty car hits storeSeriously, Bob says, he just wants to get back to the way things were. He’d been in the location 10 years after buying the house and renovating it into a 2,500-square-foot store. “I’m still fairly new, so everything was nice. The brick in the front is hard to get so we may do stacked stone and change the look of the outside, but the store will look pretty much the same way.

“I don’t know if we’re going to be closed completely during the remodeling; we may just do repairs and things like that. To be fully open, it’s going to be a while. I have a great relationship with my customers, a great history with them. When we’re up and have a grand re-opening sale I hope they’ll show up and help me out.”

Bob has a word of advice to other jewelry store owners: “If you have a location close to a road, put large boulders in front of your store for landscaping. That’s what I’m going to do!”

 McCarty ext pre Mccarty int pre
Evansville, Indiana-based McCarty’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry has operated out of a renovated 2,500-square-foot house for the last 10 years.

For more information about McCarty’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry, you can call 812-425-3916, visit the store’s Facebook page or send an e-mail to mccartydiamonds@aol.com.

 

Liz Pinson

Liz Pinson

Liz Pinson has worked in journalism and publishing for more than 35 years, including 10 years as a copy editor, page designer and writer with The Charlotte Observer and 15 years as an associate editor with American Media. Liz holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Marshall University and is currently a freelance writer, editor and graphic designer based in Greensboro. She has enjoyed contributing monthly features to Southern Jewelry News and Mid-America Jewelry News since 2009.

Related Posts

Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple

Pretty much perfect retailing for Wyoming couple

May 1, 2023

Johnston Jewelers – A Good Catch

May 1, 2023

The Battle for Safer Mining

May 1, 2023

Largest LGD grower continues rapid expansion

May 1, 2023

Latest News

Industry Events

AGTA GemFair™ Las Vegas is kickoff point for Rapaport’s natural pearl auction and sales

May 24, 2023
Other News

Plumb Club study underscores a bright future for the diamond category

May 24, 2023
Other News

GIA’s Gems & Gemology Spring 2023 now available

May 24, 2023

Other News

Virginia jewelers unite for Children’s Hospital of Richmond

Furry Friends on the Job: Say hello to Benji of Joyeria La Guadalupana

The importance of WOWING your customers

ASHI Diamonds offers retail partners personalized advantage

It’s Show Time again and the jewelry business is coming out to play

Stuller announces strategic organizational updates

Southern Jewelry News

© 2023 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2023 Jewelry Trade Shows & Events
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
  • Newsletter Signup

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
  • DIGITAL MAGAZINE
    • Southern Jewelry News
    • Mid-America Jewelry News
    • Archives

© 2023 Southern Jewelry News.