SALISBURY — Two Salisbury-area entrepreneurs, Mark Honeycutt and James Poe, have opened East Coast Granite, Marble & Bronze, a monument, columbaria and memorial provider.
Patrick Pearson, a local marketing professional, recently joined the company as a third partner and director of marketing.
East Coast Granite has opened a retail location at 503 Faith Road, next to Wink’s Barbecue restaurant in the former Fowler Realty office. The facility includes a broad selection of monuments and columbaria in different shapes, colors and materials.
The company also has a web-based application for digitally designing monuments, so customers can view their choices before purchasing.
“Some may say this is not a good time to open a new business,” Honeycutt said. “But we saw an opportunity to provide residents with a caring, compassionate and affordable resource for the products we offer.”
According to Poe, research indicated that Rowan County residents and funeral home directors needed more choice in the products East Coast Granite is offering.
“We saw a void that needed to be filled,” he said.
Honeycutt has been involved in several local business ventures, including founding the Farmhouse Restaurant and developing commercial and residential real estate throughout Rowan County.
He is married to the former Ashley Graham, and they have three children.
Poe has been a Realtor with Wallace Realty for nine years. He also was district manager of U.S. Filter and owner/operator of Poe’s Toys & Hobbies in Salisbury.
He is married to Nancy Henderson Poe, and they have three adult children and four grandchildren.
Pearson most recently served as an account manager at Miller Davis Inc., a Salisbury advertising, public relations, event and web marketing firm.
He has worked primarily for advertising and public relations firms for nearly 25 years. He has two children and will marry Patricia Brisson of Salisbury this summer.
“We are positioning the Salisbury office of East Coast as a prototype,” Pearson said. “Our growth plans call for duplicating our streamlined and value-based processes and marketing activities for roll-out in additional markets very quickly.”
East Coast Granite, Marble & Bronze LLC provides monuments for cemetery marking, columbaria for cremation, pet memorials and commercial signage.
More information on the company is available at www. eastcoastofsalisbury.com.