New lease on life: Tanglewood motel transforms into small-shop haven

Mar. 25—For more than six decades, the Tanglewood Motel in Maggie Valley provided shelter to visitors, but after renovation it is emerging as a small-shop and travel destination, showcasing local crafts and antiques.

Tanglewood Village and Shops opened last November, with its 19 storefronts housing local crafts, antiques and art.

Seeing potential

When Karen Hoover drove up to the motel last year, she saw enough charm and potential behind the 1960s exterior to convince her to buy the property.

"It's an inviting space, it's aesthetically pleasing. You pull up, and it's not just a shopping center," she said.

The shops that occupy the old motel range from relics at Chris and Friends Antiques, perched on the frontline, to upcycled goods and crafts at Keeping up with the Jones'.

The shops line the path to the 'village' portion of Tanglewood that consists of two furnished rental cabins near the stream that flows in the back. There are plans in the works for a couple of retro Airstreams that people can rent out, reflecting the 1960s theme. Plans call for a rentable treehouse overlooking the creek. Two food trucks will be parked full-time in the field across from the strip mall.

"This is the Maggie Valley version of a shopping area," Hoover said. "It's unique."

Envisioning the future

Hoover has flipped properties for decades and said she knew Tanglewood's future would be brighter if it had a new function.

Chris Smith, owner of Chris and Friends Antiques joined Hoover in her endeavor. The two met over an antique transaction four years ago when Smith sold Hoover a seven-foot hand-carved cigar-store Indian. Hoover had found her go-to guy for rare treasures, and an experienced local merchant to pioneer her vision for the space.

"Anything unusual I've found (and sold) is in her house, and I can still visit it," Smith said.

Smith has been selling antiques locally for 20 years and appraising antiques for 10, but has been antiquing for far longer.

"When I was a kid, my papaw used to drag me around to the flea market and stuff," Smith said. "But my papaw got dementia years ago now. I had to quit my job and start selling stuff just to make a living, and it just started growing and turned into this."

With his background, the idea of Tanglewood serving as a support for small businesses appealed to Smith.

"The vision was to ... help people get their own business they can afford and build something," Smith said.

Smith and his wife, Stephine Moody, run Chris and Friends Antiques together, and Hoover plans to pass ownership of Tanglewood to Smith by this summer.

Better business

Smith said he's seen better business since moving his antique store from its previous location.

"And when people in town look for something to do or places to shop, we pop up. So we get a lot of folks who are seeing us online and coming in," Moody said.

Down the strip, owners Joanna and Denise Jones, owners of Keeping up the Jones' moved to Tanglewood from Clyde in hopes of an uptick in business.

"When we found out about this we thought it would be great," Joanna said. "We did good business in Clyde, but people drive through Clyde. They don't slow down, they don't pay attention to the little businesses, and we just thought this would be better.

Preparing for change

Purchasing a motel built in 1960 meant Smith and Hoover faced a daunting task in preparing it for a new role and new tenants. The challenges related more to the physical structure than a late 2022 murder that seemed to be the final prompt for closing the motel and putting it up for sale. Coming from Florida, Hoover said, she was used to buildings with histories; that was no deterrent.

However, it seemed 20 different people over 40 years had stuck things together to maintain the hotel's structure and electrical systems, and that was a challenge to correct. In January, the roof collapsed. The damages set the renovations and opening back six weeks.

Since the project's completion, however, community support has been strong. Currently Tanglewood has leased out all of its available store sites.

Learn more about the shops at and cabin rentals at www.tanglewoodvillageshops.com