From Dreams to Reality: Small Business Success Stories in Maury County, TN

Jeff Adkins

Discover how local entrepreneurs like Needle & Grain, BriarWorks, and Bradley Mountain found small business success in Maury County.

Needle & Grain: Finding Hometown Success

Susan and Bryson Leach’s site-selection list for their now successful store, Needle & Grain, did not initially include their own hometown in Maury County.

Both grew up in Maury County, but they imagined putting their roots down after college in a more urban place, namely Nashville, just 50 miles up Interstate 65. 

Their business plan involved the couple’s individual talents: he as a designer and a woodworker and she as a quilter and fabric artist. By 2012, plans for a store were starting to gel.

However, Nashville’s economic boom was leading to scarcity and higher prices for office and retail space, so the pair decided to give Columbia another look. What they saw surprised them.

“We could sense the downtown was starting to take off,” she says. “We felt the up-and-coming-ness of Columbia and decided that’s where we needed to be.”

Needle & Grain opened its first storefront in 2017 and was immediately welcomed by the Columbia business community. In turn, the couple invested their time in local volunteer opportunities and civic activities.

“Having connections in our hometown was key to getting everything linked up for us to be successful,” Susan says. “We wanted to stay involved.”

The shop has since moved to a downtown square location. The original craft-focused origins of Needle & Grain have been ceded to a generous mix of eco-friendly products, including leather goods, gifts, gourmet condiments, children’s apparel, kitchen utensils, books and paper – and opportunities for customers to join in with classes in quilting, soapmaking and more.

“Now, we’ve evolved into something like a general store that is focused on purposeful living,” Susan says.

BriarWorks: From Hobby to Thriving Business

Pete Prevost’s bustling enterprise, BriarWorks in Columbia, was sparked by a youthful enthusiasm.

“I first picked up a pipe, a corncob, when I was 18,” Prevost says. “My friends and I thought we were acting like old men, but it was fun.”

Forgotten for a while, the pipe reemerged in Prevost’s life years later, when he decided to reexplore the hobby – this time using a more “serious” smoking implement.

As a Nashville-based musician who was often on tour, Prevost combed stores while on the road for antique tobacco pipes. He also ordered kits online to craft his own pipes while traveling. But this creative spark was not to be contained.

Back in Nashville, he joined a pipe-maker meetup group and met kindred spirits, including Todd Johnson, a renowned maker of handmade pipes. The two began working together to make and sell handmade wares at pipe shows around the country.

Searching for a way to increase efficiency by producing high-quality pipes that could be initiated on machines but finished by hand, Prevost and Johnson came together to open their pipe factory at BriarWorks.

“I lived in Spring Hill and could see cool things were happening in Columbia,” he says. “Not only could we find a historic building with character, we could potentially also open a storefront and create a little hangout spot.”

Now buzzing with customers at 511 N. Main St., BriarWorks exports high-quality, custom-made pipes that feature simple shapes, great detail and hand finishing. Pipes sell from $140 upwards. 

In the retail shop, BriarWorks sells pipes and cigars. They also have a beer tap and are now approved to serve liquor and wine.

Prevost said city and county leaders and officials have been easy to work with as the business developed, and the Columbia community has been welcoming.

“We’ve had slow, steady growth but have continued to build BriarWorks into a destination spot,” he says. “People of all types and ages hang out here. We’ve become their ‘Cheers.’”

Ethan Luck Photography

Small Business Success in Maury County for Bradley Mountain

One of the more recent additions to the retail scene is camping goods maker Bradley Mountain, which began in a garage in Ocean Beach, California, in 2012. With handmade leather and waxed canvas items including backpacks and jackets, the company serves the needs of outdoor enthusiasts.

After relocating its headquarters to the arts district in Columbia, Bradley Mountain further extended its welcome to customers by opening a coffee bar in its new downtown location.

Owner and chief designer Tyler Axtell says he realized his goal of opening a space where adventurous people could gather to plan their future travels. “It helps us to have a physical location to get our dreams moving,” he says on the company website.