TUPELO – The weather did nothing to deter visitors from the opening of upscale pawn shop Choice Pawn on Friday.
Located in the former Super D pharmacy at the corner of West Main and Milford streets, the shop attracted hordes of visitors with guest Seth Gold, of truTV’s “Hardcore Pawn.”
“We met (Gold) at the National Pawn Broker’s Convention in Las Vegas a few weeks ago,” said Choice Pawn owner Luke Montgomery. “We got to know each other and the next thing you know he agreed to come down.”
The line to meet Gold stretched through the store and out of the door. “Hardcore Pawn” follows Seth and his family as they operate the largest pawn shop in Detroit.
Johnny Wiginton and Leonard Rogers waited patiently in line for an autograph. Both purported to be huge fans of the show.
“We watch it almost every night,” Wiginton said. “Even when the episodes are reruns. The family drama is fun to watch, and I like it when they bring in the experts on the stuff, especially instruments.”
Rogers agreed.
“(Gold) is one wacky dude. The whole family is very entertaining,” Rogers said. “They’re cool people, and they’re real. They show how people really are.”
Montgomery said the Tupelo location is the second store, following the first in Fulton, in a 20-store plan reaching all the way to Louisville, Kentucky.
“The store speaks for itself, with its inventory and cleanliness,” Montgomery said. “We have some really great team members who know the products, most of which are lightly used, but some things we do get new from closeouts.”
Gold, who was voted broker of the year at the Las Vegas convention, said he was impressed at Choice Pawn’s goals.
“It’s definitely ambitious,” he said. “But pawn brokers have to think outside the box. When they asked me to come down from Detroit, it piqued my interest. It’s a great shop, and I figured why not come down and draw in some customers.”
