Used needles, shattered glass: Glenwood South store closing after safety concerns
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Urban Pothos will close its Glenwood South store on Aug. 10 due to safety issues
- Owner cites panhandling, vandalism, and drug litter as ongoing disruptions
- Second Urban Pothos location at Iron Works will remain open amid transition
José Harvey has not let his staff clean up the used needles they have found on his plant shop’s front stoop.
Now, after four years of growing safety concerns and economic challenges, he is closing the Glenwood South location of his Urban Pothos Houseplant Shop.
“We’ve had to deal with a lot of really not-so-great problems,” Harvey said. “And it seems like not a lot has been done to ever solve these problems.”
The last day for the store at 714 W. Peace St. will be Sunday, Aug. 10. The shop’s second location at Iron Works will become its flagship store.
“I just wanted to be a part of that vibrancy scene,” Harvey said. “At the time, there was this whole push. It was right in 2021, we were on our way out of the pandemic, and I just thought it would be so cool to be part of the revitalization of downtown. But I don’t feel like any of us have really seen that revitalization.”
Since opening, he said, panhandlers have gotten more hostile, threatening staff when asked to leave, and people have started urinating and defecating on the store’s property.
“Not long ago we came in and our back window had been shattered, and we were like ‘How is that even possible?’” Harvey said. “So we called the police, and the police said that it had been shot out.”
They’ve consistently found used needles and empty nitrous oxide canisters, an inhalant drug used in laughing gas and whipping cream often called whippets.
It’s worse when school is in session and students from nearby Broughton Magnet High School leave campus for lunch, he said.
“We will have 30 kids just gathered around our front area where customers can’t get through because there’s all these kids trying to hang out,” Harvey said. “And when you tell them to leave, they literally try to fight you. We’ve had kids get in our face, throw punches at us. The kids hang out on the side of the Peace Street Market and smoke pot.”
The store, which sells houseplants and plant supplies, is also facing financial challenges, he said, from tariffs and economic uncertainty. Some of its potting mixture components come from other countries, and they’ve seen significant price increases while trying to bring products in.
Safety concerns downtown
Safety has been a sticking point for downtown Raleigh, in particular near the city’s bus station and in the Glenwood South nightlife district. In 2023, the debate escalated, with numerous business owners speaking to city leaders about the challenges they faced.
Crime in Glenwood South is trending down in 2025, compared to four-year averages, said Lt. David Davis. Violent crime in the area, including aggravated assaults, is down, as are property crimes, like larcenies and commercial burglaries, he said.
But some quality-of-life issues, like trespassing, disorderly conduct and vandalism, have remained steady, and noise violations are up.
“[Chief Rico Boyce] has actually established a dedicated hospitality district that is separate and apart from the downtown district,” Davis said. “And, you know, Glenwood South being one of Raleigh’s busiest entertainment and nightlife areas, that district is going to be staffed with a specialized team.”
This area is also a good candidate for the “Cops on the Block” program that Boyce launched earlier this year in which officers walk a neighborhood talking to residents and business owners and their employees, he said.
The hospitality district could work with nearby school resource officers to address issues arising from schools, Davis said.
More openings than closings
The Downtown Raleigh Alliance says 18 new storefront businesses opened in the second quarter of this year and 10 closed.
Urban Pothos brought community and creative programming to downtown, and they are sad to see it leave downtown, said Ileana Rodriguez, vice president of communications and community relations for the alliance.
“We know how challenging it can be to run a brick-and-mortar business, and we’re grateful for their contributions to our downtown community,” she said.
“DRA does not typically comment on individual business decisions, but we do take concerns around safety in public spaces seriously,” she added. “Our Downtown Raleigh Ambassadors regularly patrol the Glenwood South area, including the stretch of Peace Street where Urban Pothos is located. Their role is to serve as a visible presence and connect people with resources, while also assisting with hospitality, cleanliness, and safety efforts.”
Ambassadors are unarmed employees who provide a range of services including providing directions, escorting people to their vehicles, patrolling parking garages and communicating with law enforcement about potential safety concerns.
This story was originally published August 8, 2025 at 1:26 PM.
