A one-time auto parts store near the busy crossroads of Main Street and NC Bypass 98 has become the new home of the growing firearms retailer Carolina Gunrunners. The business was formerly located in Falls River Town Center in north Raleigh. “Our new location in Wake Forest is only about 15 minutes from our previous store,” says Michael Jarvi, co-owner of the business.
In its move to Wake Forest early this year, Carolina Gunrunners nearly doubled its space to 5,000 square feet. Founded in 2011, the company sells a wide variety of handguns, shotguns, rifles, ammo, knives, optical gear, and accessories. It does face-to-face sales and maintains significant online promotion. “The biggest advantage is simply the additional space,” according to Jarvi. “We’re now able to house everything under one roof.” Gunrunners, in fact, formerly leased a separate space to house online sales operations and surplus inventory. “At our previous location, we were pretty cramped,” Jarvi says.
Now, Gunrunners’ expanded footprint gives it room to merchandise its products more effectively, making it easier for customers to view and browse the business’s extensive inventory.
The availability of additional space, however, was just one among several factors that led the 15-year-old business to its new location. “Like many of the surrounding communities, Wake Forest is experiencing tremendous growth,” continues Jarvi. “It is one of the fastest-growing communities in North Carolina and also ranks toward the top of the state in median household income.” While such trends are no secret, Jarvi and his team also turned to their own internal data for guidance. “Our own customer database showed that a significant portion of our customers were already coming from the 27587 zip code,” he explains. “So, moving to Wake Forest made a lot of sense for us.”
Jarvi says Town officials have been welcoming. Its interaction with local law enforcement has been especially impressive. “The Wake Forest Police Department has been phenomenal,” he says. Late one night, for example, a product fell from its shelf onto the floor, triggering the company’s alarm system. Officers from the Town of Wake Forest Police Department were on the scene in less than two minutes. “We’ve never experienced a response time anywhere close to that,” Jarvi says. “I can’t say enough good things about our experience with them so far.”
Carolina Gunrunners currently employs 18 people – a workforce that includes six part-timers. The company’s diverse customer base includes people from all walks of life. “And their buying habits are just as varied,” Jarvi says. “Customers come to us for everything from home-defense and concealed-carry firearms to hunting guns, recreational shooting equipment, modern sporting rifles, safes, ammunition and much more,” he explains. “The reception we've received in Wake Forest has been fantastic, the customers here have been awesome, and we've really enjoyed becoming part of the community,” he says.
Carolina Gunrunners’ arrival in Wake Forest comes amid strong growth in U.S. firearm purchases. According to safehome.org, a digital research and media entity focused on home security and personal safety, gun sales in the first half of 2026 totaled an estimated 7.74 million units, an increase of three percent over the first six months of last year. Multi-year trends have moderated since gun sales spiked dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. About half the first-time gun purchasers between 2019 and 2021 were women, according to Ammo.com, an online ammunition retailer and gun-rights advocacy group based outside New Orleans. Today, as many as one in four women in the U.S. report owning a firearm, the organization estimates.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local economy, and we’re always pleased to see a retailer like Carolina Gunrunners select Wake Forest as the backdrop to their growth,” says Jason Cannon, President of Wake Forest Business & Industry Partnership (WFBIP). In North Carolina, retail businesses support some 1.8 million direct, indirect and induced jobs across the state – about 27 percent of the state’s total employment, according to the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association. “We look forward to supporting the success of retailers whether they’re prominent national brands or homegrown local firms,” Cannon continues. “All are important to the Town’s tax base, our business community, and the quality of life of our residents.”
