GREENSBORO, N.C. — Nearly two dozen business owners in downtown Greensboro spent the past week racing against the clock after receiving city notices demanding that graffiti be removed from their buildings within 10 days. With the Nov. 27 deadline quickly approaching, many are pouring hours—and money—into restoring their storefronts.
A Thanksgiving Week Spent Scrubbing Instead of Celebrating
While most residents prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday, James Shulga spent his Tuesday hunched against a wall outside Terra Blue, scrubbing layer after layer of paint off the building’s century-old bricks. He’s helping his sister, Sarah McDavid, who owns the iconic South Elm Street shop and received a cleanup notice from the city’s Code Compliance office last week.
“He is applying a cleaner and using lots of upper body work to get that out of the brick and out of the mortar without damaging it,” McDavid explained, watching as Shulga chipped away at the vandalism that had stretched across her storefront.
The city told her she had until Nov. 27 to remove the graffiti entirely.
Historic Buildings Pose Extra Challenges
The work hasn’t been easy. Terra Blue’s home was built in the late 1890s, and the age of its brick adds a level of difficulty that modern cleaning supplies can’t solve on their own.
“Graffiti cleaner was just not working, and I think it had to do with the age of the brick,” McDavid said. “That stuff is just so porous and so old.”
To avoid damaging the building’s historic appearance—including a faint “ghost sign” painted onto the wall decades ago—Shulga has been using an environmentally friendly brick-cleaning solution. The pair recently dealt with graffiti on the same wall and have only just found a process that works without stripping the structure’s original character.
“He’s still working on this area, but the bulk of this has been cleaned off,” McDavid said. “You can see where that paint was. This is part of the ghost sign, so we’re not removing that.”
Graffiti Spread Across Downtown, Affecting 24 Businesses
Terra Blue is hardly alone. In total, 24 businesses across downtown Greensboro received similar orders from Code Compliance, each given only 10 days to clean up vandalism or risk penalties.
Sidewalks, alleyways, brick walls, and storefronts across the city show signs of tagging—an ongoing issue that business owners say is both costly and relentless.
Shoppers and passersby are noticing too.
“I don’t think necessarily it’s the buildings’ or businesses’ fault to get rid of the graffiti,” said Monet Chriss, who walked past the tagged walls on Tuesday. “Especially if they keep coming back and keep redoing it and redoing it, because that’s not just fair.”
A Citywide Problem With No Quick Fix
While Greensboro police and Code Compliance continue efforts to reduce vandalism downtown, business owners say they feel they’re shouldering the responsibility alone. Until long-term solutions are implemented—whether increased patrols, community deterrence programs, or stricter penalties—storefronts remain easy targets.
For now, McDavid and her family are focused on preserving the history etched into their building’s brick and keeping Terra Blue’s exterior clean, even if it means spending holidays with scrub brushes instead of celebration.
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