When times are changing, some do likewise

Imagine you are the owner of a furniture store, or a real estate agent, struggling through perhaps the nation's worst housing slump in 40 years.
Home sales are moving at a snail's pace, and consequently the demand for a five-piece bedroom set leaves something to be desired.

What do you do?

Hit the pit

If you're Ray Waldrup, you sell your furniture store and open a barbecue joint.

Set to serve its first rack of ribs by the end of next week, Ray's BBQ, at 440 W. Coleman Blvd. in Mount Pleasant, former site of Red Pepper Squirrel, is Waldrup's smokin' answer to a stifled furniture industry.

"I like to enter barbecue competitions, so this is something I've wanted to do all my life," he said. "Now just seems like the best time to try something different."

Waldrup opened a Bassett Furniture in West Ashley in 2004 and sold the business a few months ago, allowing him to shift his focus.