It’s fun to pull for Three Star Mall, to root for it to succeed and flourish. We cheered when we kept our JC Penney in March and sulked when we lost Bookland years ago.
Our mall is a source of mood swings and vitamins at GNC. And don’t forget Roses anytime you have a craving for plastic stuff made overseas.
That brings me to the mall’s newest addition. It’s my pleasure to announce the opening of Lux Rebellion, a neat fashion store owned and operated by Keri Frank. It’s currently located in a kiosk near Goody’s and Bath & Body Works, although Keri plans to move into the old Claire’s store in June.
“I got the idea for this about four years ago when my daughter started to have a say in what she was wearing,” said Keri. “She really liked to match me and what I was wearing so that’s when I thought a store like this would be a great concept. What I’ve found is people really enjoy matching with their little ones. It’s great for pictures and special events. It’s really caught on.”
Keri had been running a store like this in Denver, Colo., before moving to McMinnville about a month ago. She’s originally from Tullahoma and yearned to return to Middle Tennessee.
“I’d been in Denver for about 10 years and wanted a little better place to raise a family,” said Keri. “Denver is very big and concrete. There’s not a lot of grass. Plus it’s really cold.”
I always think of Denver as a cozy city tucked away in the mountains. Keri says that’s not the case as the inner city is very urban with all the typical problems associated with that kind of area.
So she’s thrilled to be in McMinnville where her kids can play in the yard and splash around in the pool. As for her business, the matching clothing is one specialty, but she has more to offer.
Keri makes bubble necklaces which are trendy and she also makes her own hair bows. She takes special orders for the bows if you’re looking for certain colors.
Also in stock are a wide selection of Christian T-shirts which display religious messages. Keri says she has found people like this offering as such merchandise can be difficult to find.
In addition, she has seasonal clothing. There were several red, white and blue items in stock in anticipation of upcoming Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays.
Keri says she will be glad when she can move into Claire’s next month because her clothing will display so much better when it’s on racks, as opposed to inside glass cases. She will also utilize the extra room for more inventory.
Keri comes from an Army family and offers a discount every day to people who are in the military. “I believe it’s our duty to take care of the people who take care of us,” she said.
Lux Rebellion is open Tuesday thru Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Stop by and check out what she has to offer.
Porter Roofing’s new headquarters
As I mentioned in a column about two months ago, Porter Roofing has left the high chair and now sits at the big-boy table when it comes to trusted companies in the roofing industry.
The homegrown business does such first-class work, it landed the job to install the roof on the new domed stadium under construction for the Atlanta Falcons. That’s just totally cool. The new stadium is billed as a $1.5 billion engineering marvel that will be complete for the UT Vols football game against Georgia Tech on Sept. 4.
Porter Roofing now has four locations, three in Tennessee and one in Florida. The McMinnville-based company is in the process of adding a fifth location in Augusta, Ga.
With more smiles expected on the horizon, Porter Roofing was in need of a spacious facility to call its company headquarters. That’s not to say its spot in Newtown was bad, but it wasn’t a headquarters indicative of a company that’s putting the roof on the Falcons new dome.
I’m pleased to report the need for a new headquarters has been filled as Porter Roofing has purchased the old Apex Construction facility on Manchester Highway in Morrison.
It’s a sprawling building that looks great on the outside and has plenty of office space and a nice conference room on the inside. It’s a fitting move for Porter Roofing, which is owned and operated by partners Jeff Porter and Eric Cason. Congratulations on your new headquarters.
Juicy’s squeezing out new locations
The concept of eating fresh foods and a plant-based diet has caught on in McMinnville, the land of the fast food drive thru. In a day when it’s common to add large fries and a Coke to that extra value meal, Juicy’s Wellness Café has created a new trend on Main Street.
Now Juicy’s is eyeing expansion as owner Mary Beth Laxson says she has partners on board and is in the process of opening a Juicy’s in Murfreesboro this fall, followed by one in Nashville in early 2018.
“Everybody loves the juice, but the food is rapidly growing,” said Mary Beth. “We’re serving seven sandwiches, three soups and two entrees a day.”
It’s a remarkable success story for a business Mary Beth started from the trunk of her car in 2011. She found a storefront on Main Street in 2013.
“People are getting it now,” said Mary Beth. “In big cities, there are juice bars on every corner. I have to thank my loyal customers for making this work here. You wouldn’t think a juice bar would necessarily work in a rural community like this, but I have customers who come in every day.”
Mary Beth says people have approached her about expansion in the past but it didn’t feel right. She says her current partners fit the vibe of what she wants to convey as Juicy’s moves to Murfreesboro in a spot located across from The Avenue. She says work will begin in September.
The Nashville location will be near the baseball stadium occupied by the Sounds. She says it will have a pleasant patio and work will begin in early 2018.
If you’d like to learn about how to improve your health, there are few ways better than focusing on your diet. Since many people don’t know about proper nutrition, Juicy’s offers classes.
Mary Beth says when she first started offering the classes years ago, there were just a handful of people. Her latest nutrition class finished with 70 people.
Juicy’s is also coming off a recent four-day wellness retreat at Rock Island State Park.
“People flew in from all over the country,” said Mary Beth. “We occupied three cabins at Rock Island State Park.”
Juicy’s is located on Main Street next to Paul Holder Realty and is open Tuesday thru Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The phone number is 474-2233.
Eat a potato, help charity
If you’re looking for a way to benefit charity, perhaps you should eat a baked potato at J’s Restaurant. The more potatoes you eat, the more money will be donated to Relay for Life.
J’s Restaurant owner Junior Petit is offering a baked potato promotion in May. For every stuffed baked potato that’s purchased for $4.99, he will donate $2 to Relay for Life. Then, at the end of May, he will double the amount of money in the pool, which means he will donate $4 from every $4.99 potato.
“I’m doing this as a remembrance for my dad, who died of cancer,” said Junior. “My goal is to donate more than $1,500.”
His dad, Jean-Claude Petit, was a great man who had a gift for conversation. He was a skilled orator, a philosopher of sorts, and a wrestling fan. He was fun.
Junior is carrying on his tradition at J’s Restaurant and looking to help Relay for Life in the process. If you’d like to try one of his stuffed baked potatoes, it comes with his special recipe BBQ and two additional toppings.
As for the rumors about whether Junior is looking to buy the old Captain D’s building as a second location for J’s Restaurant, he declined to comment.
Willis named to vet board
Mandy Hagan Willis started her large-animal veterinary practice in Warren County back in 2008. I remember promoting her new business when she first got started.
I’m pleased to report Mandy has enjoyed success and in 2011 she opened an office in Morrison where she could care for farm animals and perform surgery. It was a big step.
For her latest accomplishment, Mandy has been named to the Tennessee Veterinary Medical Association executive board. That’s huge.
Being named to the executive board is a fitting distinction for Mandy, who has treated just about any type of animal that weighs over 200 pounds. That includes llamas, alpacas, sheep, horses and cattle. She’s the only vet in Warren County who treats large animals.
If you’d like to give Mandy a call for your large-animal care, her number is 409-3178.
Fresh food for seniors
In keeping with the fresh food theme stated earlier in this column with the feature on Juicy’s, there are vouchers available for Warren County seniors to get fresh produce at our Farmers Market in July and August.
The vouchers are for $30 in July and $40 in August.
If you would like to apply for one of these vouchers, it’s simple. Stop by Three Star Mall every Tuesday or Thursday in May from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to register. You must be a resident of Warren County over 60 years old and meet annual income guidelines as follows:
• Family of 1: $15,678
• Family of 2: $21,112
• Family of 3: $26,546
• Family of 4: $31,980
To find out more information on this program, which has been offered for years through a partnership with the Warren County Health Department and Farmers Market, call 473-8468.
That’s all folks
Kiss your mother and buy her flowers. Then report all the business news you know by calling 473-2191.
