Photo by P. Vankevich.
New businesses continue to open while older businesses show signs of refurbishment.
Recently opened is a new convenience store La Brisa, or “The Breeze,” 81 Ocean View Rd.
Owner by Gloria Perez, this store picks up where the Sanchez Produce truck and La Isla left off.
In a small ground-floor setting under her home, Perez offers produce, dry goods, canned goods, candy, snacks, cold drinks and a variety of items from Mexico.
“It’s going well,” Perez said during her first few weeks of opening.
Hours are 9:30 to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. daily. She may stay open later when summer arrives.
In the former Natural Selections along School Road, Katy Mitchell has opened
a coffee shop and gathering place called The Magic Bean.
She offers organic coffees, teas, smoothies and baked pastries, plus several gathering places conducive to conversation or contemplation.
Hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Owning her own business is an exciting new venture for her.
“I wanted a place to go that’s not a bar, a gathering place that’s not my home,” she said while taking a break from the set up earlier this month.
There will be a revolving art show by local artists and intellectual stimulation, Mitchell said, such as poetry readings and live music.
As for the name, Mitchell said she was inspired by the surrounding yard.
“It’s a magical space,” she said while gazing on the ancient live oaks and blooming azaleas.
Also this season, Valerie Mason has revived Albert Styron’s Store, at Lighthouse and Creek roads.
It offers all of the same items as it had in previous years when Mason’s half-sister Candy Gaskill ran it, Mason said, such as T-shirts, cold drinks, snacks, Christmas ornaments, candy, art and island souvenirs and more.
The character in her ads for the revived store shows a man in Blackbeard garb.
“That was my sister’s grandfather Lum,” Mason said. “He dressed as Blackbeard and rode a horse around the island.”
