by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well at the Landing.
While some of the stores and food purveyors are national and regional franchises, many of the businesses are the result of someone putting their dreams into action.
The two newest ventures at the riverfront shopping and entertainment venue share that entrepreneurial mindset and they also share some other things. Both are owned by women and both have brought unique offerings to the Downtown market.
L. Faith Crooms owns and manages Jacksonville Starz, a dance and cheer instruction studio and dancewear store. She opened her first studio in 1997 on the Northside and for 10 years taught thousands of young dancers and cheerleaders. Crooms had to take a few years off due to health issues but when she decided it was time to get back in business, the Landing was the natural choice.
“I wanted to be Downtown because it’s so central and people from all walks of life come to the Landing,” she said.
Crooms was familiar with the property because her dancers performed at the annual “Holiday on the River” celebration and Christmas tree lighting ceremony from 2001-07. When she arrived at the Landing’s management office to talk about starting the business, it was like seeing old friends again.
“As soon as they saw me they said, ‘Miss Crooms where have you been?’” she recalled.
Classes are taught by Crooms’ daughter, Patrice, who also teaches dance at Highlands Middle School. Registration is going on now for students 4-21 years of age. Classes in beginning ballet, cheerleading and hip-hop are held from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. Crooms is also auditioning dancers for a “Traveling Praise Danz Team” that will perform in the community.
Crooms said the thing that’s kept her involved in teaching dance is the students and how much fun they have.
“Dancing is an elective. The kids do it because they want to, not because they have to,” she added.
In addition to the studio there’s also a selection of dancewear for sale that Crooms has priced for bargain-conscious dancers and their parents.
“I’ve got all the top names in leotards, tights and dance shoes and nothing is more than $25. Dancers go through a lot of shoes,” she said. The store is open from noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.
The veteran dance instructor credits her family, husband Darryl and children Patrice and Darryl Jr. for helping her get back into business.
“God really blessed me with a wonderful family and a wonderful family here at the Landing, too,” said Crooms.
Just across the hall Lina Woods has opened her Lina M. Bath Boutique. Woods moved to Jacksonville from Vallejo, Calif. where she had a store that sold her own line of artisan bath salts and soaps.
“I make everything by hand in my kitchen. That will never change. When I need to make more product, I’ll create jobs for hands. That is part of my business plan,” said Woods.
She started developing her Downtown customer base several months ago with a booth every Friday at the Hemming Plaza Market. When she found the retail space at the Landing, Woods said it was too much of a coincidence to ignore.
“My store in California also saw a lot of tourist traffic because it was right on the water near San Francisco. It was also next door to the convention and visitors bureau and now my new store is next to Visit Jacksonville,” said Woods.
One of the fixtures in the store is a map of America for keeping track of the store’s customers. There are already dozens of push pins from coast to coast thanks to the Landing’s proximity to business and convention hotels, said Woods.
She’s also conscious that price sells product. Woods has changed the packaging on her line of bath and skin care products to allow a lower retail price point.
“When I had the store in California my products ranged from $10-$35. Now with the simpler packaging there’s nothing in the store over $8. You’re paying for the product not the package,” she said.
Woods also offers a complimentary product demonstration and allows customers to try her hand scrub in an antique basin that’s set up on the counter.
“It’s a really nice pampering treat,” she said.
Lina M. Bath Boutique is open from noon-5 p.m. on Monday and from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
L. Faith Crooms, owner of Jacksonville Starz at the Landing.
356-2466