Wednesday, October 31, 2007

the latest victims...

i am sick right now. i just got a call from texie @ VIOLET... she AND TIME WARP got robbed last night!!! it's been almost exactly one month since it happened to ANOMALY. luckily there was only about $4 cash in texie's drawer, but she doesn't even have a cash register and the thief knew exactly what drawer her money was in. so now texie is left with a broken door ($300+) and a broken clothing rack (from the boulder thrown in to break the door). all for $4... actually $3... the robber dropped one of the bills on his way out. dumb ass.

TIME WARP wasn't so lucky. money did get left in the drawer overnight so it got taken. i'm not sure how much at this point but money is tight all over the neighborhood right now and this sure didn't help the situation any!

this smash and grab thing HAS TO stop! it's happening all over town, not just in one specific area. here's a bit from first coast news. i know that at the beginning of october in san marco rosie true, phiosophie (the new shoe store) and krista eberle all had their windows broken in i'm not sure if anything was taken or not though.

GO ROB A WAL-MART!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

coming, going, and here to stay

as the history of 5 points has shown, some shops of 5 points can be a bit fickle. here one day, gone the next. now, in it’s resurgence period (as i like to call it) we are seeing more changes every day! but, 5 points, aside from the commerce of downtown, was jacksonville’s ORIGINAL town center.

URBANE:
urbane has completely closed it’s location here and moved to a place with much more character, the corner of phillips/baymeadows... ha ha! keith, the owner just thinks that’s more of a draw for people since scan design (a modern furniture store) is also in that shopping center.

GOLD EXCHANGE:
this business has been passed down in the family and the current owner is just ready to throw in the towel and retire. his building is for sale and clearing out his inventory from now through the end of the year. then they will be closing their doors for ever.

so, this is my open call to all aspiring entrepreneurs... open your business here!!! 5 points is bursting with opportunity if your are willing to work for it! instead of focusing on the closing businesses, take a look at all the success stories... EDGE CITY has been opened 30+ years, NICOTINE has been around over 10, ALOHA PARADISE is in their 8th year, Wolfgang has been a staple here for over 7, although VIOLET has changed hands a few times the reinvention of the store is celebrating it’s 1 year anniversary, ANOMALY is pushing 2 ½ years, MIDNIGHT SUN has a huge following, and GRASSROOTS market is always crowded when i go in! plus, there are many many others i could name but don’t want to bore you! the 1661 riverside condos open down the street now, all the other housing around here, the businesses located in the renovated 5 points theater building, all the large corporations with offices on riverside avenue and the close proximity to downtown, 5 POINTS is the perfect urban environment!

this area desperately needs 1)a clean and consistent vegan/vegetarian/raw foods restaurant 2) same as #1 but a coffee shop 3) a “grotto-esque” wine/beer bar 4) a tasty neighborhood restaurant that is NOT Mexican, pizza or asian (unless we’re talking THAI food...) i have tons more ideas but can’t keep giving all my ideas away unless there is a consulting fee involved... money talks! 

5 points isn’t the only place with changes happening. i heard that the ‘san marco south’ development is going under and now the developers are giving people their deposits back. again, this is not a confirmation, but something I heard through the grapevine, so please let me know if you know the facts or have heard differently.

signing off till next time...

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

halloween

starlite is having their annual halloween bash (which i believe is on the actual night of) and i heard there's a possibility that fuel may throw a party as well, but i do not have confirmation on that. i will find out and keep you posted.

halloween is always fun, i just hate that it's an excuse to be as slutty as possible. i like the creative costumes... my neighbor is somehow attaching a nightstand to her and going as a one-night-stand. that's great!

and only a few minutes away from 5 points, springfield is putting on 'nightmare on 9th street' at 9th and main. i'm really going to try to go to that... well, that is as long as i still have a date and he's not too haggard from his fl/ga tailgating!!
speaking of springfield... TO INERTIA: great paint! it looks really nice and beats the hell out of that nasty paint that was on there. it's amazing what a little paint can do!

oh, and exciting news. we picked a movie for the next 5 Points $5 Flick. it's GOONIES! so, save the date for friday november 2nd. doors open at 9:15! see you there.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

we haven't forgotten about our blog. there just hasn't been much to write about. we'll be back soon.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

First Friday in Five Points and the Five Dollar Flick

The first First Friday in Five Points and the Five Dollar Five Points Flick went well, despite the terrible weather. From 6-9, all the shops were open and all the restaurants provided delicious treats for all the shoppers. Plus, Violet and Anomaly had art openings featuring some really good paintings. All three bands canceled because of the weather, so next month, we’ll hope for no rain, as everyone would have loved some Airport Factory, KymBarry, and Matt Butler Trio as they shopped.

The highlight of the night was definitely the movie— Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’. Not only was the movie great, but it was BYOB (and BYOWendy’s for one kid), and some great homemade rice krispie treats and cookies. Those that came seemed to really enjoy the experience of seeing a film during what was essentially an indoor picnic, with blankets, pillows, and pop-up chairs covering the theatre floor.

Devoy from Wolfgang suggested setting up a voting system, so that in the future we’ll show the movies that the audience chooses, which is something I think we’ll try to do. Tentatively, we are looking at November’s film being one of the following: ‘Goonies’, ‘Hoosiers’, ‘Dead Poets Society’, or ‘Field of Dreams’, all of which we thought were good Fall movies. Let us know what you think, and come out in November for the second Five Dollar Flick and get it on Riverside’s best new night.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

YAY! heartworks isn't closing afterall!

in regards to a post a few days ago about heartworks closing, i was mistaken. the information that i provided was what i found out from josh @ inertia. this was posted in response to that post:

Heartworks Cafe said...

People should really do some research before making false statements. Karen and George Lovenguth have purchased Heartworks and after some remodeling will be open for business and will enhance the vegetarian menu and organic coffee for all to enjoy. Thank you, George Lovenguth - October 3rd, 2007

welcome to the neighborhood george and karen! we are looking forward to having you in the neighborhood. i would love to find out some more information about the time frame for reopening, hours, etc... 5 points and is need of a consistent, good coffee shop!

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

rain rain go away!

well, the rain allowed alot of us merchants to get some things done for our upcoming first fridays event that starts this friday. didn't help us pay any bills though. 5 points was unfortunately pretty much D-E-A-D today! so, nothing exciting to report. i guess that's a good thing though, considering all the 'exciting' news on this blog so far has been either about stores closing or getting robbed! ha ha!

the event this friday is going to be great though!!! the info is up on the marquee now and we've been getting calls about it! yay! also, we're getting the gift baskets together. all the merchants have donated all kinds of great things (products, gift certificates, etc...) and it's all going to get seperated into 3 baskets. for each purchase a customer makes in a store he/she will get a raffle ticket. then at the end of the night, there will be a drawing for the prizes.

one bummer though, we had 3 bands scheduled to play this friday... 2 bailed today... so then there was one. well, they will be playing under the marquee in front of the theater so that will be a good central location with plenty of room!

have a wonderful evening!!!

Monday, October 1, 2007

you've got to be kidding...

anomaly got broken into this early morning. whoever did it just launched a huge cement chunk right through the front door. and since they now have no front door, adam, one of the co-owners, is up there right now, waiting for the glass company to get there. i am beyong disgusted.

THANK GOD no merchandise was stolen. an ipod was even sitting right by the counter and luckily that didn't get taken. the criminals only wanted the register. there was about $200 in cash in the drawer (which never should have been left in there in the first place... lesson learned). so considering that the door has to be completely replaced and then a new logo and store hours put on the front, that will be about $400 or so. and the register was smashed into a million pieces, a cheap new one will be around $100. so the thieves got a little bit of cash and in return left anomaly out around $700 when all is said and done. and on rent day no less. yay.

according to the police, there has been a rash of burglaries around riverside and avondale. a little over a month ago basel's tailor shop got hit, then in the past few weeks it's been shirk thompson's shoe store (i think that's the name), the cleaners next to the a&p on park street, harpoon louies, and a few others i can't remember. all the incidents have pretty much been smash and grabs for the register. the officer also told me that his patrol runs from riverside ave to casset, around to san juan and st johns and all the area in between. that is a lot of territory for only a handful of cops... and unfortunately the criminals know and take full advantage of that.

and i ended my previous post saturday night on such a happy positive note for october. well, this isn't stopping our october from being a great month, i can tell you that right now.

**there are some crappy pics for a camera phone to be posted later.
**check out emily from anomaly on first coast news about the break in!

Violet Fall Preview

Join Texie @ Violet for an opening of Tonya Lee's work. Also that night, view handmade jewelry from April Aultman and new products by Jill Bliss! Friday, October 5th, 6-9P.

Molly Riefler "Fashion isn't Dead"

On Friday October 5th, check out an Molly Riefler's opening at Anomaly! 6-9PM.