POWERGRAMS

bigger towns but Clary bucked the trend and stayed in Florala. "Nowadays, when a kid gets out of school, he either goes to college or leaves for a job," Clary says. "It's a little town. I like little towns. I've been at home here." "You know, there are a lot of people in Florala that are glad you stayed," Rivera says heading out the door. "I made a living at it," Clary says. "I didn't get rich but I got by." Down on the Corner Gina Hendriks and Paul Kertz are two young people who left the big city, opening Jackson's Corner on Fifth Avenue March 7. Three months later they added a candy shop to their antique store, offering 22 flavors of homemade fudge as well as old-fashioned candies to draw in customers not in the market for collectibles. The Florida and Arkansas natives bought the two-story former Walgreens corner drug store and completely renovated it while living upstairs. They left behind the life of Department of Defense contractors after dipping their toes in the antiques market and liking what they saw. They learned Florala once had more than a dozen antique stores that catered to locals and beach-traffic tourists, so after the number dropped to just a trio, Hendriks and Kertz saw the opportunity of a lifetime. "We love being our own boss," Kertz says. "It's 24/7 but it beats what we used to do." "Life is too short," says Hendriks, who beat cancer last year. "We wanted to do something we would enjoy." Before moving, they visited Florala frequently, getting advice from Sharlyn Thomas, owner of The One Eared Rabbit, which opened in March 2015. They learned a closed art gallery was available with outside walls featuring huge murals by folk artist Woodie Long … and the price was right. The couple incorporated the best of everything they had seen at antique stores around the South, opening a well-lighted, spick and span facility without some of the distractions familiar to folks who frequent junk stores and old warehouses. "We've done a lot of restoration to make sure it doesn't have that old building smell," Kertz says. "A new roof was our first major undertaking. We put down all new tile throughout the first floor. We spent three and a half weeks just pulling down the old ceiling tiles." "This is definitely a labor of love," Hendriks says. "I think small towns need a boost. They need some love." The couple says Florala townspeople "have supported us mightily," and that they are getting new customers traveling through town to Destin and Fort Walton Beach. Kertz and Hendriks want to expand their thriving candy section before opening the second floor for business as the consignment and booth rental aspects grow. "I think both of us have been very pleased," Kertz said. "We're absolutely enjoying it." Everybody's Favorite Ask most anyone in Florala where to get a good meal and they will point you to Sara's Big R. At noon on a rainy day there are only four customers in the dining room that seats about 50 people. The waitresses wonder aloud where everyone else is, since the fried chicken, shrimp and pork chops, okra, greens, rice, beef liver gravy, desserts and other buffet items are ready for the taking. Sara Tucker has been serving breakfast, lunch and dinner six days a week for nearly 28 years in the former fast-food joint her grandparents opened in 1962 for a $5,000 franchise fee. She bought it from them and has expanded the once-tiny structure several times, and also opened Sara's Bed and Breakfast and R.V. Park next door. Before the Great Recession began a decade ago, she was offered $1 million for her properties but declined 28 Jackson's Corner is in renovated Walgreens drugstore. Kertz, Hendriks new to Florala. Diners have flocked to Sara's Big R for three decades.

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