Why
Shouldn't Be
The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change.
At the end of a particularly interesting workday,
my business partner, Terisa Glover, and I went across
the street from our South Kentucky Avenue shop to
unwind. It was an unusual conversation in that we
became philosophical and discussed change. Not
the spare kind, but the kind that usually keeps people
up at night. We took a look at our block of South
Kentucky Avenue in Downtown Lakeland - from
Preservation Alley to Lemon Street - fondly referred
to as SoKen. I’ve been here more than 10 years. Terisa
much longer. It took a while, but we counted about
65 different businesses that have called this block
home. That’s enough change to make landlords and
business owners sleepless for weeks. But, it need not
be so scary.
You have your pioneers, Molly McHugh’s Irish Pub,
Hurricane Alley, and Palace Pizza. They found a niche
market early on and successfully developed a loyal
customer base. So, it can be done. The Downtown
Lakeland Partnership’s First Fridays, now in the 11th
year, have created a lot of exposure for downtown
businesses and contributed to the success. The Two
Hens & a Hound story accounts for three of those
businesses - FastFrame and The General Store merged
into Two Hens simply because Terisa