Doing Business

Putnam County businesses are increasing as the summer continues and some of the newest additions are all locally-owned.

Palatka native Cora Fells plans to open her new restaurant, Cora’s Place, on July 3. The 36-year-old mother of two said owning a restaurant has been her dream since she was in seventh grade.

The family-style eatery on Madison Street in Palatka will seat up to 25 people and will offer online ordering and delivery services. She was not sure her restaurant aspirations would come to fruition, especially when the COVID pandemic hit, but she decided this year to take a leap of faith.

“It was always a dream, even though it felt like the dream was shattering at the time. But once I was able to get my resources and everything started picking back up, I was talking to a person who was telling me about this building being available and it was reasonable,” Fells said. “And it looked like my dreams could actually work.”

She attended culinary school and has always loved to cook, but her work ethic didn’t stop with opening a restaurant. Fells enrolled in nursing school at Fortis College in Jacksonville during the pandemic and even has her finals during the week she opens her restaurant. In 2020, she published a book, “A Church Girl’s Story … The Path to No Return,” and she is excited for this next venture.

“Right now, I’m just grinding,” owner Cora Fells said. “And we still have so much to do. So it’s like I still haven’t had a moment to sit down and really grasp that I’m really opening up a restaurant.”

And Cora’s Place isn’t the only new stop in Palatka where residents can satisfy their appetite.

Palatka-based food truck Country Girl’s Seafood Shack debuted Saturday at the Juneteenth celebration in the city’s north side, and owner Stephanie Curry said she plans to park the truck at One Direction Car Wash, 1618 Reid St. in Palatka, at 2 – 6 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.

“It’s going to be great because the cliental is awesome,” she said.

Curry, who has always wanted to own a business, started by cooking for family and friends, who encouraged her to open a food truck.

The truck’s logo includes two of Curry’s granddaughters’ faces, and Curry said they are thrilled to be the faces of her business. Her 11-year-old granddaughter ran the register during the truck’s debut.

The seafood shack specializes in fried shrimp, blue crab and a homemade butter sauce people can buy by the bottle. Curry said she does all the cooking but loves it.

“I want it to be right. I want it to have my touch on it. If something goes out of (the truck), I want to know,” she said.

If residents are not seeking a bite to eat, a nail salon in Interlachen opened this month and a new bookstore on St. Johns Avenue will have its soft opening Tuesday.

Manicure by Mia is open by appointment only 9 a.m. 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday. Owner Mia Byers said she is only offering manicures and pedicures for now. Residents who would like to make an appointment can text her at 222-8387

Back in Palatka, Q.I. Roberts Junior-Senior High School student Ethan Sharp was still setting up his store, Needful Things, on Thursday with the help of his family. The rising senior said he is slightly nervous but excited to see how the community responds to the new store.

The shop’s name comes from Stephen King’s “Needful Things” novel and movie. Although the store’s original focus was on only sci-fi, fantasy and horror novels, Sharp said he is accepting any kind of book donations.

By Thursday, the shop was filled with hundreds of novels that were donated by residents and included everything from fantasy to romance to children’s books.

“I’m excited to see how people interact with the store. I’m excited to see if more people are coming in looking for specific books or if they’re more coming in to look for books they like,” Sharp said. “I’m also curious to figure out how often the same people will come in.”

Sharp is also taking game and comic book donations. The 17-year-old said he thought about hosting Dungeons and Dragons tournaments in the shop or renting out the space for events.

His father, Alex Sharp, said they will also do genre-to-genre book trading.

And although Ethan’s family is helping paint and organize the store, the high schooler will be the one running the business.

“This is more to teach him how to run a business and open a business,” Alex Sharp said. “And instead of having him go out and get a part-time job, a summer job working in a restaurant per se, which there’s nothing wrong with that, but this is going to give him more experience. And it’s a much more valuable lesson, whether it’s successful or not.”

Ethan is still taking donations at the shop’s storefront, and the Sharp family said they were thankful for the incredible community response that has already been generated with large donations and positive feedback. No matter the genre of books people donate, Alex Sharp said they will make sure the novels find a home.

“I enjoyed reading when I was a kid, and so I’m giving, hopefully, people what they would like,” Ethan Sharp said.

One in a continuing series on new businesses in Putnam County. New business owners can email wsmith@palatkadailynews.com with brief information. Please include the name of business and the owner’s contact phone number.

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