Sept. 29, 2021

New businesses in the downtown Jones 421 Building are finding traction, and others are considering moving in, its co-owner and property manager  said.

The Deku Tree opened this summer in the mixed-use building at 421 N. Phillips Ave. and will hold several 90-minute classes in October to help others “discover the magic that plants bring to our lives,” it said in a posting on social media.

Topics include House Plants 101, The Art of Bonsai, Success with Cacti & Succulents and Kokedama “Moss Ball” Bonsai. Classes are limited to 15 participants.

Across the hall, Interiors Etc. has opened its retail and interior design space. Mary Kelly started the business in 1975, and her son, Richard, expanded it into retail.

It sells  high-end furniture, lighting, art, rugs and accessories.

“I hear people like what they’ve got in there,” said Sheila Hazard, who oversees leasing for the building. “And they seem very happy at Deku.”

She said she hopes construction will start soon in two spaces in the center of the building, where Swamp Daddy’s Cajun Kitchen is moving into an expanded space.

Its building plan review has been taking longer than expected, but Hazard said she’s hopeful this might be the week the permit is issued.

From then, construction should take less than a month, she said.

There had been a lease in progress for Salas Salsas, a Mexican food and catering company, to take over Swamp Daddy’s, but the timing threw it off.

“I’ve already got somebody who really wants to have it,” Hazard said.

She also has interest in the Papa Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza space, which includes a new bar and seating area across the hall.

Papa Woody’s is moving to a much bigger space at The Cascade farther north on Phillips Avenue, but it also has run into construction delays.

The owners said they’re hoping a mid-December open might work out. But, if not, they will be looking at into the first quarter.

And with good reason: They’ve got a Downtown Burger Battle title to defend in January and don’t want to be moving in the middle of that.

“I think it’ll be another restaurant because it has a nice backroom and sink and hood,” Hazard said.