Mark Woods: Rain can't dampen reopening of Debs Store

Wednesday began with even more rain, a deluge that added to what had already fallen in previous days.

On the way to a ribbon-cutting on the Eastside, I wondered if many people would show up in conditions that felt more made for ark-building.

I should've realized this wasn't your ordinary ribbon-cutting, a bland ceremony with a few scripted speeches and a photo opp that feels like countless others.

There were scripted speeches. But several people noted that they were trying to stick to the script, lest they get too emotional. Even when they did read the prepared words, emotions still kept bubbling up.

And while there was a photo opp — with a row of people holding giant scissors, a countdown and a collective cutting of a ribbon — what made this different from so many others was only partly what was behind that row of people: a neighborhood grocery store, restored, reimagined and reopened.

What made it truly memorable was in front of Debs Store, standing under umbrellas and large tents set up in the street, holding up cell phones to capture the moment.

Even with the rain, hundreds of people had gathered at the corner of Florida Avenue and E. 5th Street — now the site of what is being called "The Corner at Debs."

The Corner

We all have places in our neighborhood, or the neighborhood where we grew up, where we have to describe what used to be there, on this corner and that corner.

For the Eastside, this was The Corner, the one where Debs used to be.

Joe Debs' family owned and operated the store for 90 years — starting with his grandparents, as a young married couple that emigrated from Lebanon.

More: New life coming to historic Debs Store, which fed the Eastside for 90 years

More: Jacksonville brother leads family and Debs Store in East Jacksonville through tough times

His father, Nick, was born on the second floor of the building. Nick and his brother Gene ran the store for about 60 years. After their deaths — Gene in 2006, Nick in 2011 — the store closed.

At the reopening, Joe Debs recalled how his father's funeral procession made a detour on the way to Evergreen Cemetery, going down Florida Avenue and stopping at the corner.

"Right where you're sitting and standing," he said, looking at those gathered and adding: "Some of you were here. I see heads nodding."

On that day, there were touching tributes. There also were questions that, even amidst the grief hit him hard: Would Debs reopen? Where would people get their groceries without it? 

A few years later, when they had a picnic at the corner and served 100 meals, he again heard a simple request that wasn't so simple: Bring back Debs.

Once upon a time, Americans routinely shopped at neighborhood grocery stores. Today, according to the USDA, about 90 percent of Americans shop for groceries at large supermarkets and even larger superstores. And, on average, those grocery trips involve a four-mile drive.

In neighborhoods without those big grocery stores, but with a higher than average percentage of people without cars, this makes the loss of a place like Debs even more profound.

David Garfunkel, president and CEO of LIFT JAX, retold a story Wednesday of something that happened after the nonprofit began working on bringing back Debs.

It was about three years ago, the middle of an August afternoon. At the corner of Florida and Fifth, there still was a dilapidated red brick building, originally built in 1913 by Gullah Geechee contractor Edward D. Mixson. But it hadn't been a grocery store for about a decade.

On that sweltering day, an older man came riding by on a bike, with two grocery bags from a trip to a grocery store a couple miles away. After passing the corner, noticing something was happening there, the man made a U-turn on his bike, came back and asked: Are you opening up the grocery store again?

Garfunkel wondered if that man was there Wednesday, somewhere in the crowd.

After the ribbon-cutting, people lined up to get into the store, get a glimpse of what it looks like now — there are remnants of the past, preserved in photos and glass cases — and do some shopping.

A line snaked through the store. One of the people busy working behind the counter was Moniqu Presley, an assistant manager.

She spoke at the event, saying that it was an understatement to say she was honored to be a part of this rebirth. She explained that most people there probably know her by maiden name, Gordon, and said that five generations of her family have lived on the Eastside. As a little girl she loved coming to Debs — partly because she could run up her grandmother's credit.

Well, until one day she showed up with some friends, told them to get whatever they wanted, then got to the counter and was told her grandmother had cut her off.

"After some begging and pleading with my grandmother, she put me back on the credit," she said, adding a more serious point. "People that didn't have credits, they still welcomed you and still would make sure that your family could eat."

Joe Debs recalled that he and his siblings learned life lessons in that building at 1478 Florida Avenue.

"Not the least of which is that each person who walked through that door was equal to me — no better, no worse — and that I had to treat that person with dignity, with respect and with love," he said. "And so as we set out to do this project, each partner that got involved with this adopted that same approach. The Eastside deserved dignity, respect and love."

And, he said, it deserved a grocery store.

The red brick building, now painted green, is nearly double the original store's size. Goodwill is doing more than operate the grocery store on the first floor. On the second floor, there will be employment services, an adult education program and a high school mentorship program. VyStar Credit Union will provide on-site banking and financial counseling.

And this corner, with all its past, could be just a piece of the Eastside's future.

"If you like what you see," Garfunkel told those who gathered Wednesday, "be prepared for much more."

Community Benefits Agreement vote

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville City Council will vote on the remaining portion of the "community benefits agreement" of the Jaguars stadium deal.

In June, when the City Council approved the city spending $775 million on the $1.4 billion renovation, it only approved a portion of the CBA, $56 million from the city, mostly for riverfront parks. It cleaved off $94 million from the city — including $30 million for the Eastside.

After four meetings, a special committee recommended fully funding the $94 million, with some changes. The initial agreement called for the $30 million for the Eastside over three years, followed by the $2.5 million a year from the Jaguars over the 30-year lease. The committee recommended committing even more to the Eastside — $40 million — but spreading it out over seven years.

Several speakers touched on this at Debs. Darnell Smith, chief of staff for Mayor Donna Deegan , predicted that the council will approve the rest of the CBA, and said of The Corner, "This is what happens when we collaborate, when we work together, when we come together to focus on the community."

Travis Williams, LIFT JAX vice president, talked about continuing to make investments in a part of town not far from the stadium.

"And I use that word strategically," he said. "You are not standing in front of charity. … This is a neighborhood and a community that is worthy of your investment."

He was among those who said he was trying to stick to the script, to avoid getting too emotional. But his comments included something that wasn't necessarily in the plans for the day: the rain that finally stopped shortly before the reopening of the doors.

"Rain signifies blessing," he said, "and the Lord showered down blessings today on Debs Store."

mwoods@jacksonville.com

(904) 359-4212

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Reopening of Debs Store not just another ribbon cutting