Posted 1:14 am Sunday, October 14, 2007
Katrina Evacuee Plans Entertainment 'Zone'
By GREG JUNEK
Business Editor
People driving or walking down Erwin Street in downtown Tyler may again be greeted by live music ringing from within the old buildings.
If Jeffrey Fyffe has his way, his company, Jeffery's Zone, will have three currently unused buildings jumping with activity some time next year. The first was Studio 107, scheduled to open this past Friday.
Next on the list is to finish renovating the old Liberty Theater, renaming it The Liberty, and booking national acts there; and completing renovation on the New York Store building, renaming it The New York and creating an arcade atmosphere in it, along with some live music.
He said he is also planning a second phase to create more venues in existing downtown buildings.
Fyffe is relatively new to East Texas, having left New Orleans two years ago to escape Hurricane Katrina.
He set foot in Jacksonville, thinking he would stay only until after the hurricane blew over. That move, originally thought to be temporary, turned out to be a new page of Fyffe's life.
He had a small cabling company in New Orleans that performed telephone interconnects, network systems for computer systems and camera systems. It was the referred vendor for Cox Cable.
But Cox lost 90 percent of its above-ground plant and furloughed 90 percent of its employees.
"I got the call a couple of days after the hurricane that there wasn't going to be any business," Fyffe said. "I decided to stay in Jacksonville and go back down with the truck and see what I could get from the business and the office. My two condos had both been broken into and looted. We weren't allowed a permit to go back in for 30 days. So, basically, Jacksonville was a friendly town, and they overwhelmed me with generosity to help me get restarted."
But Fyffe's special-use permit request for an Internet cafe, arcade and entertainment venue for young people was met with opposition from the Jacksonville City Council.
So this year he decided to bring the idea to Tyler.
"I got the idea after a little while, that what we needed to do was to create this entertainment venue right down Erwin Street," Fyffe said.
The first phase of Fyffe's plan included the opening of Studio 107 at 107 E. Erwin St. The entertainment venue will feature local musicians. It will be a nonsmoking establishment that does not sell alcohol.
Fyffe said he is gearing Studio 107 - originally planned to be used as office space for his operations - to cater to the younger crowd, 17 years and older.
Studio 107 is in the same space formerly occupied by Studio 107 Pilates, although the two are not affiliated with each other or have the same owner. Studio 107 Pilates, renamed "Balance," moved to a newly renovated building at 116 W. Erwin St.
Fyffe said he wanted to keep the familiar building names as the new homes for his entertainment venues. He plans to retain the New York Store sign above the doors of The New York.
Last week, Fyffe and his crew were still installing the lights and sound system, both of which Fyffe promised would include the latest technology.
"We decided to open the Studio 107, the Liberty and the New York," he said. "What it will create (in two phases) is probably six or seven entertainment venues that people will be able to go in between each one at night. They can drive to the downtown and not have to go anywhere else."
With 10-year leases on these three spaces, Fyffe said he will probably invest $1.2 million on their renovation and infrastructure needed to support their purpose as entertainment venues. With the proposed second phase, he anticipates sales in excess of $7 million per year and the creation of about 150 jobs.
Business Editor
People driving or walking down Erwin Street in downtown Tyler may again be greeted by live music ringing from within the old buildings.
If Jeffrey Fyffe has his way, his company, Jeffery's Zone, will have three currently unused buildings jumping with activity some time next year. The first was Studio 107, scheduled to open this past Friday.
Next on the list is to finish renovating the old Liberty Theater, renaming it The Liberty, and booking national acts there; and completing renovation on the New York Store building, renaming it The New York and creating an arcade atmosphere in it, along with some live music.
He said he is also planning a second phase to create more venues in existing downtown buildings.
Fyffe is relatively new to East Texas, having left New Orleans two years ago to escape Hurricane Katrina.
He set foot in Jacksonville, thinking he would stay only until after the hurricane blew over. That move, originally thought to be temporary, turned out to be a new page of Fyffe's life.
He had a small cabling company in New Orleans that performed telephone interconnects, network systems for computer systems and camera systems. It was the referred vendor for Cox Cable.
But Cox lost 90 percent of its above-ground plant and furloughed 90 percent of its employees.
"I got the call a couple of days after the hurricane that there wasn't going to be any business," Fyffe said. "I decided to stay in Jacksonville and go back down with the truck and see what I could get from the business and the office. My two condos had both been broken into and looted. We weren't allowed a permit to go back in for 30 days. So, basically, Jacksonville was a friendly town, and they overwhelmed me with generosity to help me get restarted."
But Fyffe's special-use permit request for an Internet cafe, arcade and entertainment venue for young people was met with opposition from the Jacksonville City Council.
So this year he decided to bring the idea to Tyler.
"I got the idea after a little while, that what we needed to do was to create this entertainment venue right down Erwin Street," Fyffe said.
The first phase of Fyffe's plan included the opening of Studio 107 at 107 E. Erwin St. The entertainment venue will feature local musicians. It will be a nonsmoking establishment that does not sell alcohol.
Fyffe said he is gearing Studio 107 - originally planned to be used as office space for his operations - to cater to the younger crowd, 17 years and older.
Studio 107 is in the same space formerly occupied by Studio 107 Pilates, although the two are not affiliated with each other or have the same owner. Studio 107 Pilates, renamed "Balance," moved to a newly renovated building at 116 W. Erwin St.
Fyffe said he wanted to keep the familiar building names as the new homes for his entertainment venues. He plans to retain the New York Store sign above the doors of The New York.
Last week, Fyffe and his crew were still installing the lights and sound system, both of which Fyffe promised would include the latest technology.
"We decided to open the Studio 107, the Liberty and the New York," he said. "What it will create (in two phases) is probably six or seven entertainment venues that people will be able to go in between each one at night. They can drive to the downtown and not have to go anywhere else."
With 10-year leases on these three spaces, Fyffe said he will probably invest $1.2 million on their renovation and infrastructure needed to support their purpose as entertainment venues. With the proposed second phase, he anticipates sales in excess of $7 million per year and the creation of about 150 jobs.
