Florida Agenda » Featured Business

Sweet Treasures: Bulk Candy Hits the Drive!

Thu, 13 Feb 2014 04:38:36 +0000

Sweet Treasures
2278 Wilton Drive
Wilton Manors FL 33305
954-900-3867

There’s a secret hidden among the Reese’s Pieces and salted pistachio nuts at Sweet Treasures, the new candy, gift and card store in the Shoppes of Wilton Manors. A visit to this emporium of all things chocolate and tasty is a thrill ride of discovery. In one display case is statuary by Tascano, small and erotic copies of famous Greek statues; wine caddies designed like high-heel pumps; hard to find same-sex greeting cards (yes, they’ve got standard greeting cards as well), plus the largest stock of bulk candy in Wilton Manors and Fort Lauderdale. (Forget being forced into buying what someone else has decided is the correct quantity for you. You may buy one Pecan Patty or ten pounds.)

Sweet Treasures is the baby of Frank Latella and Daniel Mimnagh, life-partners for a decade and linked at the hip in their new venture, which was Dan’s idea. “I came up with the idea of opening a bulk candy store,” he says. “I spent years working with Nassau Candy,” one of the largest specialty confectionery and gourmet food suppliers in the U.S. “I wanted to open my own store, and spoke with a friend who has a candy store in Delray Beach who encouraged me to go for my dream.”

Frank’s background was in the banking industry when he met Dan on line in a social networking site. Their first phone conversation lasted so long that both men drained the batteries on their cell phones. “It wasn’t love at first sight,” add Frank, who was courted by Dan for weeks before the match turned into a relationship. It was coincidence that the mortgage industry collapsed, leaving Frank without a job, at the same time that Dan became more serious with his dream of opening a candy store that would spread the joy he felt when savoring a piece of chocolate.

“We wanted to open in Wilton Manors because it didn’t have any store which carried bulk candy—so it was a fresh new idea. We added greeting cards, and gift items to increase our selection,” added Dan. “And we found an empty store in the Shoppes of Wilton Manors, right in the heart of a place we enjoy ourselves.”

Laughing, Frank said, “We came to Wilton Manors because of its large gay community and discovered it was a mixed blessing. Much to our surprise, we did not get much in the way of a gay customer base. What we got was every gay organization asking for donations and gift baskets for fund raisers.”

“It hurts,” said Dan, “that the community isn’t more aware of how selfish it has become. If you don’t support businesses that are here and eager to grow, you’re not going to get their support in return. That’s what we are finding ourselves right now.”

“We wanted a nice big space so we have room to grow,” according to Frank. And every day there seems to be new gift items and same-sex cards being added to their amazing assortment of candies.

Secret Treasures has a full assortment of Asher Candies, “the official chocolate of everyday life.” The chocolate covered potato chips are a treat unto themselves. So too are the dark chocolate orange peels, cashew caramel patties, milk chocolate raisin clusters, cherry cordials and jumbo marshmallows with pecans.

The Sweet Treasures secret? Frank and Dan are in love. When you visit them in their shop, tell them the Florida Agenda told you so.

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DaVinci Realty’s Business Is Booming

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:28:54 +0000

In March 10 2010, Vince Clancy’s business was exploding. DaVinci Real Estate deals with foreclosures and distressed real estate for Broward County, so 2010 was a particularly busy time for Clancy. Clancy told us, “In the real estate down turn, most saw a crash. I saw a chance for the little investor to take advantage of the big bad banks and make lots of money. Our model worked fabulously for our investors and our company.”

Due to the booming of the business, Clancy needed some help. When Denny Hughes walked into his Wilton Drive office and applied for an assistant job, Clancy thought that Hughes’ 12 years of experience would be of some use in the office. “Hughes stated he lost his business in the recent real estate down turn,” Clancy told us. “Many real estate companies had shut down or merged with another. Remax closed offices, Castelli closed their main Federal Highway office, and one of the Prudential franchises changed their name to Better Homes and Gardens. It was a difficult time in our business. It was not hard to imagine his small company failed.”

Hughes told Clancy that he had 12 years of experience, and wanted a salaried position as an assistant. When one of Clany’s employees ran a criminal check on him, only one charge was shown: A domestic violence charge in 2006. “Had she done a civil search at the time, I would have never hired Mr. Hughes. He certainly did not tell me about his legal and criminal issues at his former companies in the interview.” On March 30, 2010, Clancy received a call from a woman crying hysterically. She told Clancy she was Hughes’ mother and that he had been arrested.

Clancy fired Hughes after a follow-up interview between Hughes and former Federal Prosecutor, Chris Mancini. Mancini questioned Hughes about the cases, but “Mr. Hughes seemed argumentative, defensive and emotional during the interview,” according to Clancy. “Mr Mancini concluded that Hughes was not telling the truth (in his opinion). I fired Mr. Hughes immediately as I felt he was being disingenuous. Mr. Hughes was employed at my company for a few weeks. He was paid a weekly salary and NEVER was a realtor at my company. Furthermore, his real estate license had been revoked a year prior to walking through my door by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC). None of Denny Hughes’ misdeeds or alleged crimes happened at DaVinci Realty Group Inc. No DaVinci clients were harmed by Hughes.”

DaVinci Realty opened an office on Wilton Drive in 2009 and has been thriving ever since. Clancy opened a second office, on Las Olas Boulevard, in 2011. He is now opening an office in Houston, where they have partnered with a local builder, and are on track to build 100 homes in the central Houston area within a year. In 2013, the group launched DaVinci Capital - a fund to finance projects and give returns for their investors grossing $2 million profit on two foreclosure transactions. Moving forward, Clancy intends to open more DaVinci offices.

If you wish to contact Vince Clancy, you may do so at www.davincirealtygroup.com

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Meet the Intense Fitness Team

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:22:02 +0000

If your traditional gym just isn’t cutting it anymore, Intense Fitness might be just what your body is looking for. Located in Oakland Park, the private personal training establishment uses non-conventional equipment to give you a workout like never before. The facility offers up a variety of workout plans, covering weight loss, muscle growth or just an overall quality of health. The gym also offers resistance training, cardiovascular evaluation and nutrition guidance. Co-Owner, Khalifa “TK” Salmon tells the Florida Agenda: “We offer private, one-on-one personal training, utilizing the periodization model, which takes our clients through several phases of training accommodating all levels of fitness from amateur to advanced.” If you find that you still need that extra boost, Intense also offers a beach boot camp every Saturday morning.

Open for just over a year, Intense Fitness isn’t a stranger to the gym game. Prior to opening Intense Fitness, many of the gym’s staff worked at a local gym where they began their philosophy for excellence in training. At Intense Fitness, they believe that they have perfected that model. Adam Jurgaitis, Founder and Co-Owner of Intense Fitness, has a bachelor’s of science degree in Recreation Management from the University of Wisconsin. He has been training for over 11 years and has been recognized both locally and regionally for his service. Scott Camoin, another co-owner,holds several certifications as well as 9 years experience as a personal trainer. He has also been recognized numerous times locally, regionally and nationally for his excellence. Khalifa “TK” Salmon, co-owner of iF, has bachelors degrees in both Public Relations and Liberal Arts from the University of Florida. He has been training for over 5 years.
“We are not your run-of-the-mill gym,” TK tells us. “We utilize non-traditional equipment rather than machine weight commonly used in most gyms. Battle ropes, olympic rings, trx and kettle bells, are just the tip of the iceberg. Clients can expect a high level of expertise and professionalism at Intense Fitness. We pride ourselves on our results and innovative style of training.”

Call or visit today for a free fitness assessment.

Intense Fitness

1536 E Commercial Blvd

Oakland Park, FL 33334

954-514-7054

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Featured Business: Spencer Jenkins

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:05:34 +0000

There is a dramatic scalloped table centered in the foyer of the law offices of Spencer Jenkins. Inlayed with various woods and positioned for effect, the table is reflective of the new legal practice headquartered in Wilton Manors at 2550 NE 15th Ave. (754-444-8830). Designed to impress, yet fully functional and sturdy in its most basic.

Spencer is a recent transplant from New England to the balmy weather of South Florida, and the transition has taken the attorney a few months of adjustment—such is the nature of the pace and attitudes to be found here. “At first I thought that the slow pace was going to be detrimental to my active pace style,” Spencer reflected, “but then I discovered that there is a lot to be discovered when you slow down the process and have time to savor the moments.”

While Spencer is young, it is the kind of high-energy youth that finds nothing impossible. “While I am new as a small business, and I am new as a sole practitioner, I am not new to the law, and have an extensive background working with big-city law firms.,” he said. “I have a really, really unique set of qualifications. I was educated in Boston, and anyone who has ever gone to school in Boston knows that it comes with an old school founding-father mentality. That translated into my New York experience where I was doing very high-end, high-value transactional work. And then here, in Florida, where I began a more personalize service, which became more community and small business focused.”

Fortunately, he brought a lot of those big city resources with him. “Technologically, my firm is at the top of its game,.” He says. “The infrastructure has allowed for a lot of automated systems that keeps our costs lower for our clients. Since I am a small business myself, I know what it takes to contain costs to maximize profits. I realize that my clients don’t have endless pools of resources, so we optimize what money is available, and network between individuals to keep things controllable.

“I am a commercial civil litigator. And I do business transactional work. My effort has been approaching small businesses working on those transactional types of matters that they would encounter in the course of business as well as traditional lawsuits that any active business is likely to encounter. Additionally, I’ve been actively involved in corporate mergers as small business blend together in an effort to stay ahead of a fast changing consumer curve.”

As a member of the LGBT community, Spencer know that it presents an entirely unique set of challenges—“Everything from how their inter-personal relationships are viewed by the business population at large to the greater amount of disposal income that they have available in the marketplace and therefore are more likely to be engaged in business ventures,” he says. “I’ve had many clients who are simple more comfortable with a law firm that caters to the sensitivities of the gay community. Because of the issues that may arise in the course of litigations—whether it be their unique home life or some minor criminal offenses that have been used a weapon by the opposition in the best, we’re ready for those challenges.”

According to Spencer, the most important element that he brings to the table is impeccable ethics. “Opening an office in Wilton Manors has given me a specific (and rather eye-opening) experience of the way this town operates. There are many progressive thinkers here; just as there are those who are adamantly opposed to change. I’ve always been more on the mover and shaker side of life,” he says.

“My dear friend and my business client, Leor Barak of New York Grilled Cheese Co., was my first Wilton Manors client. And during these months of opening up, it has been a learning curve for both of us to discover the community and introduce ourselves into it. That is why it is so special to me to have this opportunity to sponsor the MMP Mixer on Wednesday May 29, at 6:30 p.m. (2207 Wilton Dr, Wilton Manors), and get to know each and everyone of you.” ]]>