As the Big River Trail extends into Lee and Phillips counties, the Cherry Street Historic District in Helena-West Helena is showing signs of reviving its faded fortunes. Following are some of the people who are leaving their mark on the once-thriving commercial avenue.
♦ Maureen Jones, owner of Haute Pare, opened her custom children’s garments shop in 2008. She moved to her current 403 Cherry St. location in 2015.
A Liverpool native, Jones came to town in 1982 when her husband was hired as the plant manager at Norac.
The seamstress and her three helpers have developed a growing clientele across the South for their embroidered wedding dresses, christening gowns and more.
“Dixie has been extremely good to me,” Jones said with a laugh.
♦ The chance to buy a bed and breakfast landmark, Helena’s Edwardian Inn, drew Joel and Amber Tipton from Texas in 2015. “Let’s go have an adventure,” was their feeling about entering the B&B business in Phillips County.
In October, the couple jumped into the restaurant business with their reworking of a local pizzeria into Southbound Tavern at 233 Cherry St. A former Pepsico executive, Joel Tipton describes their tech-infused marketing efforts for the Edwardian and Southbound Tavern as “upscale digital.”
♦ Amoz Eckerson bought his piece of downtown Helena in 2006. The two-story building at 420 Cherry St. served at various times as the home of Cherry Street Deli, a women’s dress shop and a locksmith.
“I didn’t have a strong vision for what I was going to do with the property,” Eckerson said. “It was just a funky economical place to live.”
Working mostly on weekends to redo the space, he commuted from Little Rock where he worked at Jameson Architects. With the help of friends, Eckerson built a one-bedroom loft apartment and developed a workspace downstairs.
He started renting out the upstairs living space in 2015 while using the downstairs for his design and workshop for his Eckerbuilt venture.
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