George and Mary Kientzy are ready for semi-retirement after decades in the jewelry business.
They plan to close the store at the end of June.
Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Christine Davis
After 35 years, George and Mary Kientzy’s Kientzy & Co. Fine Jewelers is closing its doors. It’s time to semi-retire, says George Kientzy, 71. Before opening in Delray Beach, he had a shop in New London, Conn., and before that, George worked on Jewelers Row in Philadelphia. That all adds up to 50-plus years in the business.
“We’ve just really enjoyed great years in Delray Beach,” he says. He’s been a member of the Rotary Club for several years, and he served on the Bethesda Hospital Foundation board. Mary worked as a music instructor, and their three children went to Trinity Lutheran School.
“With all the twists and turns, it’s hard to give our history in a short interview,” George Kientzy says. After so many years in the community he appreciates the heartfelt connections he’s made with his customers, and he makes note of longtime employees: his brother, Joseph Kientzy, along with Ben Adams, Cliff Gross, Shannon Boyd and Eddie Rosenbaum.
There have also been some difficult moments. “Mary and I had guns held to our heads in our Connecticut store,” George said. “We found out later that if the burglars hadn’t gotten away with jewelry, they would have kidnapped our son, who was just a baby then.”
And during Hurricane Wilma, their Delray store was hit hard. “A tornado inside the hurricane blew out our back doors and wiped us out.”
But while they rebuilt after that episode, their son, John Paul, who worked with them in their store, died two years ago, and George and his wife are mourning. Their son’s death is the biggest reason they are closing the store, says Kientzy, adding that the store has kept the couple busy and, as such, was a blessing.
“The community has come in to console us. There’s a relationship that exists beyond buying and selling, and that means a lot to my wife and me.”
George and Mary will keep their store open until the end of June.
“After doing something for all those years and knowing the business inside and out, it gets into your blood. We might have an online store,” he says.
Their store, at 1053 E. Atlantic Ave., is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The Fancy Flamingo boutique in Boynton Beach’s Ocean Plaza has closed. It was owned by a mother-daughter team. Sandy Hedges is retiring, while her daughter, Tammy Deery, has started her own clothing line, Beachgirl, which will be offered in stores and online at www.facebook.com/beachgirlus/.
Delray Beach was selected by the National Civic League as one of 27 finalists for the All-America City award for outstanding civic accomplishments. This year, the award’s focus is on communities that have helped low-income children on school readiness, school attendance, summer learning and grade-level reading. The 27 top community delegation contenders will make a presentation to a jury of national civic experts in June in Denver.
Discover the Palm Beaches, the official tourism marketing corporation for Palm Beach County, reported a year-over-year increase in visitor spending of almost 1 percent, to $4.6 billion for 2016, over $4.5 billion in 2015. Tourism numbers for the Palm Beaches were record-breaking again last year, reaching 7.35 million visitors.
Visitors and residents are encouraged to share photos and videos of their favorite moments in the county through Discover the Palm Beaches’ new “Friends Trust Friends” social media campaign with the hashtag #ThePalmBeaches.
According to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, the median sale price for single-family homes in the county increased 8.9 percent to $325,000 in March as inventory of active listings dropped 0.4 percent to 7,655 homes. Closed sales increased 10.3 percent to 1,676 transactions with a 12.4 percent year-over-year increase in cash sales at 651 transactions.
In April, in recognition of Fair Housing Month, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, with the Palm Beach County Office of Equal Opportunity and the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, announced the winners of their annual Fair Housing contest. The elementary school poster contest first-place winner of a $100 gift card was Mateo Eaton, a student of Imagine Schools at the Chancellor Campus, Boynton Beach.
Lang Realty raised $3,750 for the American Red Cross’ Home Fire Program through sales generated at the company’s Open House Extravaganza. Also, prizes were awarded through a random drawing of all who toured the homes. Among the winners was Dr. Marc Rosenberg of Delray Beach, who won a $500 Visa gift card.
For the 2017 Delray Beach Home Tour in March, The Corcoran Group sponsored one of the homes, with its agents serving as volunteers to help raise funds and awareness for The Achievement Centers for Children & Families. Agents involved included Ann Bennett, Barbara Whittaker, Jennifer Kilpatrick, Laura Rodriguez, Wendy Overton, Tina Smith, Candace Friis, Michael and Holly Thom, Betsy Cooke, Betty Devitt and Gay Bridges.
The Metropolitan development in Delray Beach will feature interiors designed by tennis pro Venus Williams, who operates V*Starr Interiors. Douglas Elliman’s director of luxury sales, Senada Adzem, and her team were selected to direct sales and marketing. Located at 33 SE Third Ave. in Delray Beach, the development is expected to be completed in late summer 2018. Its temporary sales office is at 55 SE Second Ave., Delray Beach. Call 917-657-2840.
More than 1,100 guests celebrated dinner together at a five-block-long, 1,320-foot table on East Atlantic Avenue for the ninth annual Savor the Avenue 2017 in March. This culinary tradition, a partnership with the Delray Beach magazine, Boca Raton magazine and the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority, showcased 16 restaurants downtown.
For the fifth year, participating restaurants competed in the “Best in Show” table-décor contest. The first-place winner was Salt 7; second place went to 50 Ocean; and the third-place winner was Max’s Harvest. The People’s Choice Award went to Salt 7.
Participating restaurants were 32 East, 50 Ocean, Cabana El Rey, Caffé Luna Rosa, Che!, City Oyster & Sushi Bar, Cut 432, Lemongrass, Max’s Harvest, Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen, Rack’s Fish House & Oyster Bar, Rocco’s Tacos, ROK:BRGR, Salt 7, The Office, and Vic & Angelo’s.
Boynton Beach Food, Wine & Brew Festival will be 6 to 9 p.m. May 11 at Benvenuto Restaurant, 1730 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. This annual event features a sampling of cuisines from Boynton Beach restaurants and lounges, as well as wine and craft beer tastings. To make reservations, call 732-9501.
Delivery Dudes founder and CEO Jayson Koss cuts the ribbon at the company’s new headquarters,
located on Northeast First Avenue in Delray Beach.
Photo provided
Jayson Koss, 31, founder and CEO of Delivery Dudes, celebrated the grand opening March 30 of Delivery Dudes’ world headquarters in a restored 1905 historic home at 102 NE First Ave.
Delivery Dudes began in Delray Beach in 2009 with Koss on his Moped delivering meals from area restaurants to locals. Today, Delivery Dudes is in 42 cities in four states.
Here’s how Delivery Dudes works: To have food delivered from a restaurant, go to DeliveryDudes.com for a list of nearby restaurants. After you place an order, Delivery Dudes picks it up and delivers it for a $5 to $7 delivery charge. The average delivery time is 45 minutes.
In Delray Beach, Delivery Dudes has more than 100 menus on its site. Delivery Dudes also services areas in Boca Raton and Boynton Beach.
Habit for Humanity of South Palm Beach County is having 100 female leaders join forces to raise $100,000 to build a safe and affordable home for a low-income family. The organization’s “Women Build” project invites teams of women to raise money and gives them the opportunity to help build a home alongside a resident family in the construction process from May 11 to 13.
Habitat for Humanity recognizes that women are uniquely positioned to nurture families and build communities, so it concludes the event on Mother’s Day.
To participate, each woman must commit to raising or giving $1,000 to the campaign by visiting www.habitatsouthpalmbeach.org and clicking on “Women Build” at the top of the home page.
For Mother’s Day, the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority presents the Downtown Delray Orchid Giveaway, May 1-13. For every $200 spent in that period in a downtown store, buyers will receive one Phalaenopsis orchid plant. (Restaurant receipts not valid.)
After presenting their receipts, buyers can pick up their orchid at one of two orchid stations, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 10-12 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 13. The stations will be in front of Hands Stationers, 325 E. Atlantic Ave., and Petite Connection, 1049 E. Atlantic Ave.
Also, you can enter to win a Mother’s Day prize package online until May 17, at www.DelrayOrchidGiveaway.com. ; Valued at more than $500, the package includes downtown Delray Beach dining, spa, shopping and attraction certificates.
For Orchid Giveaway details, visit www.downtowndelraybeach.com and facebook.com/DelrayDDA, or call the DDA at 243-1077.
From 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on May 17, Adopt-A-Family will partner with C.W.S. Bar + Kitchen, 522 Lucerne Ave., Lake Worth, for the Great Give, which is part of the agency’s single-day fundraising event to help homeless and vulnerable families with children throughout the county. With a minimum $20 donation, each guest will receive a cocktail and bar bites. For information or to make your donation, visit www.adoptafamilypbc.org or call 253-1361.
The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County has appointed global finance expert Nathan Slack as chairman of its board of directors. Slack, of Delray Beach, began his career at J.P. Morgan almost 18 years ago and has since served in a variety of roles around the world, most recently as managing director and market manager at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Palm Beach. He also serves on the board of directors of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.
Nicole Fontaine has joined the Katz & Associates team in Boca Raton.
Karen C. Erren has been named executive director of the Palm Beach County Food Bank. Most recently, she was the director of new business development for the marketing and comm-unications agency Russ Reid in Pasadena, Calif.
Boca Raton resident Maxine Adler, a recently retired public relations professional and agency owner, has written her memoir with Judy Goldstein, a member of the Adler Network team. Among her clients, Adler represented developers and designers who were involved in creating South Florida, and her new book, An Inside Seat, gives readers an inside look at that process.
“We didn’t design the book to be a how-to, but we do present insight into the PR profession along with ideas and strategies that will inform and educate others,” Adler said.
The print paperback and e-book version of An Inside Seat can be ordered through Amazon or from the CreateSpace Store. The Kindle e-book may also be ordered.
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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