CK: Two years. (The business has been opened two years, and Chantha has been in York two years.)
Chantha continues… We’re from California. We came here to be with family…. My niece is not from California. My niece is from here.
PH: What is one of the differences between living in California and living in York?
CK: Here is kind of different. California is more noisy, a lot of people, it’s busy. And here it’s just, it’s not really…. It’s more quiet here, and I like it because there’s no traffic, and I go everywhere, I don’t have to get online. And I come for the people, so.. (she prefers York!)
Everything here is cheaper. California is so expensive. (Customer jumps in to agree. She had moved here from Maine!)
PH: Tell me about the shop. Who makes the donuts?
CK: The baker, My husband. My husband makes the donuts.
PH: Someone told me he gets up at 3am and comes in to make the donuts. Is that true?
CK: Oh My. He almost spends the whole night here. He comes to prepare because it’s a small business and he makes them from scratch. He works nighttime, and I come in the morning.
PH: You’re famous for your donuts. I remember when you first came, we were all so excited for a DONUT SHOP!! What’s your favorite donut?
CK: I like the Apple Fritters. (She smiles. Y’all, the apple fritters are everybody’s favorite. They’re ridiculously delicious.)
PH: And what’s your favorite lunch item?
CK: We have American food. We have the paninis. And hamburgers and hotdogs. And we have the Chinese food. My favorite is the panini. Any of them.
I must say, after the interview, I took a bit of lunch home to try out the paninis. Between the roast beef panini and the grilled cheese and bacon panini, my family couldn’t complain. In fact we are quickly becoming regulars!
Downtown York offers an eclectic group of store owners, with life passions that lead them into business.
Please meet our latest People of Yorkville, Kenny Childers and Jordan Garrett, of Dogma and Fetch. Due to the busy nature of running a retail store, we instead opted for a email interview and a quick visit at the shop.
Me: What was your inspiration to start the store?
Kenny and Jordan: This is a easy one, the love for animals, especially our 5 dogs Abby, Bailey, Cody, Dexter and Evan. They were a huge inspiration for opening the store.
We decided to dive into our hobby and make it a full time business.
(I’m curious if their furry family members aren’t also the inspiration for the fun and lively pet paintings throughout Dogma and Fetch? Note to self – find out who does their artwork!)
Me: How long have you been York residents?
Kenny – originally from York, I have lived here 45 years (all my life), with the exception of living in Charlotte & NC for about 6 years.
Jordan is from NC and has been in York for 17 yrs.
Me: What is your favorite part of being in Downtown York?
Kenny and Jordan – Making relationships with dogs and dog owners. We also love the history of the downtown and its buildings.
Kenny – As a child I rode my bike and walked the streets and shopped these stores for years, so for me York is home. And what’s more comfortable than home? We enjoy working in a quaint downtown atmosphere.
Me: Since opening Dogma and Fetch, which moments have stood out as especially poignant?
Kenny and Jordan – Being downtown for 16 years, it has saddened us to see so many businesses closing up shop. Watching other businesses/banking and services move away from the downtown/historic area to follow a trend. That (movement away from downtown) is changing the way, and what, places that York and the surrounding area will support.
Full lines of pet care productsBaked treats
Dogma and Fetch offers a wide variety of pet services, from basic supplies to gifts to fresh baked treats to grooming services. An anchor in downtown, Dogma and Fetch is definitely a destination worth visiting for any animal lover, and must see for all dog owners!
PM: 17 years. I’ve been in this location (26 North Congress) a little over a year. I started out at 17 North Congress and I was there five or six years and then that building sold, so I had to move. I was going to build onto my house, and Ann over here at Hummingbird Florist heard I was leaving downtown, and she said, ‘You can have my building. I’ll give you the same rent. We don’t want you to leave downtown; you’re a big asset.’ So I moved from 17 down to 35, which is now Holley’s Beaded Dragon.
Penny goes on to explain that she then, through a series of events, ended up moving across the street to 26 North Congress, which is where her spa currently resides.
We’re having conversation about client base, where people come from…
PM: My type of business, these days people fist pump, they use hand sanitizer, they don’t like people touching them. They communicate through typing and text, you know; nobody really gets touched. Especially if you’re single. And so a destination like this, once you come to relax – and I won’t even just say Penee – a massage therapist, somebody you can connect with and that can also touch you and can pray over you….you remember that. It stays in your heart.
…
God called me to this. He gave me a vision. I was working in corporate America and I had a terrible day one day. And I went and got a massage. I went to Carmen and Carmen because I worked in downtown Charlotte. I went in and I was like – I need a massage, I need to relax. She said, ‘We don’t have any massage appointments available but we have a facial.’ I’d never had a facial before, but I took her word and went in. And sure enough, I was at one of those crossroads in life and I was laying there and I was in tune with the Spirit and He gave me a vision. He showed me doing what she was doing to me. And I thought, gosh, this is what I need to do! I researched it, went and took out my 401K, lived off my 401k, went to school, and opened up my business in December.
She went on to share about getting started and moving into her own space, the first space at 17 North Congress.
It has been like that. He (God) has opened doors. Every time.
Penny Moss sharing essential oil samples
Me: Memorable clients, moments, stand out poignant instances?
PM: I would say this is the one… The Lord put a specific calling on my life. He said you will make people happy and you will inspire a billion. And I didn’t know what “billion” meant. And then He sent me to the Pregnancy Crisis Center and I learned that one in three women have had an abortion. Well, I had an abortion in my early twenties and I knew God had forgiven me, but I didn’t realize I hadn’t forgiven myself. So I actually got healed from an abortion I had 20 years ago. It put me in dangerous situations with men, with life, I didn’t feel I was worthy, and I overdid myself trying to make up for that. And I got healed there. So, I am a career counselor there on Wednesday, and I counsel women that are in crisis situation. … Well, when I share my testimony here (Penee), and I don’t share it with just anybody, but when God lays it on my heart to share, I would say those instances are the ones I remember.
Penny goes on the share that when she shares her story at her spa, women will open up and share their stories with her. Women that have had their own abortions, their own traumas early in life and haven’t ever told their husbands. Women open up about burdens they’ve held on to from before ….. Before marriage, before kids, before ____.
PM: And it is such freedom to be able to speak it. And some of these women have never said it. And when they say it, it’s just a flow of tears, and the enemy can’t hold them anymore. It’s like Vegas in here. What is said in here, stays in here, and people know that. It’s a place to come out of the world, to just come in here and be gone for a little bit and just recharge.
What is a facial?
I have a 30 minute, 1 hour, and an hour and a half. If you’re a beginner, and you just want to feel it out, I recommend the 30 minute, but after, you’re usually like, Ohh, I need an hour at least! It like Starbucks – you got the tall, the grande, and the whatever.
There’s a double cleansing, an exfoliating mask, a peeling mask, I put it on and I have these cucumber eye patches and then I start the massage. I start with the decollete (the shoulder blade, chest area), and then I go to the shoulders, and the neck and down the arms and then I put a heated bag across your chest. Then I go down and I massage your feet. Our hands and our feet are all connected to our organs, so I use different massage techniques on your hands and feet. I put essential oils on your feet. I have a scanner I use on your hand so I know what oils to use, and I put a hot towel over their face, and then I ask if there’s something I can pray over them for, and then I take that hot towel and that last mask off. I then use a toner, a serum, and a thicker cream over dry spots and I put on an eye cream, and that’s about it.
Me: That is a facial?!? Laughter…SOOO much better than Walmart! (I joked about buying my facial scrub at Walmart because I am not typically a girly girl.) It does not even compare!
PM: (Laughs) It does not even compare!
Then she explains lots of other treatments she can do. Visit her websitefor dermabrasion, peels, make up, and more.
She goes on to discuss future plans and listening for God’s call. Penny has started a Facebook page called Heart Rebalanced for women that would like to reach out to her. Penny and I had a wonderfully uplifting conversation, and I highly recommend everyone go see Penny. She has such a positive and infectious, joyful spirit that any customer is sure to have a renewing and heart filled experience.
I must admit, in a culture of more, having a way to focus the entire year seems smart. What a marvelous solution to the overwhelming push of excess in our lives, living into just one word, c’est la vie to all other words.
I drove around for at least two days, sometimes consciously, sometimes not, thinking about the concept of choosing my word. Did I feel brave? Could I be persistent? Do I even want to dominate? What if I failed at faith? Am I ready for growth?
I thought about the New Year’s card the boys and I created together.
It’s amazing how our Spirit reaches out, touching our thoughts; how a soul feels what a brain names. The tears welled up, and I drove along, streaks running down my cheekbones. Friends and family gifted us more love than I shall ever be able to repay. What humbleness it is to receive that which is unpayable!
2017- a year of such intense heartbreak and challenge and turmoil – held captivating miracles of Grace, Thanksgiving, and Joy.
And yet, as the rush subsides and the memories of a year past slow, I feel fear – a pinch of the throat, a doubt in my choice, a questioning of my ability to live into such a courageous word. Because every time in my life I have chosen a path righteous for God, requiring focus and discipline and practice and intentionality, the devil has shown up to play. I am not sure I am willing to tempt the devil just yet, and I am certainly doubtful I am ready to give what Eucharisteo asks. Eucharisteo is the act of saying in the face of agony that I choose Thanksgiving. I choose Joy. I choose Grace. In the face of adversity and trauma, during the storm of chaos and legalities and uncertainty, I choose God. I choose to give thanks. I choose Eucharisteo. It comes before all else. It must come first in order for the forgiveness and the love and the faith to come too. To choose Eucharisteo means to choose bravery and courage, to give thanks for the broken and the angry and the whole mess. To say in this hard good, I choose to see God, I choose to say Thank you. For all of it.
Eucharisteo.
That feels quite daring, and frankly, a bit audacious.
(Thank goodness I have a whole year to work on it.)
**My current reading list that has greatly influenced my thoughts and writings recently:
One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown
I have a 30 minute, 1 hour, and an hour and a half. If you’re a beginner, and you just want to feel it out, I recommend the 30 minute, but after, you’re usually like, Ohh, I need an hour at least! It like Starbucks – you got the tall, the grande, and the whatever.
One Word.
Educating Patricia Hatch 