From wings to weaves to car waxes, One Stop Shop is a busy business with big dreams. Located on the corner of Osceola Street and Wanish Way, One Stop Shop is more than just an average convenient store.
Owner Derek Howell said he envisioned having something that the school could call it’s own.
“I built this business from the ground up when it was barely nothing,” Howell said.
“I’m giving this to the community and to FAMU because we need it.”
One Stop Shop’s convenient location near FAMU’s campus offers a variety of student needs. Its three-part establishment is divided into a convenient store, sandwich shop and car wash.
Along with food, beverages and household items, One Stop sells perms, hair extensions and other grooming essentials. Customers can also purchase money orders and phone cards. The store even sells and activates cellular phones.
Right outside of the store is the sandwich shop. Seasoned fries, fresh chicken fingers and uniquely blended smoothies are just a few items on the menu. Other specials include the shop’s pit barbecue that is available to students at a discounted price.
Kayla Watson, a sophomore political science student from Charleston, S.C., is especially fond of the mini-restaurant.
“The food is good,” said Watson, 20. “I like the smoothies. My favorite is Ki Ki Noonk-Noonk. It is a blend of banana, strawberry, and pineapple.”
Customers take their cars to have them cleaned behind the shop. While they wait, they can go into the shop’s recreation room that’s equipped with a big screen television and a DVD player, or they can just sit in the lobby and listen to music and relax.
One Stop Shop has been in business since December. It opens at 8 a.m. and closes late (4 a.m. on some nights) so that students won’t have to leave campus for their personal needs.
Jamaal Morgan, 19, a freshman agriculture student from Atlanta, comes to the store often with his friends as part of their quick stop routine.
“The shop is very convenient and it has everything,” Morgan said. “It’s also open late when the other stores close early.”
Co-owner Melissa Noland said that deciding what to have in the store was an easy decision.
“We knew whom we were trying to service. We have the needs for students and we are just trying to show love. This is all about FAMU.
Noland admits she can’t complain about business so far and is excited to see major supporters like FAMU’s athletic department and faculty come in.
Howell and Noland both agree that they make a great team and look forward to a promising future for One Stop Shop. The team has plans to expand the shop in August and has visions of a One Stop Shop II. The two already have their eyes set straight ahead for making their business the only place that students stop in.
However, Howell said that it only the beginning of a major movement that should take place in the black community.
“(Blacks) need to be the faces behind the counter, as black business owners,” Howell said. “We need to make us rich.”
Tiffany Pitts can be reached at pittstiffany@hotmail.com.