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Hernando Today

Prime Time Arrives For Christmas House

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By TONY MARRERO Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 30, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Leslie Lopez made her annual holiday pilgrimage Friday to Rogers' Christmas Village and left Brooksville laden with a shopping bag.

It's a tradition that started years ago when Lopez would head north from Tampa with her parents. Lopez, now 37, drove up Wednesday with her sister and cousin.

But after reading reports over the last year of the Christmas Village's rocky financial picture, the family didn't make the drive without doing a little reconnaissance to make sure the landmark was open.

"We called to check," she said as she held a bag of new ornaments.

The Christmas Village still gets a lot of those calls, said George Rodriguez, a Christmas House employee since 1972.

The business did close for three days in 2007 as the owner at the time tried to sort out financial trouble that would ultimately lead to foreclosure. But a new era is here, Rodriguez said Tuesday as he geared up for what he hoped would be a Black Friday crush of shoppers.

"We're open," he said. "Put it in big, bold letters."

Not only is the 36-year-old institution open, but it's under new ownership.

Rodriguez has purchased the business and its inventory for $10,000 with the help of a group of investors. He wouldn't name them, but said the financial backers included local and "out-of-town" investors.

Now, however, Rodriguez seeks to buy the roughly one acre of land and the five buildings that make up the village. He says he is "in the process of making an offer" to Weiland Rogers and Alice S. Rogers Stonaker, who took the business back for $100 in a foreclosure auction after Donna Jones was unable to make payments.

Margaret "Weenie" Rogers Ghiotto opened the store in 1972, and the Rogers family ran the business until Jones purchased it in 2006. Jones filed for bankruptcy last year, and Rodriguez, who managed the business for years, started making maneuvers to purchase the store.
Weiland Rogers didn't return a call seeking comment Friday. Stonaker couldn't be reached.

Rodriguez wouldn't comment on the negotiations. The assessed value of the property is just more than $467,000, according to the Hernando County Property Appraiser.

Rodriguez said he turned to private investors because the credit crunch has made it difficult if not impossible to secure a loan.

If the sale goes through, the buildings will require some $100,000 in repair and maintenance work, Rodriguez said. The youngest building is more than 60 years old. The oldest has stood for more than a century.

The village wasn't packed Friday morning, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. But a steady flow of customers browsed their way through the various houses, and cash registers beeped steadily.

Rodriquez said he opened the doors at 8:30 a.m. - 90 minutes early - because people were waiting.

"I haven't even had time to make coffee," he said two hours later.

Customers are finding shelves a little less packed this year, Rodriguez admitted. Focused on efforts to buy the business, he wasn't able to make his usual July shopping trip to purchase inventory for the Christmas season.

"But we've got plenty, and we're getting more every day," he said.

Nearly two dozen employees are on staff this season, Rodriguez said.

Among them is Sharon Elliott, an employee for the last 24 years. She said she's hopeful Rodriguez will help the business move past this period of uncertainty so she can be there "for 24 more."

"He's got a lot of good ideas, and it's exciting to be here to see the developments," Elliott said.

Rodriguez saw her two dozen years and raised her a dozen more.

"I think we're going to be around for another 36 years," he said.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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