Author: vipmagsc

How Rick Havekost Does It All

story by Allie Roark

    If you’re packing a cooler for a beach day, planning a dreamy wedding, or unwinding from a stressful day at work, Rick Havekost and his crew at Micky Finns have just what you need to quench your thirst. Maybe even get you out on the dance floor!

    In 1999, Rick began fulfilling his dream to offer an untraditional service to the historical persona that surrounded a liquor store. During college at the University of South Carolina, Rick worked at Greens Liquor Store, an upscale beverage establishment. While there, he learned the basic procedures of the business. Shortly after college and a brief restaurant stint that proved to not be his passion, Rick felt he knew what would make a liquor store successful, and just what he wanted to bring back to his hometown.

    Upon returning to Florence, Rick and his father, Richard, a retired Nucor Vice President, did a lot of traveling, researching, and exploring to find just what his store needed. Rick had a vision of a nice building with fully stocked shelves that was welcoming to any valued costumer regardless of their gender. “Women control the money and they will only go into stores where they feel comfortable and safe,” explains Rick. “Our options were to build a small building off of a sketchy road and put bars on the window, or we could buy a pristine piece of property in the middle of town and build a 10,000 square foot building with Mexican tile, I chose the latter.” And so the Five Points location in Florence was born.

    It wasn’t long before Rick was able to open up an additional store on the south side of Florence that was a replication of his store at Five Points. Micky Finns at Five Points soon became the largest top-selling liquor store in the state. In addition to offering top retail selections, Micky Finns dominates wholesale distributing throughout the state. In 2005, state laws changed allowing local liquor stores to distribute to businesses, where in previous years an employee from these establishments would have to pick up their own alcoholic beverages. Rick began to visit franchise owners of Outback, Applebees, The Cheesecake Factory, and many others across the country in order to sale not only to their Florence locations but to every location they owned throughout the state. Rick’s approach was that each restaurant would receive the same low cost, the best and quickest service, and would work directly with him to ensure it stayed that way. This promise won the business of many and Rick’s continued approach at quality service has gained him more success.

    This local businessman is currently focusing on quality rather than quantity. Rick plans to expand in the future but is content in where his company stands at the moment. Rather than expanding locations, Rick is focusing on his stores, employees, and family. Rick enjoys knowing his employees. Some have worked with him for 20 years and are more like family. Rick enjoys knowing his employees, their families, and hosting Christmas gatherings at his home. Rick has shown his appreciation for his employees by helping many of them gain their masters or undergrad degrees.

    How does Rick do it all?  He has a great support team. His family is his biggest motivation. His father still works with him after initially committing to six months or at most a year. Another superstar of the company is Julia Coleman who is a main player in the day-to-day operations. It seems that one of Rick’s best assets could be his employees. He has a knack for employing ambitious people who aspire to grow with the company.

    In addition to being a supporter of several nonprofits in the community, Rick has also been a member of the Florence Chamber member since first opening his doors. He values his relationship there and values the connections available through the Chamber. “In my opinion, one of the Chamber’s most valuable assets is the member catalog that comes out yearly,” he says. “If I’m ever in need of finding a business owner or a particular local service, I reference the member guide. It’s everything I need in fingers reach.”

    Micky Finns is well-known due to its intentionality, great prices, stocked shelves, and welcoming staff. When a business runs off these key ingredients, it has no choice but to continue to grow and expand. We are excited to see what this company has in store in the years to come.

*Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce’s Member of the Month

Rick & family, Boyd, Lilah Bleu & Mallori

Micky Finn’s | www.MickyFinns.com

550 Pamplico Hwy, Florence • 843.413.1182

5 Points: 194 S Cashua Dr, Florence • 843.317.9463

story by Lindsay Brown | photography by Fred Salley

    Even as a child, Franklin Brown was always more interested in how something was made than in the product itself. From toys and computers to engines and power tools, he was often found dismantling and then reassembling items that other people took for granted.

    So, it wasn’t really unusual that when Franklin decided to try his hand at creating handcrafted wooden projects, like pens and bottle stoppers, that he also decided to build his own lathe for turning the wood. “Woodworking and lathe-turning have long been an interest of mine, but there was always an excuse to not get started,” Franklin said. “Lathes and woodturning tools can be expensive and preparing a project can take a long time.”

    Still, he kept coming back to woodworking as a hobby, even creating wood slice platters and a few Adirondack chairs as he and his wife prepared decorations for their do-it-yourself wedding in October of 2018. After the wedding, he realized he missed the time he spent on the projects and decided to put excuses aside, creating his own lathe using a power drill and some creative manufacturing.

    “There was some trial and error at first because it was hard to get the lathe stable enough to turn the wood safely,” he said. “There were some interesting initial outcomes, like exploding, flying wood that my wife didn’t think was too funny. After some adjustments though, I was able to produce some pens worthy of showing without getting a concussion.

    “I found that I really enjoyed the process of taking a block of wood and seeing what it would become. Each piece of wood has its own unique markings and can be shaped differently just by the way I use the tools to carve it.”

    Created with natural woods ranging from oak to Australian burls and then polished to bring out the fine details of each piece, Franklin’s unique pens and pencils quickly became a hit with friends and family. As the holiday season approached, he began taking orders for gifts and soon realized that he would have to upgrade his equipment if he wanted to keep up with the demand.

    The first step was purchasing better quality carving tools, which helped Franklin improve his skills and products enough to justify a Kickstarter campaign that would help him raise enough money to purchase a professional quality lathe. The campaign was successful, eventually funding at 176 percent of its goal. Backers of the campaign became loyal fans after receiving one of a kind pens and pencils created using the new lathe.

    “That was when I realized that I may be able to turn my hobby into a side business,” Franklin said. “The new lathe made a world of difference in my end products, and I began delving into other types of lathe-turned products, like bottle stoppers, rings, bowls, and even knobs and handles.”

    A second Kickstarter campaign that focused on pens and pencils made from rare Australian burl woods was even more successful than the first, funding at 311 percent, with several of Franklin’s original backers coming back to support the new project.

    “The support has been amazing,” he said. “I never expected something that started as a hobby to turn into this. People ask me to make pens as gifts for family members and coworkers. It feels so good to know I have had a hand in helping make a special gift for someone. I even had a custom order where I turned an old hammer handle that had special meaning into a pen for someone’s father.”

    Eventually, Franklin hopes to focus completely on custom orders so that he can continue to grow as an artist. Meanwhile, he has another Kickstarter campaign idea in the works where he plans to make pens using wood from trees that were destroyed during Hurricane Matthew in Bay County, Florida, where much of his wife’s family lives. The couple plans to donate the profits from the campaign to help support relief efforts in the region.

INTERESTED IN A CUSTOM PEN OR PENCIL?

Find Woodworks by Franklin on Facebook or Instagram to see pens and pencils currently for sale, or message Franklin directly on either site for custom orders.

Family Owned, Farm Grown

About Gillespie’s Peanuts

Rogers Brothers Farm, a large farm in Darlington and Lee counties, is unique in that it grows 100% high-oleic peanuts, which means they are more resistant to field disease and more sustainable to grow. There is also an inherently higher percentage of mono-saturated fats (also known as the “good fats”) in the peanuts, which leads to having a longer-shelf-life than some others. Gillespie’s Peanuts are grown and shelled on Rogers Brothers Farm and are freshly packaged, making for a flavorful and crunchy snack produced with love in Darlington County.

What Happens “Before the Can?”

     Peanuts don’t grow on trees or bushes. They, instead, grow underneath the soil. From planting to harvesting, the growing cycle of peanuts can take numerous months. For Gillespie’s, peanut season begins in late April. Peanuts are usually planted in a field 1 out of 4 years. It takes 22 weeks for the peanuts to mature before digging begins. After being dug, the peanuts have to dry for about a week. After they dry, combining begins which separates the nuts from the vines. The combining process takes about a month. The peanuts are transported out of the field and transported to the plant where they are stored and shipped to the shelling plant. They are then shelled, cooked, and placed into cans.

    Here’s a look at the timeline of the production of Gillespie’s Peanuts…

• May 1st  – Begin Planting

• June 1st – Complete Planting

• Average 140-day growing season.

• October 1 – Begin Harvesting

• November 1 – Complete Harvesting (goal)

• Dry on the ground for 5 days

• Pick up with combine.

     For Gillespie’s Peanut’s most-loved Chocolate Covered flavor, the process is a little different. Cocoa plants have to be planted in July near the peanut plants that will be chocolate covered. Gill Rogers shares, “We have to start harvesting the chocolate first—before it gets too hot. Otherwise, the chocolate will melt in the combine and we’ll have a huge mess on our hands!”

Gillespie’s Peanuts Introduces Lime Margarita Flavor

    After several years of offering the same seven flavors of peanuts, Gillespie’s introduced Caramel Crunch Peanuts in the fall of 2017. Almost two years later, the peanut gallery decided it was time for a new flavor.

    Gillespie’s had perfected savory peanuts—like Salted, Sea Salt & Pepper, and Low Country Boil. They also had a nice ‘spicy’ peanut flavor—Spicy Sriracha. Gillespie’s couldn’t think of anything that needed to be added to their ‘sweet’ collection of Chocolate Covered, Honey Roasted, and Caramel Crunch. But, it still seemed there was something missing. Maybe another spicy?  Maybe something with a sour punch to it?! Gillespie’s sampled many flavor combinations and finally landed on Lime Margarita. People seem to love the sour and salty mix, and it really is a great summer flavor! The Lime Margarita peanuts have done very well from the beginning, and although they were planning on making them a limited edition product, they may have to extend that a little bit! Gillespie’s has encouraged fans to pick up the Lime Margarita Peanuts to use as #boatsnacks, but really, they are perfect for traveling, ball games, and hanging out by the pool.  Right now the Lime Margarita Peanuts are being sold in select stores and on their website, www.gillespiespeanuts.com.

    Gillespie’s Peanuts always has something in the works—who knows what they’ll come up with next! Charles Rogers, one of the owners, and Linzie Batchelor, Marketing Director are unofficially the R&D department. Every meeting they seem to be tossing out ideas about some new product of flavor Gillespie’s Peanuts could try. Of course, their entire company is always on the lookout for new opportunities and listening to the needs of their fans! They are ‘nuts’ about their customers!

Stores that carry Lime Margarita Peanuts:

The Key – Hartsville

Rebecca’s Fabrications – Southport

Lazy Gator – Murrells Inlet

Piggly Wiggly – Surfside

www.gillespiespeanuts.com