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MTAR and Candy Joyce Offer Support for the Local Real Estate Profession

IT MAY BE COLD OUTSIDE, but if you ask any Realtor, mortgage lender, title agent or anyone related to real estate, they will tell you it is hot! At least real estate, anyway. All markets are cyclical, but with low interest rates and so many people moving right now, the Murfreesboro real estate market can’t help but be on fire!

That being said, a lot of people are also getting their real estate licenses right now and joining a local professional association.

But with that comes the need to support all those professionals. One of the resources the pros look to is the Middle Tennessee Association of Realtors (MTAR) located on Butler Drive. This organization serves nine counties in the mid-state. MTAR is an arm of the National Association of Realtors but operates locally to provide support to its members, real estate clients and the public in general in Middle Tennessee. Only those agents who subscribe to the NAR Code of Ethics may call themselves a Realtor.

The lady in charge of the day-to-day operations at MTAR is Candy Roberts Joyce, who has been in real estate since the mid 1990s. She and her staff offer guidance for buyers and sellers, provide community outreach and professional training for its membership, and enforce the Code of Ethics. Joyce also keeps her ear to the ground to watch for any new regulations or taxes that may be detrimental to agents as well as local homeowners. So, there is always something going on.

Professionally, MTAR offers statistics and additional insights as to the health of the market and how to better serve clients looking to buy or sell. It is important for agents to keep up to date on new trends and technology. Someone has to tell the seller a bright orange living room with purple shag carpeting and five cats may be a hindrance to marketing that property. There are also many different types of septic systems in Rutherford County due to all the rock. This sparks several common questions from clients living in other markets.

Once a year, Realtors from all across Tennessee will meet at the State Capital to voice any concerns they may have. This has averted several taxes over the years for the professional, as well as homeowners and buyers.

The Butler Drive facility also provides a place for members to discuss local issues as well as meet political candidates, and other needed professionals such as home inspectors, electricians, plumbers and mortgage lenders.

The Association calendar is filled with continuing education and other training opportunities. It also serves as a public voting site several times a year.

Realtors know it is important to be involved with the community in order to help it grow. Through the years, they have been instrumental in such projects as Meals on Wheels, Make a Difference Day, the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity, just to name a few. Though COVID may have hindered in-person activity, there is still the ability to help the community financially such as creating goody bags for retirees at the Alvin C. York VA Hospital. Some of Murfreesboro’s impoverished children were not able to receive a school lunch due to the pandemic. MTAR donated funds to keep the “chow wagon” up and running to provide kids the nutrition they need. The pros know that when they help their community it helps their industry as well.

With so much happening in the local market and within the industry, it is necessary for MTAR to keep up. Late last year, the MTAR building began a long-overdue transformation, though the building will remain the same size. The remodel will provide different spaces for training, more restrooms, a lager lobby and a store for agents to purchase books, marketing tools and those all-important “SOLD” sign riders. The project hopes to be completed in the late spring, but Candy and her staff will continue working for its members and the community in the meantime.

For more information on the Middle Tennessee Association of Realtors, visit mtar.org.

Blaine Little is the founder and CEO of Momentum Seminars Training and Coaching, helping companies remain profitable by investing in their people. Learn more at momentumseminars.com. Be sure to get his new book Managerial Mistakes, Missteps & Misunderstandings, available now on Amazon in paperback or Kindle format. Check out the podcast at bit.ly/toastcaster143.

’BORO BUSINESS BUZZ

Ms. Marian’s, Woods Air Movement, Salads on Demand, A Special Touch, Blue Eyed Daisy, Maddy’s, Yankee Candle

BY DELORES ELLIOTT

WOODS AIR MOVEMENT announced in January that the company plans to establish a U.S. facility in Murfreesboro. Woods Air Movement will re-establish its North American presence by investing over $3 million in the community, creating a reported 27 jobs in Rutherford County.

“Woods Air Movement’s decision to locate its North American headquarters in our state underscores Tennessee’s probusiness environment, central location and talented workforce. We thank the company for investing and creating new family-wage jobs in Rutherford County,” said Bob Rolfe, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

Swanson Inc. will build a new facility for Woods, located in the 80-acre Parkway Place industrial park on Joe B. Jackson Parkway near Amazon, and will lease the building to the company.

The building will serve as a manufacturing and testing facility for industrial ventilation products used in road and rail tunnels, non-residential buildings and underground parking garages.

The Murfreesboro City Council and Rutherford Chamber of Commerce are excited to offer higher-paying jobs to locals and MTSU graduates.

“We look forward to welcoming Woods’ leadership and nearly 30 engineering jobs to our growing and livable community,” said Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland in a recent press release.

 A new salad restaurant has opened at 2137 NW Broad St., formerly the home of an appliance store. SALADS ON DEMAND offers a variety of hand-crafted salads with tasty dressing options.

The restaurant offers salads for pickup, and customers may also order delivery through GrubHub, Uber Eats and Door Dash.

“God gave the vision and the owners paired their love for feeding people plenty with their desire for a real good salad. God has been faithful!” ownership posted on Salads on Demand social media. Murfreesboro’s newest hot chicken and soul food restaurant, MS. MARIAN’S CAFE, has opened at 1513 E. Main St. near MTSU. The restaurant hosted a soft opening on Jan. 15, and is now open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on weekdays, and 11 a.m.–1 a.m. on the weekends. Ms. Marian’s specializes in fried fi sh, wings and chicken tenders, all of which can be tossed in various sauces.

CULTIVATION NETWORK, a digital marketing agency that works with The Blue Eyed Daisy and other local businesses will move its business into the former boutique space at 423 N. Walnut St.

THAI PATTAYA, home of Asian cuisine located at 810 NW Broad St., will celebrate its 10-year anniversary in February. For the past few months, the restaurant has offered takeout, curbside and delivery as a COVID precaution.

According to Thai Pattaya ownership, the restaurant may offer a special deal on takeout for the 10-year anniversary. However, it is likely that the dining room will remain temporarily closed.

THE BLUE EYED DAISY BOUTIQUE will move out of its building on North Walnut Street, though business owner Diane Austin plans to keep the clothing, jewelry and gift business alive online.

Austin announced that the boutique offi cially closed its doors on Jan. 23.

In a recent post on The Blue Eyed Daisy’s Facebook page, Austin said that she will stay positive about what’s to come.

“It’s hard to believe that I have just a few days left in my little yellow house. Life has a way of throwing us curves. I am staying positive and look forward to what’s ahead,” Austin said in mid-January.

To shop, visit theblueeyeddaisy.com.

 CLOSING CORNER

After serving Rutherford County for almost 20 years, A SPECIAL TOUCH, located at 1715 Old Fort Pkwy., is going out of business. The bridal shop offered services including alterations, custom designs to order, consignment and bridal gowns, consultations and supply rentals.

“Unfortunately, since we moved last February, our sales have all but disappeared. Amazon and COVID hit us bad. We are transitioning to a thrift shop in hopes to survive the next two years on our lease,” said business owner Joni Winsett.

“God’s got it,” she added.

The business announced via its Facebook page that the store will remain open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. as it sells its remaining inventory.

The Stones River Mall will be losing a favorite as GAMESTOP closes. The company began losing big money in 2013 with the

MEDIA RERUN announced that the store will close its doors for good on Feb. 28.

“This place changed my life,” Etheridge Kip Gunnells posted upon seeing the news. “Beyond devastated. Thankful for all the memories and the longtime friends I now have because of [the store].”

For 18 years, the store on Rutherford Boulevard carried a treasure trove of used music, video games, consoles, movies, instruments, posters, toys and other pop culture and entertainment related items.

“I started taking my kids there 15 years ago,” Carrie Richards said. “They grew up knowing that Media Rerun was the place to go with birthday and Christmas money.”

Store owner John Judkins and the Media Rerun crew invite everyone to stop in before the store’s fi nal day.

“We’ve had an amazing run, and serving our customers for the past 18 years has been a great honor,” according to a farewell post on the Media Rerun Facebook page.

“We’ve helped decorate dorm rooms and apartments. We’ve assisted Santa Claus with presents in stockings and under Christmas trees. We’ve fi lled stereo speakers with music and turned movie nights into movie weekends. We’ve hosted musicians from all over the country and from right here in our city,” the post continued. “It’s been a wonderful experience.”

Ryan Baker called Media Rerun the “best store in the world.”

And Aurelia Christiana Langford said “I had some of the best memories and shows at Media Rerun. Met so many incredible people and I will always be grateful for you guys for that.”

launch of the Xbox One and Playstation 4 (platforms where players can download games online), and since then GameStop sales have continued to go downhill.

GameStop previously excelled in the sale of used games, their buy and sell options, and being a niche. As technology progressed and digital game downloads became more common, gamers stopped needing GameStop’s services.

The company announced at a presentation in December that it would close over 1,000 stores by March of 2021.(In a curious case of market speculation, GameStop stock shot up 1,700 percent in January, even as company sales were tanking.) For the Stones River Mall, the closing is unfortunate as it has already lost some of its appeal, and tenants, over the last few years.

However, the mall has gained Murfreesboro’s Strike & Spare, which recently moved to the old Sears location.

After fi ghting to stay afl oat during COVID, YANKEE CANDLE at The Avenue has closed. Many attempts were made in hopes of keeping the location open, including laying off many of its employees, limiting store hours and moving sales to their website, but it wasn’t enough. The location closed in early January, as have multiple other Yankee Candle retail stores across the country over the past months.

KROGER announced that it would close its Middle Tennessee Boulevard store at the end of February.

A company spokeperson said the location’s pharmacy and fuel center would remain open, but the grocery portion of the business would close.

Kroger operates stores nearby on Lascassas Pike and South Church Street, as well as on Memorial Boulevard, Northfi eld Boulevard, Old Fort Parkway and Veterans Parkway in Murfreesboro.

The building that formerly housed the Camino Real and later the AZTECA Mexican restaurants on Broad Street has been torn down. Stay tuned for more news on this lot.

Although it just opened for business in 2020, MADDY’S RESTAURANT in Smyrna did not survive the year of pandemic. Ownership of the burger and hot dog joint elected to close in January.