Brent and Becky’s Bulbs of Gloucester has purchased the Flat Iron Crossroads entertainment venue and plans to have the nonprofit corporation established by former owner Ray Friend continue its operations there.
Jay Hutchins, general manager of Brent and Becky’s, said that the decision to acquire the property was an easy one for him, his wife and the business’s general manager Denise, and owners Brent and Becky Heath (Becky is Hutchins’s mother).
“The Heath family has been in the area since the 1900s,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed having Flat Iron as a neighbor, so it didn’t take us long to decide … The history of this intersection, along with the length of time the family has been operating here, seemed like a great connection.”
Hutchins said the intersection where Flat Iron and Brent and Becky’s sit has changed over the years. At one time, Route 14 came straight to Flat Iron Road where the old garage sat that now houses the concert venue, he said, and drivers had to make a left-hand turn there to get back on the road to Mathews. Hutchins he remembers a time when he could bring his car to the garage, drive straight into the building, and honk his horn for service.
The wayside created when Route 14 was altered to bypass the Flat Iron intersection used to house Ware Neck Elementary School, said Hutchins, and across the street, on Ware Neck Road, was a farrier. Brent and Becky’s workers have often dug up old horseshoes while planting the fields with their signature daffodils, he said. Near the farrier was a bar that was replaced by a real estate closing office, and that office was recently demolished and is being replaced with a new, two-story structure.
“This area is changing so fast,” said Hutchins.
One thing that won’t change, however, is music at Flat Iron Crossroads. Hutchins said Brent and Becky’s feels that Flat Iron and what it does is important to the community.
“The closest thing to it is Donk’s in Mathews, and they’re all country music,” he said. “There’s nothing close by that does the sort of thing we do.”
Hutchins said he’s been involved with Flat Iron Crossroads from the beginning. When Friend bought the old garage, he had ideas about what he wanted to do with it, and he dropped by Brent and Becky’s as a neighbor to discuss the possibilities. Friend was taking guitar lessons at the building with his music teacher, and he found out that Hutchins played the drums, and soon they and others in the neighborhood were having Sunday afternoon jam sessions in the old garage.
“That’s where being a performing arts center came to Ray’s mind,” said Hutchins. “It was a really good time.”
Flat Iron’s future
Hutchins said everybody likes some sort of music, “and nobody would say live music isn’t better.” He wants to continue the tradition of live music at Flat Iron, with people bringing their children as well as their pets.
“It’s very family-oriented,” he said. “We wanted to preserve what was created so Flat Iron could continue.”
The music venue is currently run by Flat Iron’s board of directors, of which Hutchins is a part. He said that all the board members take turns doing everything from managing shows to taking out the trash. A booking committee books the bands, he said, and a college intern takes care of social media.
But the organization is in the process of restructuring and will eventually hire a director, he said, and members are gearing up to have a fundraising campaign to increase Flat Iron’s educational offerings.
Hutchins said Flat Iron is available to rent, and he would like to see local music and dance teachers offer classes and have their recitals at the venue, as well as have open mic nights and poetry readings. In addition, he said, people often want to get married in the colorful gardens at Brent and Becky’s, and Flat Iron would be the perfect setting for a wedding reception afterward.
“The possibilities are endless,” he said.
Ray Friend
As for Ray Friend, he said he did what he set out to do with Flat Iron Crossroads—build something that’s “kinda cool” for Gloucester County and “let it fly on its own.”
“They have a great, great team in place that’s carrying on without me,” he said. So he offered the property to Brent and Becky’s at a good price for “the perfect win-win situation.”
“It allows me to retire and move on and them to acquire a nice property and carry on with Flat Iron,” he said. “It’s as simple as it gets.”
Friend has moved from his previous waterfront property to a home in the Court House area, where he’s happily installing an in-ground pool and looking forward to days spent traveling and fly-fishing. His next stop is the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. He said he’ll always be available for Flat Iron if he’s needed, but that he’s now at an age “to squeeze as much joy out of life as I can.”
“I’ve been waiting all my life for this,” he said. “I’m going to paint, write poetry, make music, and have friends over for dinner. I love being creative. It just kind of makes me tick.”