Stephen James clearly relishes sharing before-and-after photos. Standing inside The Thirsty Dragon, one of the businesses in a building James and his wife, Tammy James, restored at the edge of downtown Lake Wales, James flipped through his phone to display images of the area before the renovations.
Since the Jameses purchased the building at 114 N. First St. in March 2022, the corner of First Street and Orange Avenue has been transformed. The couple oversaw the restoration of the circa-1946 building, dubbed “The Corner,” attracting three new businesses to join an existing barbershop.
Lake Wales has added visual appeal outside, completing a streetscape project on First Street that extends partway around the corner on Orange Avenue.
Now, the Jameses have begun renovations to a small, adjacent building on Orange Avenue, where the Galaxy Grid, a space-themed waffle shop, is expected to open by early 2027. Meanwhile, in a space not owned by the Jameses, Downtown Pizza & Sportsbar opened in September on Stuart Avenue.
The Corner sits almost in the shadow of the Walesbilt Hotel, the long-vacant structure whose eventual restoration could spark a revival for downtown Lake Wales. During the Oct. 13 meeting of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, former City Commissioner Robin Gibson delivered a presentation in which he lamented that the private sector has not yet caught on to the city’s optimism about the Walesbilt Hotel project.
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