Computer Store to open in Dowagiac

Downtown Business News

Vickie Phillipson, DDA and Chamber of Commerce Program Director, reports that JenkinsPC has

signed a lease at 218 S. Front Street and will be moving in soon. Here’s the report I just received

from her:

“I have some good news to kick off the holiday weekend with. I am pleased to report

Brian Jenkins of Dowagiac will be moving his home-based business of six years,

JenkinsPC, to the central business district next week. Brian surfaced with my office earlier

this month, as he began looking for a new location for his business. Tuesday afternoon he

signed a lease with Jeff Neumann, owner of Farm Bureau Insurance, for the smaller of

Jeff’s two storefronts at 218 S. Front Street.

The computer sales and service business is owned by Brian and his wife, Jennifer, who

moved to Dowagiac two years ago from Warsaw, Indiana. Brian has worked in the

computer field for 18 years. His target date to open the new downtown location is Friday,

Dec. 4, which is the day of our Candle-light Christmas Parade and is also Brian’s

birthday.

Brian is known in the community “as the computer guy and the home of the $250

computer.” JenkinsPC will provide sales and service for any Intel or Windows-based PCs

and servers, and will also provide office support services to the public such as the use of a

copy machine, as well as scanning and telefaxing.

JenkinsPC will also feature an Internet café with firewall software that ensures child-safe

Internet service. The firewall software that Brian uses is reportedly ranked second in the

world and is used by more than a million hospitals and schools.

While JenkinsPC has been home based for two years in Dowagiac, a growing clientele

encouraged him to relocate to a more visible site within the community. The layout of

Jeff’s storefront should serve Brian’s business well, providing an area in which he can

work on computers, separate from the new computers he’ll stock and the Internet café.

The new downtown business will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The

evening of the Christmas parade, Brian and Jennifer plan to hand out 50 in-store gift cards

to the community.

Jeff is presently making some minor interior modifications to the storefront to

accommodate handicapped accessibility. As you see Brian and Jennifer begin to move in,

be sure to stop by to wish them success as they relocate downtown and grow their

business.”