By ALEXANDREA
BAILEY
editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com
The community is witnessing the end of an era for two local small businesses and the beginning of a new one for the first “Arts and Entertainment” district on South Padre Island [SPI].
K’s Beads, a family owned and operated bead and jewelry shop, announced that it would be relocating from the Plaza on Padre Boulevard, where it’s been for the last four decades, on Facebook last Tuesday, Feb. 4.
“We are sad (but excited) to announce that due to our plaza wanting to go in a different direction we will be relocating the store…As of today, we are not exactly certain of anything other than the fact, God willing, we will continue to carry on our K’s tradition for years to come,” the post reads.
The community took to the comment section to shower the family in love, support and appreciation, and also shared their memories from the shop.
Avery Raine Brown, a dental assistant at Port Isabel Dental, commented “I will never forget the wonderful times I had there! I had birthday parties there, worked summers there and made the best memories…”
Laura Grayson of Brownsville, Texas, commented “The bracelet I made in your shop about 30 years ago kicked off a lifelong love of beading and jewelry making…”
Dorothy Kumpe, daughter of the founder of K’s Beads, Mary Kumpe, grew up in the shop along with her sister, Lilly Kumpe. Dorothy Kumpe had a daughter of her own just days before the plaza’s property management company, Padre’s Getaways, delivered the news that they would not be renewing K’s Beads’ lease and that the business would have to vacate the property by the end of July, 2025. The PRESS reached out to Padre’s Getaways for comment, but did not receive a response as of the time of publication.
According to Dorothy Kumpe, her parents opened K’s Beads in 1984. It moved into the plaza two years after opening and has been there ever since. She says the location “has been like a second home” to the family. She was not present at the shop when the news was delivered to her mother late last month, as she was home with her newborn, but her husband, Ely, was.
“My mom was devastated. It was really hard to take in,” said Dorothy Kumpe. “We definitely went through a mourning period. There was a week where we were just super down – lots of tears. It took us a minute to get out of that shock factor. But we do feel confident. We are ready to expand…We are trying to stay positive.”
She says originally, the property owners were only going to give them until March to move out, but their property manager was able to extend their deadline until the end of July. Dorothy Kumpe expressed how appreciative her family is for the extension and how determined they are to keep K’s Beads alive. However, she also expressed how much the family has been taken back by the cost of rent at other locations.
“We are a little worried,” she said. According to Dorothy Kumpe, her family is hoping to find a new location by the end of May.
Some community members have expressed displeasure with the change, like Betty Keel Zamorsky Vanzant who commented “I am so sad to hear this…It’s so sad to see 40 years of tradition disrupted! …And, truthfully, the plaza is missing the point that y’all have been a form of art on the Island long before most artists were even here…”
Lily Kumpe shared the same sentiment, stating “Displacing a family’s only source of income, especially with little notice, causes harm to the very community you wish to support. For forty years, our family’s store has been more than a business – it’s been a place where creativity and community intertwine, where generations have gathered to share stories, create and connect. We understand the desire to bring new opportunities to the Island, but true community growth honors the roots already planted. Progress shouldn’t mean erasing the very heart that has kept this place vibrant for decades.”
Mike Luburich and Karen Everett of Karen’s Custom Toe Rings were served the same eviction notice, says Luburich. He shared that they have already been in the process of closing their doors after being located in the plaza for 22 years. Luburich expressed that they wished they would have had more notice.
“It is a very popular, very successful, small business, and we were hoping to sell it, and have a little bit more retirement money. We are both 75-years-old,” said Luburich. He says their deadline to vacate the property is the end of March. According to Luburich, they had a buyer lined up for the business. The potential buyer currently owns a successful toe ring shop in Port Aransas according to Luburich, and was offering “several hundred thousand dollars” for the business on South Padre, but, the recent news was a deal breaker.
Both families behind the small businesses say that the owners of the plaza, the Hunt family, are intending to convert the entire plaza to only host art galleries. Recently, the plaza, located at 2500 Padre Boulevard, received an upgrade: a new sign that reads ‘Arts District’.
“They own the place, so that’s their prerogative, if that’s what they choose. We just wish it had been handled maybe more differently,” said Luburich. Luburich says he and his wife still hope to sell the business to fund their retirement. They moved to the Island from Dallas, Texas 24 years ago.
“We’ve had a great run. Great friends, great customers. We just had a wonderful time with it. It’s hard running a small business, day in and day out, but the time has flown. It goes by quick, believe me. I would like to thank all of our customers and local people that have supported us all these years,” said Luburich.
At the Jan. 15, 2025 regular meeting, the South Padre Island City Council approved the rezoning the area known as Stillman’s Landing as an “Entertainment and Arts District.”
Wendy Delgado, Director of Operations and Deputy City Manager, and Jon Williams, Assistant Public Works Director, spoke on behalf of Alex Sanchez, Public Works Director and City Engineer, as Sanchez was unable to attend the meeting. Delgado told the council that she and Wilson could answer any questions the Council had.
A motion to approve the item was made almost immediately without further discussion, followed by a quick second, but council member Kerry Schwartz requested a map of the lots at Stillman’s Landing up for rezoning be presented for the public’s viewing, since the map was only available in the council members’ packets. The map was projected and is available for viewing on the recording of the meeting, which is available at myspi.org.
“Basically, its between Tarpon and Amberjack Street from Laguna to Padre Boulevard, and then when you cross over Padre Boulevard, it gets into one or two lots back towards Gulf Boulevard,” explained SPI Mayor Patrick McNulty. “So, it’s taking the commercial on the east side of Padre Boulevard between Amberjack and Tarpon and then it’s bringing in all of that area between Padre and Laguna.”
There was no further discussion and the motion passed unanimously.
As one era comes to an end, another begins as the seeds planted for the Arts and Entertainment District begin to grow. Artists already in the plaza have shared their belief that the quantity of art galleries on the Island generates “a lot of excitement and interest,” and is beneficial to the area.
“The rezoning to create an arts district is an important step for us in achieving our ultimate goal of creating an arts destination. The arts and cultural district allows us now to apply for grants to support our work and our new art businesses,” stated JoAnn Evans, Director of the Arts Business Incubator South Padre Island
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