{"id":11483,"date":"2017-10-16T14:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T18:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/?p=11483"},"modified":"2023-11-08T15:36:25","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T20:36:25","slug":"inside-resilience-of-felicia-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubesmart.com\/blog\/city-guides\/dc\/inside-resilience-of-felicia-long\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Resilience of Felicia Long"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

This is one of a series of stories we are sharing to show what\u2019s inside CubeSmart. You not only get a peek inside our customer\u2019s storage unit, but also a peek inside what is important to them. Thank you to Felicia Long, customer of our CubeSmart store in Washington, D.C, \u00a0for sharing her story with us.<\/em><\/p>\n

Felicia Evans Long is a federal government program analyst in Rockville, Md., where she also lives. But her passion is a candy store she operates in her hometown of Lumberton, N.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always sold candy as a kid out of my mom\u2019s apartment in the projects,\u201d she said. \u201cI was the one they\u2019d stop in the hallways saying, \u2018You got some Now or Laters? Chick-o-Sticks? Got some bubble gum?\u201d<\/p>\n

She has all that and more at Sweet Candy Caf\u00e9, which she opened five years ago on Nov. 25.<\/p>\n

She was struck with the entrepreneurial bug as she coveted Guess and Gloria Vanderbilt jeans but couldn\u2019t work until she turned 16. Felicia would put the clothes on layaway and sell candy until she could pay them off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my hustle,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Her husband, Timothy, was her business partner. Felicia said she was the face of the business, but behind the scenes was his steady, loving support. Timothy was born in the Bronx and raised in Newark, N.J. \u201cHe was tough but soft and sweet on the inside,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Felicia admired his energy, which she recalled him showing during one particular business situation. \u201cI\u2019m Southern shy and my husband\u2019s like, \u2018Tell \u2018em what you want.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Timothy worked as a surgical assistant for George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C. The couple courted for five years and were married for 10 years before Timothy drowned in a pool while on a trip to California on Aug. 17, 2014. He was 39.<\/p>\n

His last text to her read: \u201cI can always count on you. You\u2019re the best wife ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Felicia continues to heal from her loss. \u201cI have a long road ahead,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Felicia said when doctors and staff go on vacations they still ask her if they want her to bring her back his favorites \u2014 \u00a0black coffee beans, Scotch, or cigars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI keep everything going that he helped us start,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m 45, and think where are we going to be? But I can hear him saying, good job bae.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, they kept the store going after it caught fire in October 2012. She hesitated to reopen it, but the landlord convinced her the confectionary store needed to stay in the heart of downtown. Six weeks later it opened with new chandeliers and a 40s vibe she hoped would entice patrons to view the store as an entertainment destination of sorts, including as a site for prom photos.<\/p>\n

Felicia may have lost her husband, but she has found ongoing support in a friend and public relations consultant, Nicole Hayes, who lives in Northwest D.C. They met in 2008 while serving on the Board of Directors for Suited for Change, a non-profit organization in D.C. devoted to providing professional attire, mentoring and job-readiness education to women.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe developed a friendship, a sisterhood,\u201d Nicole said. \u201cShe became one of my clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole and Felicia shared their story with us during a visit to our store at 645 Taylor St., NE, Washington D.C.<\/a> Nicole was downsizing to a smaller apartment and kept some of her belongings at our store.<\/p>\n

Nicole helped Felicia publicize her candy catered events and the business in such magazines as The Knot and Women\u2019s World. Nicole said the two are compatible as business-oriented, organized, planners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also some comedy in our idiosyncrasies,\u201d Nicole said. Like the fact that Felicia keeps telling her it\u2019s pointless that Nicole has five Blackberry cell phones.<\/p>\n

Nicole summarized Felicia\u2019s story as one of resilience. In April 2014, Felicia\u2019s brother died in a car accident in Lumberton, just four months before Felicia\u2019s husband\u2019s death. \u201cIt kind of comes down to when you make lemonade out of lemons,\u201d Nicole said. \u201cAnd a lot of prayer and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prayer is a key part of Nicole\u2019s life. During a routine cleaning, she learned her dentist was also a Christian. They discussed today\u2019s culture woes. \u201cWe said, \u2018What can we do to give our young people something else to model?\u2019 People are looking at the Brittany Spears, the Beyonc\u00e9s.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said an idea for a ministry was quickened to her on the spot. Soon after, she launched Voices Against the Grain, which she described as a counter-culture ministry that seeks to help others develop Christ-centered, critical thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will never be a utopia here,\u201d she said. So Nicole\u2019s ministry encourages people to endure under increasing pressure. Much like the pressure Felicia has endured.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tTake a look as we explore what’s inside the units and stories of our Customers. Felicia opened up a candy store and kept it running after her husband passed\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":23776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1938,648],"tags":[691,773,743,371],"class_list":["post-11483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-life","category-dc","tag-customer-stories","tag-dc","tag-dc-storage","tag-washington-dc"],"yoast_head":"\r\nInside the Resilience of Felicia Long | The Storage Space<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Take a look as we explore what's inside the units and stories of our Customers. 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