ARCADIA, Fla. — Despite recent business closures in downtown Arcadia, one family is working to transform a historic home into a bed and breakfast venue.
WATCH: Step inside plans for a new bed and breakfast in Arcadia:
Downtown leaders tell FOX 4 this summer has been especially challenging for business owners. Two stores closed their doors at the start of August, according to Pam Ames, executive director of Arcadia Main Street. Others are considering shutting their doors.
Massive construction overseen by the Florida Department of Transportation makes it difficult for visitors to navigate downtown, Ames said. And as other towns begin to offer the same antique shopping that once made Arcadia stand out, competition for visitors has intensified.
Despite this, Arcadia is still drawing people in.
Pia and Tom Crone purchased the historic John Lee Jones home off Oak Street, just west of downtown. The couple said they are renovating the property with plans for a bed and breakfast, rental cabin, and event venue.
The Crone's looked for homes up and down the east coast. That's when Pia said the couple stumbled on Arcadia. She found a home built by the city's first mayor, John Lee Jones, in 1892.
Pia served in the U.S. Army and Tom is an Army National Guard captain. Because of that, the family had to move around a lot.
"We knew that the next step in our journey, so to speak, was to find a historic home that we could turn into a venue," Pia said.
Once complete, the property will have room for 12 people. That includes four bedrooms in the house with personal bathrooms.
The couple also built a cabin in the backyard that can be used for short-term rentals. There is a courtyard for outdoor breakfast and receptions.
Everywhere you turn, there's history in the house. Only one person can go up the second-floor staircase at a time. That's because Jones, Arcadia's first mayor, also served as a part-time sheriff. Jones curved the staircase to prevent a group of attackers from rushing the second floor, Tom said.
"If these walls could talk," Tom said.
Some of the history proved to be a little expensive. The Crone's are installing new guardrails on the second-floor balcony to improve safety, and come up to code.
"Obviously there's always going to be challenges and hurdles whenever you open up a wall in an almost 140-year-old house," Pia said. "We're making steady progress."
Construction started in November 2024. The Crone's said they found good contractors who appreciate the history of the property. They expect to open at the start of 2026.
They're not the only ones bringing in new business. Allen Reesor moved to Arcadia with his wife in 2018. For almost two years, Reesor has run a weekly farmers market across from the county courthouse.
Reesor said he plans to expand the market to seven days a week. It will move downtown to Polk Street.
That's where Reesor said he's converting the building informally known as 'the karate center' into a performing arts center. Dance classes held at the McSwain Center will move to the new building as well.
Small businesses - and local characters - give Arcadia a unique vibe that stands out among the endless stretch of strip malls that dominate much of Southwest Florida.
"It isn't something that was manufactured, we've got the street corner preacher, we got the town drunk sleeping on a bench – it's real," Reesor said. "It's not sort of something that's been contrived. And so this is a real downtown that's been here for over a 100 years."
That small-town vibe, and the history that comes with it, is what drew the Crone's here. And they plan on staying.
"Feels like home," Tom said.
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