PHOTO BY DEBRA GOUVELLIS



Pawns Plus has been serving the Ridge area since 1985.

Employees Chris Temple and Jon Archer play some of their musical items they have for sale at the store. According to Pawns Plus, they pay the highest price for gold, diamonds and coins in the Lake Wales area. "We will beat retail prices on everything we sell," said Temple. They alsodo fast cash loans. "No loan is to high or to low we will consider a loan on anything that we don't have to feed," said Archer. The store

has merchandise ranging from Star Trek collector dolls to state of the art computer systems. "We also offer lay-away only 20% down and we give you 90 days to pick it up with no additional charges," said Temple.The store is located at 112 State Road 60 West in Lake Wales.

PHOTO BY DEBRA GOUVELLIS


Victor and Hilda Franco of El Sol de Michoacan, a

restaurant located at 224 First St. South in Lake Wales, has been serving the community for two years. "We serve homemade Mexican food as well as our homemade ice cream," said Franco. The restaurant is offering free morning coffee with this advertisment. The Francos serve breakfast lunch and dinner. "We are open very early in the morning until 9 p.m. at night," added Franco. The menu includes Tacos

(pork, chicken and beef), soups, burritos, gorditas, quesadillas and sandwiches for lunch. "We also deliver our food," said Franco. For more information, call (863) 679-2728.

PHOTO BY DEBRA GOUVELLIS


Alicia Rodriguez, owner of Ali's Beauty Salon, offers an

array of services in both English and Spanish. Haircuts for men and women are $15 and up while kids are only $10. Ali's Beauty Salon also offers eyebrow waxing ear piercing and permanent make-up. The shop is located at 228 First Street South in Lake Wales. For more information, call (863) 589-3047.

PHOTO BY DEBRA GOUVELLIS


Traditional Martial Arts Academy "Cobra Tai" has these

students studying the martial arts directly from school. Sensei/Shihan Dell Sharpe is the director of the program with help from his nine-year-old son Payton, who just happens to be a 1st degree blackbelt. The program begins after school Monday through Friday. "We have both boys and girls and we take kids from ages 5 and up," said Sharpe. For more information on the program, call (863) 513-8459.