Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994                   TAG: 9407120005
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Sandra Brown Kelly
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SHOP HAS ITS SIGHTS SET ON THE GAY, LESBIAN MARKET

It's a brave step not because of its merchandise - although some of the greeting cards are not for the mainstream shopper - but because owner Rex Mitchell of Virginia Beach intends his shop to provide outreach.

He wants to create an atmosphere where people with alternative lifestyles or recovering from abuse or rape can find understanding as well as books, music and gift items catering to their special interests.

A focal point of the shop is a wall of free literature that displays copies of Our Own, Lambda Rising News, Blue Ridge Lambda Press, Out in Virginia, and Out and About, all Virginia publications, plus The Front Page from Raleigh, N.C., and Southern Voice, which covers the Atlanta area.

Current issues include interviews with author and Charlottesville resident Rita Mae Brown and Washington Post photojournalist Nancy Andrews, who has a new book: "Family: A Portrait of Gay and Lesbian America."

The publications talk openly, too, about topics not written about often in mainstream newspapers, such as violence against gays. Other articles talk about the sense of community that exists among gays and lesbians.

The shop is a good place to learn more about alternative lifestyles, whether it be for personal use or just greater understanding of them. Mitchell estimates that 25 percent of his business is from the straight, or heterosexual, population.

Phoenix is in the same quarters that many years ago housed the popular Book Nook store. It's in a section of Kirk Avenue that includes fashion shops, a parking lot and offices. The area is a whole lot quieter than it used to be because of the closing of the Woolworth store, which had an entrance from Kirk.

Mitchell said he wanted to be in a tucked-away spot rather than on the City Market - which he did consider - because he thinks some people won't initially feel comfortable being seen going into a shop like Phoenix Rising.

He came to Roanoke, however, because "there was the kind of community here that was more accepting."

This is Mitchell's third Phoenix store; he opened in Norfolk five years ago and in Richmond 18 months ago. After six weeks in Roanoke, he's convinced he made the right choice by coming here.

Mitchell, an artist and former teacher, says the retail stores pay for themselves, but won't provide "a whole lot of profit."

Mitchell, who is operating the store with two employees, can be found most days cleaning the back room, kept company by his pet guinea pig, Max. The room will eventually include space for an art gallery and for appearances by guest authors, poets and musicians that he will bring in for free appearances.

Phoenix Rising is the only shop of its sort within a 90-mile radius, and a gateway to the rest of Western Virginia, Mitchell said. It will be open seven days a week.

His background includes study at Virginia Wesleyan College, Virginia Commonwealth University and Old Dominion University, where he did graduate work. His fashion photography has been published in Vanity Fair, but he said he no longer is pursuing that type of work. He has some of his photographs on display in the shop along with greeting cards from his Max Images.

His art is a second priority to his retail efforts currently. He decided to expand now, Mitchell said, because the "window of opportunity" for his type of business is going to be open only a few years.

Eventually, all stores will realize the value of catering to all audiences, he said.