George Smith could be forgiven if he never did business in the city of Racine again. Instead, he's back for round two with a Racine location for his business, PC Tech Services.

If Smith were a boxer, one would marvel at his ability to take not a punch, but a pummeling, and climb right back into the ring.

Smith, whose main PC Tech store is in Kenosha, opened a Racine store in May 2006 at 1515 Washington Ave. in the heart of Uptown.

It was a struggle - and then things got a lot worse.

Smith swears that thieves broke into his store from about Thanksgiving 2007 for the next several months, nonstop. No one was ever arrested, he said.

Every single time, they came through the front door, Smith said.

He first had a dummy security camera trained on the entry area, then replaced it with the real thing. He put in a kevlar front door. One night he obtained 45 minutes of video of two crooks battering their way through the stubborn door, before they bash a hole big enough for one of them to crawl through.

But the video quality was not sufficient to identify the criminals, said Racine Police Chief Kurt Wahlen. And no one ever called in to report a burglary in progress.

In May 2008, having lost thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, Smith finally threw in the towel. "I didn't want to take a chance of someone getting shot over $20 in the cash register," he said.

He says former Mayor Gary Becker didn't want to see Uptown's retail lineup take a step backward. "Gary Becker begged me to stay," Smith said.

A few days ago, Smith was back in Racine for another try. His latest PC Tech Services store is at 2049 Taylor Ave.

Smith, a Racine resident, refuses to believe he can't succeed in his hometown.

"Everyone's telling me, 'Why don't you open in Lake Geneva or Gurnee?' " he said.

And that includes his board of directors. "I fought very hard to open in Racine and not in Lake Geneva or Gurnee."

And, switching from our boxing metaphor above, he added, "I'm going to get back up on the horse."

PC Tech Services, at (262) 634-2539, is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Barbering as sport

Saul Lopez doesn't think that what Sport Clips does - giving a barber shop a sports theme - is so very special. His wife, Maria Lopez, opened a similar business earlier this year at 6100 Washington Ave., called All-Star Clips. Obviously, from the name you can tell what the interior design will be like.

"It's a very similar concept," he admitted.

So, if you like a little sports, or a lot of sports, with your haircut, there's another option out there.

A what pole?

Just outside of Kurt Sports Complex and Fit For Life fitness center, both at the old YWCA, 720 College Ave., you can see the totem pole pictured here.

But when we asked about it, we were immediately corrected. "Tiki pole," said Dr. Kenneth Kurt. Well, it is a type of totem pole, he acknowledged, but in Polynesia, they call it a tiki pole.

Which doesn't explain why his medical and sports complex has one - but the fact that his nephew carved it, does. Kurt's nephew, "Tiki Dan" Bialk, a San Diego artist, was in Racine for a funeral. While here, he took out his chain saw and made Kurt the approximately

22-foot-tall tiki pole from a telephone pole. Kurt said it only took Tiki Dan about six hours.

He placed the tiki pole outside what will be the new main entrance to Kurt Sports Complex. It kind of matches the art that Kurt has collected and displays inside the complex, he said.

Artist strikes againSpeaking of art … if you see a new tote bag touting Purex as a green laundry detergent, take a closer look at the design on the side. The creator is pop-surrealist artist Jeff Sadowski, a talented guy with strong Racine connections.

Sadowski is a designer at Retail Fixture of Racine, 2900 Wolff St. His new furniture designs spawned Artistry Furniture Gallery, 512 Monument Square, a side project that came out of Retail Fixture.

According to Purex, Sadowski's design (it says "smart and green Purex-hilaration!") was chosen from more than 38,000 entries from all 50 states. For winning he will get a 2009 smart fortwo car.

The contest is part of the Purex Saves Green program that is sponsored by Purex Natural Elements detergent, and which has raised more than $65,000 for the Earth Day Network.

To see examples of Sadowski's playful work, visit: http://www.jeffsadowskiart.com

For more on Purex Saves Green, visit: http://purexsavesgreen.com

Miscellany

n Sylvania Airport is in the process of adding a tavern in a hangar adjacent to Skydive Midwest. The entrepreneur is Denae Umbower, a former bookkeeper for Skydive Midwest.

Airport owner Rob McKay called the tavern, which will be seasonal and will serve food, a nice addition to Sylvania, and something it lacks.

n Charles Beth, owner of Fountain Banquet Hall, is applying for a permit to be able to host such entertainment as comedy shows, sporting matches and concerts. The hall's current permit only mentions banquets and must be expanded to allow the other uses.

The sporting matches could include such events as card or dart tournaments, explained Julie Wiesneth, bookkeeper for Fountain Banquet Hall, 8505 Durand Ave. in Sturtevant.

Business reporter Michael Burke can be reached at (262)631-1716 or by e-mail at mburke@journaltimes.com. To announce a new business, visit http://journaltimes.com/newbusiness