Owning his own business in Natchez has fulfilled a dream for Jonathan Wood, whose Old South Trading Post opened a year ago on Main Street.

This week, Wood completed a move from the old Molasses Flats building, corner of Main and Canal streets, to the brick building on Canal directly across from the Natchez Convention Center.

&uot;We’re not 100 percent here yet,&uot; Wood said, as he motioned to carpets yet to be installed and boxes yet to be unpacked. &uot;But by next week we should be totally functional.&uot;

Moving has not stopped him from keeping the door open, however. Getting the most popular items on the shelves first was a goal, and he has organized and displayed the Natchez T-shirts, the spring line of long-sleeved shirts with fanciful motifs of ladybugs and frogs, the Pat O’Brien’s drink mixes and the John Deere line of gifts and souvenirs just inside the door of his new location.

Also in the front room of the store are the popular Jack Daniels items, including coffee and other products as well as gifts, such as the new flask made by the company.

There are jellies, pancake mixes, pralines, sauces, condiments and a full line of Tabasco products. Wood makes the pralines himself.

In the 1980s, when he still operated the NBC-affiliate television station in Monroe, La., Wood came to Natchez for relaxing weekends. &uot;You had to get outside your market to be able to relax,&uot; he said. &uot;I fell in love with the Ramada and so admired Mr. (Jimmy) Swinny, who ran it beautifully.&uot;

Learning to love Natchez, he never let go of the idea that one day he might make it his home. &uot;I considered several places when I decided to do something different, but I love Natchez. It has such class.&uot;

Wood first learned about retail businesses by watching Rexall training tapes, he said. &uot;My parents had Rexall pharmacies.&uot;

In college in Oklahoma, he worked for Sears in personnel training and also worked for a television station.

&uot;When we sold the station in Monroe, I went to a large marketing firm in Oklahoma,&uot; he said. &uot;I got a lot of experience there.&uot;

At the same time, he became involved in Candy World, a candy manufacturing business that became the largest of its kind west of the Mississippi River, he said.

The Natchez store gives Wood the opportunity to showcase many of the products he loves, some Louisiana or New Orleans based, such as CafA Du Monde coffee, beignet mixes and powdered sugar.

Others are Southern or Natchez made, such as stained glass pieces that decorate his shop windows, local books and a large selection of cookbooks from across the South.

He moved to the new building to get additional space but knows the location may not be long term, as it is part of the property marketed by the city as a hotel site.

&uot;This building enables us to expand and to work on the cooking school I have planned,&uot; he said. &uot;The Old South Cooking School will teach history as well as how to cook favorites like gumbo, jambalaya and bread pudding.&uot;

Don Boyles, a nationally known radio and television broadcaster, will teach the classes, which will include step-by-step demonstrations and an all-you-can eat lunch to follow the instructions.

&uot;People on trips want to have fun,&uot; Wood said. &uot;And this will really be fun. Here they get to try things, taste things.&uot;

Dates for the school have not been announced, Wood said. First, he has some organizing to do in the back two rooms of the building.

During his stay in the Canal Street building, he will determine future plans. &uot;We have a very good following,&uot; he said. &uot;The question is what size we really want to be. All I wanted to do is expand to give us a little time to look at our options. We may want to go significantly larger.&uot;

The new location will be filled to the brim, as new products continue to be added. The customers who shop with him from all over the world have kept in touch, giving him a mailing list of about 5,000.

&uot;We’re one of the largest shippers of Fedex packages in Natchez,&uot; Wood said. &uot;It’s been rewarding that people will call to say they liked something so much they want to order more.&uot;

Further, customers send items from their own hometowns for him to try, as they think the items might fit well into his mix of products.

&uot;When the telephone rings, you never know who it will be and what it will bring,&uot; he said.

Meeting people who come into the store is as much fun as selling products to them, he said. &uot;We are open seven days a week and have been since we opened the first of April last year. We’re a large distributor of tourism information.&uot;

Still, selling the products remains the goal that will keep the business stable and growing. &uot;My mission is to sell the product, not to dust it,&uot; he said.