August 22, 2025 • 22 mins
Tina Sauvage is the owner of Jax Tours, teaching us about Jacksonville and the surrounding area. She also tells us about re-launching a downtown Jacksonville landmark
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to North Florida Now, John Scott with Tina Savage
with Jack's Tours. There's a lot of history in these
hills here in Jacksonville, and Tina has a lot of
great stories. Also a wonderful story about a wonderful monument,
a landmark down in downtown Jacksonville that Tina wants to
keep going and get going again, I guess, Tina.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome in, Hey, John, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
So, Jack Stores, how did you get this started? Are
you from here?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah? So I've lived here in my whole life, and
I started Jack's Tours actually as a passion project. I
have a degree in anthropology. I love history, I love people, culture,
I love our city. I love everything about it. And
I was approaching about twenty years at my former company,
and I was like, man, you know, there's got to
be something else other than this, you know. So I
(00:49):
got the idea of this because of my travels that
I do. I try to find fun tours to do
in different cities, something that's unique and more curated to
that city vibe, because every community is different. And I realized,
you know, we had some, but we didn't really have
a lot. So I started jacks Tours as a way
to just bring fun experiences to Jacksonville, things that I
(01:13):
would want to do. So our flagship tour was a
food tour, and our mission is all about supporting local
businesses while trying to revitalize downtown in the Jacksonville area.
And it was very successful. And the more success we had,
the more I realized, I gotta do this forever, like
I love this, I love what I do.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Bunny hobby that got out at a hand, It.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Did absolutely and it was just this snowball of amazingness
and I just followed it and I've met so many
people and we've curated so many new tours and we gosh,
just been having so much fun with it. And the
whole mission, again is to support local businesses. So we
have about thirty five percent of the people who've taken
our tours have gone and visited one or more of
those establishments we've taken them to, so we know this
(01:57):
model works and we want to kind of keep keep
it up and in different areas.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And with eight hundred square miles to choose from, you
have a lot of places to go.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Absolutely, there's so much history, there's so many things to
see and do and just people to meet and businesses
to visit, and our food scene is blowing up. It's amazing.
I mean it's just Jacksonville makes it really easy to
make these experiences.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
That's so cool that somebody saw a need and wanted
to meet it. I mean I always talk about this
on this show that people it's one person that makes
differences all the time. That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, thank you, Yeah, it's it's I just felt really
drawn to it, you know. And it was funny because
I was talking with my boyfriend, who's my unpaid intern
slash CFO slash CTO, and I know, bless his heart,
he has like so many heads. But I was telling
him before we started. I told him about the dream
of Jack's Tours and how great it would be. And
I gave him the name and we found out that
(02:49):
the name wasn't taken and we're like, oh, I mean,
maybe this is meant to be. I was like, let me.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Sleep on it registered domain right exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
And I woke up the next day and he handed
me the paperwork was I filed the LLC, I bought
the domain. I was like, here's the website. You're good
to go.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Now you got to do it.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
And he's like, now you have no excuse, but he said,
he was like, I have faith in you. I know
you can do this. And I was just crying, like
ugly crying and just so happy, and yeah, here we are.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
That's wonderful. I love that story. I love that story.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
So with Jack Storre, how many tours do you do
a week or a month or whatever.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, so we kind of took a little bit of
a break in the summertime in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
This is way too hot, Yes, it.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Is way too hot. But we did do a Junior
Explorers tour. It was our very first one. It's for
kids to do a scavenger hunt downtown and we got
exclusive access into city Hall and the city council chambers.
So we took the kids in there and they were
looking around at like the big chairs and the flags
and everything that's in there, and they got to sit,
you know, in the chairs and pretend like they're city
(03:54):
council members, and they just they loved it. It was
just so great and they earn their own little Junior
Explore badge at the end. So it was so much fun.
So I think we're going to do that again. We
might do more more seasonal kid tours, so we just
expanded into that space and that's fun. But we do
have our tours in Saint Augustine. We have three really
fun ones. We have a true crime tour, I mean,
(04:18):
everybody loves like a serial killer story.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
My wife's already signing up for it right now.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Let me know. I'll give her a discount. And we
have a off the beaten Path tour things to do
in St. Augustine that even locals don't know about, which
is really neat. And then we also have a Pirate tour,
so we have our guy who dresses up like a
pirate and tells you all about the golden age of piracy.
And we have some other really fun ones in the
hopper right now actually that we're going to be starting in.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
September really like yeah, such as so.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I'm super excited. We're bringing back our food tour. Yah,
that's exciting, and it's all inclusive, so all the foods
included and the guided experience. And then we're going to
be starting our downtown Pup Crawl. Oh yeah, that one's
also all inclusive. All the drinks are included. So we
guarantee you're gonna get pretty tipsy. So we're gonna start,
(05:08):
We're gonna it's it's called SIPs and Ships.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Oh very good. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah. So we're gonna start at the US's or Lake
and we'll do some trivia there. We'll have some fun
you know, games to do, and then we'll go to
Bold City. We'll get drinks there, play maybe like bar
bingo something fun, Ruby Beach, and then we'll also end
with a sunset DJ mixer on top of SIPs on
the roof, on top of deca. Oh cool, it's it's
gonna be so much fun.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
That's a lot of fun. Yeah, but one person to
come up with all this time and then you have.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Help now or well okay, so it's really just me,
But I do have help from you know, the local businesses.
You know, as I said, I'm all about supporting them.
So these downtown businesses, they are so passionate about the
city in downtown that they are happy to collaborate and
to do what they can. They've been the biggest supporters.
I also have Noel. She is my intern well I
(06:01):
would say interner, but she's not really. She's my guest
experience manager. She's really taken on a big role with
the company, helping out with creating new tours. She's working
on a project now to help FOJA, the Friends of
Jacksonville Animals. They lost a lot of money in their funding,
so we're going to start a festival hopefully next year
to help them.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Yeah, so maybe something we can talk about, but we
want to do a music, music festival that's all about
the dogs. So Dog Days Jacks is hopefully going to
come to Fruition hopefully next April, and it's all about
the dogs. We'll have like a dog kissing booth, so
you give us a dollar, you get a kiss from
a dog. It will also be like an adoption events, music,
(06:40):
food vendors, you know, just fun things to do again,
fun experiences to have a Jacksonville supporting local businesses, helping
out the pups.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Talking to Tina Savage with Jack's Tours and so that
first one, let's go back to your first one you
did first where you just did you have friends? Was
it all friends that pretty much said will be you know,
will be your guinea pig? Did that happen or did
you actually get some strangers that you had to entertain.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
So I'm so glad you brought that up. We did
do a friends and family tour. We did actually two
of them, so I coerced my friends and family. I
kind of made them it'll be fun, come on exactly. Yeah,
So they came on the food tour and they gave
us feedback. So just with the Downtown Pup Crawl, we're
doing our VIP one this Saturday, just to test it out.
We want to make sure everything's set up and fun
(07:29):
so by the time the public comes and does them,
it's all set and we're just ready to rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
It's called due diligence and making sure it's right. It's great.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I try, but things do go wrong, and you know
what you're gonna do. Just have fun with it.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Your first history tour, did you get everything right? Did
you're thinking or when you're doing it, like you know,
like halfway through the tour you're like, you know what
I'm going to do next time? Yeah, I guess it's
always evolving it absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah. I love the fact that people who take my
tours are mostly interested in Jacksonville history. So there's a
group that have no idea about Jacksonville, and then there's
those who are very invested in Jack's history. And when
those people come on the tour, I learn so much
and I love it. It's okay to correct me. Maybe I
am wrong. I mean, I try to do my due
(08:15):
diligence and my research, but there's always new things that
are happening, and you know, everything constantly evolves, right, So
that's okay. I love it. I love to learn new things.
I love to be corrected. I'm okay with that. You know,
as long as I'm telling the right story, that's what
matters to me.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Right, that's so cool. Yeah, now you came to my attention.
There was an article in Jacksonville dot com about the
Jacobs Jewelers clock and how you were taking it upon
yourself that we have to do something about this landmark
that has been there, that was built after the fire.
I'm not correct on this story, that's right. It was
(08:49):
built after the fire to say hey, this is here,
we have rebuilt, this is new, and this is back
in nineteen oh three or whatever it was. Yeah, so
tell me about this. And if you've lived in Jacksonville,
you know that clock's been there and then it hadn't
been keeping time in a long time, so.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Tell us, Yeah, that's right. So during my history tours,
I take people, you know, we walk down Laura Street
and we always visit the clock because the clock is
just beautiful. I've just always been in love with it.
And I realized after the second or third tour that
it the time wasn't really right because there's four faces
on it and they're just telling different times right. And
(09:28):
what I found out, you know, which is really sad.
Back in the day, people used to have their pocket
watches and they used to adjust their pocket watches based
on the Jacob Jeweler's clock. That's how people told time right.
And so when I saw that I was at a commission,
I just felt really sad, you know, because I'm showing
people the beauty of downtown in Jacksonville. But we have
this beautiful monument that was established as a beacon of
(09:51):
our hope that's broken. So I said, Okay, we got
to do something about this. So I tried to find
out who owned it. I tried to find out with
the city pay for it to get it fixed. No,
it was my I'm very new to the space. I
didn't know who to talk to or what to share.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's how you find out.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, And so then I found out that JWB purchased
the green Leaf and Crosby building, which the clock is
right in front of. And so I found Alex's phone
number from a family member who was friends with him,
and so I said, Hey, Alex, you don't know me,
but I have a story to share with you. And
I told him about the clock, and he was so
(10:28):
excited about it and so interested. He said, you know what,
I'll pay for it. You just leave the project to
get it fixed, absolutely done, I will do it. So
it was just he was.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Just looking for somebody to have that passion like you did.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I guess I was just the right person at the
right time who just knew the right people. And so
a couple months later we get with Vernon Clock Company.
We get all the details together and we have Vernon
come out there and now she chimes, so she sings
for the first time in decades. She lights up. I say, she,
I don't know, it could be he whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
It's a shape. Now you just made it that.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
She lights up. Uh, And she tells the right time,
and it's just it is so powerful to see it
when I was out there when they were fixing it,
there was people, you know, bustling around. You know, it's downtown,
people are walking around, driving and we're there and he's
he's inside, and you hear it go off for the
first time, and I promise you everybody stopped and to
(11:28):
look and to listen.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
It was just it was such a powerful moment. Like
I had goose bumps.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I'm getting them now you're just telling me the story.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
I started crying a little bit, I know, really sappy,
but you know, it was just so powerful that moment,
and I realized, we did it. We did it. We
just we re lit this beacon of hope for our
city and.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
It was built to be that.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And then one hundred and twenty five years later, roughly
you have relt that to be a beacon for the
next bunch. Ye.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I hope so.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
And I just think it's so I mean, really that
we can we can make it as sentimental as possible,
but it's still the fact that a landmark is now
continuing to go because of just your care. So thank you.
I'm speaking for Jacksonville here. I don't speak for Jacksonville much,
but right now, thank you, Tina.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate. I was very honored to
do that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Again.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I just feel like I was just the right person,
the right place and time, you know, it, just.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Just did it. Yeah. I thought about things to do,
but you you took that step. Yeah, it's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Thank you. I just I don't know, just felt compelled
to do it. It just I wasn't doing it for
any accolades. I wasn't doing it for anything.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
I just love the clock, the same way you're starting
the jack stores thing you were doing it for, like, hey,
let me make this a gig. I just want to
do something like this. Yeah, and look at this and
now it's all this with all the great things on
the agenda for the rest of this year and who knows,
for years to come. I hope people get to learn
some history in a fun Waystely, It doesn't get much
(13:05):
better than that. History teachers wish they could make history
that much fun, you know, especially with alcohol, that would
be hell for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You know, it's funny our downtown pub crawl. I think
at the last quote we say is we guarantee you'll
make great memories. You'll forget out.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Exactly exactly exactly. That's funny.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
But speaking of history teachers, you know, we do ki tours.
We did our first one last year, and it's so
much fun. Don't tell the adults this, but I prefer
the kid tours. They are just so much fun. They
asked the best question. It's just so unreal. Their energy,
their passion is just so great. Adults are fun and
they're great. Oh sure, kids are just a whole nother level.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Ain't that the truth? I agree Tina Savage with Jack's tours.
And you're hearing that Jacob's jeweler clock going off, now
that's set. Thank her, Thank her. When you hear it,
you hear that. I got to go down and here
we go off. Now I hadn't heard it yet.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yeah, you should go at night when it lights up,
and then he can hear it. And you know, it's funny.
I actually don't tell the city of this, but I
have a key. I kept a key. Do you know
about the drama the key? Did you read that?
Speaker 1 (14:11):
No? So I didn't read the whole story. I just
I saw that I need to talk to her and
that really I didn't get through it all.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So it's kind of a long, but funny story. Funny
now if not at the time.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So the day of the repair, the Verdant clock company
called me and they said, hey, do you have the
key for the clock? We can't get in. And I
was like, wait, what what key? What are you talking about?
Mind you, this has been like a year and a
half in the making, right, So I say, okay, you
know what, I will get there when I can just
hang tight, I will see what I can do. We
also ordered a scissor lift that day because he needed
(14:43):
it to get to you know, the clock.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
So he calls me again like five minutes later. He's like, hey,
the scissor lift is here. Great, awesome, that's good to know.
But it's dead. What what do you mean it's dead?
Are you kidding me? So I was like, you know what,
just please hang out. I will be right there. And
this is all before my coffee. And if you're a
coffee drinker, you know things like this happened before coffee.
(15:06):
It's like multiply it by one hundred. So I keep
my calm. I say, okay, I will be there. Just
just hang tight. I get there. I mean, I just
like throw on whatever and I get there. I don't
think I brush my hair. I just ran out the
door and I see people going in and out of
the green Leaf building, and so I grab one of them.
I say hey. I was like, can we plug in
the scissor lift? And they're like, well, no, I don't
(15:27):
think you can. I was like, look, I was like,
I promise you. It's okay. Here's my card, here's my name.
I know Alex. I was like, in fact, you know,
I'm borrowing the sizzle lift from my brother in law.
And you know they're they're cool with it, you know them,
blah blah, and they're like okay, Like okay, fine, it's like,
here's my card. I swear to God, if you're get
in trouble, drop my name. I will take the heat
for it. So we plug in the scissor lift. So
(15:49):
one problem solved, right. So he's going up and he's
fixing the clock faces. So meanwhile I'm trying to track
down the key. This is like nine nine thirty am.
I'm calling everybody. I'm calling everybody I know at city Hall.
I'm just ringing off the hook. They're calling people that
they know. Everyone's calling this person, this person. We're trying
to track down this guy named Ryan Jensen who worked
at the city, who you know previously did like help
(16:10):
with the repairs and stuff with the bunk before. Couldn't
find him. Nobody knew who he was, he didn't work
at the city anymore. I'm like, of course that's my luck.
So then I start calling the Jack's History Center. I
call Lindsay at with build up downtown. I say, hey, Lindsay,
do you have a key? She was like no. I
was like, do you know who would? She was like,
I don't know. Call Alan Bliss, Wh's the CEO of
(16:30):
the Jack's History Center. So she gives me his number.
He doesn't know me, so I call him. I was
like hey Alan. He's like who are you? And you know,
I tell him who I am and what I'm doing.
He's like, no, I don't have the key. You know,
have you tried city blah blah blah. It's like, okay, fine, yes,
no I have it. I have, but I'll keep going.
He was like, keep me updated, We'll see what support
we can find. So he's doing what he can't help. Also,
(16:51):
right the whole city is trying to find this one key.
So then I get to the point where I'm like,
I've exhausted everybody that I know. I mean, I call
Downtown Vision, I mean one. So I say, you know what,
let's just get a locksmith out here. Let's just bust
the lock. It's better to ask for forgiveness and permission.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Right, let's just mass that's how we're.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Let's just break this thing open. I'll pay for it
to get it fixed again, and I'll let the city know,
or maybe the city won't know. Who knows, like whatever,
it's a government, right, it's a project. I want to
get it done.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Yeah. Right.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So I'm calling around trying to get find a locksmith,
and I'm just running around in circles. No one's available,
maybe a couple hours, and then one of the guys
was like, hey, I know somebody owns a locksmith company.
I was like, oh great. He was like, let me
give him a call. He calls, somebody's about twenty minutes away.
Thank goodness. Okay, So twenty minutes later, the locksmith comes
out here and he's messing with it, and he's like,
(17:46):
oh no, I can't break into this. It has some
kind of security thing on it. I was like, oh
my gosh. So I'm thinking in my mind, We're gonna
have to reschedule. You know, I've got everyone set up
for this, the tow truck to bring the scissor lip
a bar, like, so many pieces come together just for
this day, and now I'm gonna have to redo it
all over again. This is the end of it. And
(18:06):
so I turned to the clock guy. I was like, man,
I just wish I could find Ryan Jensen. And the
locksmith who nobody knows, turns to us, was like, Ryan,
I know him.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Of course, of course he does.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
And this has been three hours. I've been trying to
track down this key. A long time has gone by, right,
And I was like Ryan Jensen. He's like, yeah, he
used to work at City Hall. I was like, are
you kidding me? So he calls him up. Then Ryan
calls me and Ryan's like, hey, yeah, I used to
I know where the keys are at. Let me let
me see. I left it with somebody at City Hall.
He calls me back and he says, you know that
(18:39):
guy I left the keys with doesn't work there anymore.
I was like, oh my god. He's like, but I
did tell somebody where to possibly find them. So, come
to find out, it was locked in the basement of
City Hall in a key lock box. Oh, and they
found it and then somebody biked it over to me.
There was two keys, so I took one, gave him
one back.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I was like, thank you, one for you for me.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
So I'm making copies of that key so that way
the History Center will have one just in case. JWB
obviously will have one. But and you know, the city
still has theirs.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
But now me right, of course, you're telling me the
story for a price. But that's as close to the
key of the city as I'll ever get.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
But you know, just to make sure this doesn't happen again.
So yeah, it was. It was pretty exciting. And then
as soon as we opened it, he went in there
and that's when it chimed for the first time. And
that's when I got the goose bumps and I started
crying because you know, all this excitement and you know,
back and forth, like happiness and then sadness, you know,
just everything accumulated. Yeah, it just happened at that moment.
(19:44):
And then to see everybody stop, I was like, oh,
it was just it was a it was a wild,
wild feeling. It was just so much emotions.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, Okay, that story about the clock that Tina just told,
just imagine what she does when she's telling other history stories.
That's what Jack's Tours is all about. And I can't
wait to take one because if you're that passionate about
telling a key story, then my goodness, your history and
the fun stuff that we can do downtown is I'm
just looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Thank you. Yeah, it's it's fun. It's my passion. I
really appreciate it. And you know, sorry, we have, you know,
so many cool things happening. You know, we have history
in hounds, So bring your dog for a walk. They'll
get like a bandana and a pup cup, you know,
just something fun for them. We'll tell you some history.
We'll do that in different places. Ghost tours coming up.
(20:34):
Sen Marco has asked that we do that. So we're
going to help with the San Marco clock. I'm the
clock lady.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Nowt here, you got one key, you might as well
get a collection.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah exactly. So we have that coming up and then
hopefully in Springfield helping out in that community.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Again.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
It's all about bringing people to these communities to have
these experiences, to see what local businesses are available. So
they want to go back with their family and their
friends or you know, out of town visitors whoever, and
kind of show them around.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I do a lot of just in passing, as we
do in the morning show on QIK. I'll give just
little pieces of Jacksonville history every so often, as I'll
walk around with that junk in my head too, and
people are always just so amazed that, oh that happened here.
Oh he's from Jacksonville. I mean, just kind of little
things like that are just things that just blow people away.
And the civic pride they have just in knowing something
(21:25):
happened here that was kind of cool. It goes a
long way. So I love the fact you have made
this a wonderful tour, wonderful little package that we can
all enjoy and open up every time.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Thank you, Thank you. I do appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
What's the website so people can find out more and
book these tours?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah, so pretty easy www dot jackstours.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Dot com jacks Tours Tours plural yep, plural.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, and also social media jackstours dot com on all platforms.
Get them on Twitter, I haven't really or X whatever
it's called now, Yeah, I have it. I've never really
been a twit, so I don't want to know.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Not being a social media guy, you're not missing anything
on any of them. But uh yeah, jackstours dot com
and you can find out all this information and so
much more that Tina has up her sleeve ready to
roll out for Jacksonville. This has been such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Thank you, Thank fun. Yeah, I really enjoy it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Got to have you back anytime. Okay, thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
You know what, you might regret that, No, I won't
Welcome to North Florida Now, John Scott with Tina Savage
with Jack's Tours. There's a lot of history in these
hills here in Jacksonville, and Tina has a lot of
great stories. Also a wonderful story about a wonderful monument,
a landmark down in downtown Jacksonville that Tina wants to
keep going and get going again, I guess, Tina.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Welcome in, Hey, John, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
So, Jack Stores, how did you get this started? Are
you from here?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah? So I've lived here in my whole life, and
I started Jack's Tours actually as a passion project. I
have a degree in anthropology. I love history, I love people, culture,
I love our city. I love everything about it. And
I was approaching about twenty years at my former company,
and I was like, man, you know, there's got to
be something else other than this, you know. So I
(00:49):
got the idea of this because of my travels that
I do. I try to find fun tours to do
in different cities, something that's unique and more curated to
that city vibe, because every community is different. And I realized,
you know, we had some, but we didn't really have
a lot. So I started jacks Tours as a way
to just bring fun experiences to Jacksonville, things that I
(01:13):
would want to do. So our flagship tour was a
food tour, and our mission is all about supporting local
businesses while trying to revitalize downtown in the Jacksonville area.
And it was very successful. And the more success we had,
the more I realized, I gotta do this forever, like
I love this, I love what I do.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Bunny hobby that got out at a hand, It.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Did absolutely and it was just this snowball of amazingness
and I just followed it and I've met so many
people and we've curated so many new tours and we gosh,
just been having so much fun with it. And the
whole mission, again is to support local businesses. So we
have about thirty five percent of the people who've taken
our tours have gone and visited one or more of
those establishments we've taken them to, so we know this
(01:57):
model works and we want to kind of keep keep
it up and in different areas.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
And with eight hundred square miles to choose from, you
have a lot of places to go.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Absolutely, there's so much history, there's so many things to
see and do and just people to meet and businesses
to visit, and our food scene is blowing up. It's amazing.
I mean it's just Jacksonville makes it really easy to
make these experiences.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
That's so cool that somebody saw a need and wanted
to meet it. I mean I always talk about this
on this show that people it's one person that makes
differences all the time. That's so cool.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah, thank you, Yeah, it's it's I just felt really
drawn to it, you know. And it was funny because
I was talking with my boyfriend, who's my unpaid intern
slash CFO slash CTO, and I know, bless his heart,
he has like so many heads. But I was telling
him before we started. I told him about the dream
of Jack's Tours and how great it would be. And
I gave him the name and we found out that
(02:49):
the name wasn't taken and we're like, oh, I mean,
maybe this is meant to be. I was like, let me.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Sleep on it registered domain right exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
And I woke up the next day and he handed
me the paperwork was I filed the LLC, I bought
the domain. I was like, here's the website. You're good
to go.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Now you got to do it.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
And he's like, now you have no excuse, but he said,
he was like, I have faith in you. I know
you can do this. And I was just crying, like
ugly crying and just so happy, and yeah, here we are.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
That's wonderful. I love that story. I love that story.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
So with Jack Storre, how many tours do you do
a week or a month or whatever.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, so we kind of took a little bit of
a break in the summertime in Jacksonville.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
This is way too hot, Yes, it.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Is way too hot. But we did do a Junior
Explorers tour. It was our very first one. It's for
kids to do a scavenger hunt downtown and we got
exclusive access into city Hall and the city council chambers.
So we took the kids in there and they were
looking around at like the big chairs and the flags
and everything that's in there, and they got to sit,
you know, in the chairs and pretend like they're city
(03:54):
council members, and they just they loved it. It was
just so great and they earn their own little Junior
Explore badge at the end. So it was so much fun.
So I think we're going to do that again. We
might do more more seasonal kid tours, so we just
expanded into that space and that's fun. But we do
have our tours in Saint Augustine. We have three really
fun ones. We have a true crime tour, I mean,
(04:18):
everybody loves like a serial killer story.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
My wife's already signing up for it right now.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Let me know. I'll give her a discount. And we
have a off the beaten Path tour things to do
in St. Augustine that even locals don't know about, which
is really neat. And then we also have a Pirate tour,
so we have our guy who dresses up like a
pirate and tells you all about the golden age of piracy.
And we have some other really fun ones in the
hopper right now actually that we're going to be starting in.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
September really like yeah, such as so.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I'm super excited. We're bringing back our food tour. Yah,
that's exciting, and it's all inclusive, so all the foods
included and the guided experience. And then we're going to
be starting our downtown Pup Crawl. Oh yeah, that one's
also all inclusive. All the drinks are included. So we
guarantee you're gonna get pretty tipsy. So we're gonna start,
(05:08):
We're gonna it's it's called SIPs and Ships.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Oh very good. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah. So we're gonna start at the US's or Lake
and we'll do some trivia there. We'll have some fun
you know, games to do, and then we'll go to
Bold City. We'll get drinks there, play maybe like bar
bingo something fun, Ruby Beach, and then we'll also end
with a sunset DJ mixer on top of SIPs on
the roof, on top of deca. Oh cool, it's it's
gonna be so much fun.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
That's a lot of fun. Yeah, but one person to
come up with all this time and then you have.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Help now or well okay, so it's really just me,
But I do have help from you know, the local businesses.
You know, as I said, I'm all about supporting them.
So these downtown businesses, they are so passionate about the
city in downtown that they are happy to collaborate and
to do what they can. They've been the biggest supporters.
I also have Noel. She is my intern well I
(06:01):
would say interner, but she's not really. She's my guest
experience manager. She's really taken on a big role with
the company, helping out with creating new tours. She's working
on a project now to help FOJA, the Friends of
Jacksonville Animals. They lost a lot of money in their funding,
so we're going to start a festival hopefully next year
to help them.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Wonderful.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Yeah, so maybe something we can talk about, but we
want to do a music, music festival that's all about
the dogs. So Dog Days Jacks is hopefully going to
come to Fruition hopefully next April, and it's all about
the dogs. We'll have like a dog kissing booth, so
you give us a dollar, you get a kiss from
a dog. It will also be like an adoption events, music,
(06:40):
food vendors, you know, just fun things to do again,
fun experiences to have a Jacksonville supporting local businesses, helping
out the pups.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Talking to Tina Savage with Jack's Tours and so that
first one, let's go back to your first one you
did first where you just did you have friends? Was
it all friends that pretty much said will be you know,
will be your guinea pig? Did that happen or did
you actually get some strangers that you had to entertain.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
So I'm so glad you brought that up. We did
do a friends and family tour. We did actually two
of them, so I coerced my friends and family. I
kind of made them it'll be fun, come on exactly. Yeah,
So they came on the food tour and they gave
us feedback. So just with the Downtown Pup Crawl, we're
doing our VIP one this Saturday, just to test it out.
We want to make sure everything's set up and fun
(07:29):
so by the time the public comes and does them,
it's all set and we're just ready to rock and roll.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
It's called due diligence and making sure it's right. It's great.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
I try, but things do go wrong, and you know
what you're gonna do. Just have fun with it.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Your first history tour, did you get everything right? Did
you're thinking or when you're doing it, like you know,
like halfway through the tour you're like, you know what
I'm going to do next time? Yeah, I guess it's
always evolving it absolutely.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yeah. I love the fact that people who take my
tours are mostly interested in Jacksonville history. So there's a
group that have no idea about Jacksonville, and then there's
those who are very invested in Jack's history. And when
those people come on the tour, I learn so much
and I love it. It's okay to correct me. Maybe I
am wrong. I mean, I try to do my due
(08:15):
diligence and my research, but there's always new things that
are happening, and you know, everything constantly evolves, right, So
that's okay. I love it. I love to learn new things.
I love to be corrected. I'm okay with that. You know,
as long as I'm telling the right story, that's what
matters to me.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Right, that's so cool. Yeah, now you came to my attention.
There was an article in Jacksonville dot com about the
Jacobs Jewelers clock and how you were taking it upon
yourself that we have to do something about this landmark
that has been there, that was built after the fire.
I'm not correct on this story, that's right. It was
(08:49):
built after the fire to say hey, this is here,
we have rebuilt, this is new, and this is back
in nineteen oh three or whatever it was. Yeah, so
tell me about this. And if you've lived in Jacksonville,
you know that clock's been there and then it hadn't
been keeping time in a long time, so.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
Tell us, Yeah, that's right. So during my history tours,
I take people, you know, we walk down Laura Street
and we always visit the clock because the clock is
just beautiful. I've just always been in love with it.
And I realized after the second or third tour that
it the time wasn't really right because there's four faces
on it and they're just telling different times right. And
(09:28):
what I found out, you know, which is really sad.
Back in the day, people used to have their pocket
watches and they used to adjust their pocket watches based
on the Jacob Jeweler's clock. That's how people told time right.
And so when I saw that I was at a commission,
I just felt really sad, you know, because I'm showing
people the beauty of downtown in Jacksonville. But we have
this beautiful monument that was established as a beacon of
(09:51):
our hope that's broken. So I said, Okay, we got
to do something about this. So I tried to find
out who owned it. I tried to find out with
the city pay for it to get it fixed. No,
it was my I'm very new to the space. I
didn't know who to talk to or what to share.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
That's how you find out.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, And so then I found out that JWB purchased
the green Leaf and Crosby building, which the clock is
right in front of. And so I found Alex's phone
number from a family member who was friends with him,
and so I said, Hey, Alex, you don't know me,
but I have a story to share with you. And
I told him about the clock, and he was so
(10:28):
excited about it and so interested. He said, you know what,
I'll pay for it. You just leave the project to
get it fixed, absolutely done, I will do it. So
it was just he was.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Just looking for somebody to have that passion like you did.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
I guess I was just the right person at the
right time who just knew the right people. And so
a couple months later we get with Vernon Clock Company.
We get all the details together and we have Vernon
come out there and now she chimes, so she sings
for the first time in decades. She lights up. I say, she,
I don't know, it could be he whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
It's a shape. Now you just made it that.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
She lights up. Uh, And she tells the right time,
and it's just it is so powerful to see it
when I was out there when they were fixing it,
there was people, you know, bustling around. You know, it's downtown,
people are walking around, driving and we're there and he's
he's inside, and you hear it go off for the
first time, and I promise you everybody stopped and to
(11:28):
look and to listen.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Cool.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
It was just it was such a powerful moment. Like
I had goose bumps.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I'm getting them now you're just telling me the story.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
I started crying a little bit, I know, really sappy,
but you know, it was just so powerful that moment,
and I realized, we did it. We did it. We
just we re lit this beacon of hope for our
city and.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
It was built to be that.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And then one hundred and twenty five years later, roughly
you have relt that to be a beacon for the
next bunch. Ye.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
I hope so.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
And I just think it's so I mean, really that
we can we can make it as sentimental as possible,
but it's still the fact that a landmark is now
continuing to go because of just your care. So thank you.
I'm speaking for Jacksonville here. I don't speak for Jacksonville much,
but right now, thank you, Tina.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate. I was very honored to
do that.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Again.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I just feel like I was just the right person,
the right place and time, you know, it, just.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Just did it. Yeah. I thought about things to do,
but you you took that step. Yeah, it's wonderful.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Thank you. I just I don't know, just felt compelled
to do it. It just I wasn't doing it for
any accolades. I wasn't doing it for anything.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
I just love the clock, the same way you're starting
the jack stores thing you were doing it for, like, hey,
let me make this a gig. I just want to
do something like this. Yeah, and look at this and
now it's all this with all the great things on
the agenda for the rest of this year and who knows,
for years to come. I hope people get to learn
some history in a fun Waystely, It doesn't get much
(13:05):
better than that. History teachers wish they could make history
that much fun, you know, especially with alcohol, that would
be hell for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You know, it's funny our downtown pub crawl. I think
at the last quote we say is we guarantee you'll
make great memories. You'll forget out.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Exactly exactly exactly. That's funny.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
But speaking of history teachers, you know, we do ki tours.
We did our first one last year, and it's so
much fun. Don't tell the adults this, but I prefer
the kid tours. They are just so much fun. They
asked the best question. It's just so unreal. Their energy,
their passion is just so great. Adults are fun and
they're great. Oh sure, kids are just a whole nother level.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Ain't that the truth? I agree Tina Savage with Jack's tours.
And you're hearing that Jacob's jeweler clock going off, now
that's set. Thank her, Thank her. When you hear it,
you hear that. I got to go down and here
we go off. Now I hadn't heard it yet.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Yeah, you should go at night when it lights up,
and then he can hear it. And you know, it's funny.
I actually don't tell the city of this, but I
have a key. I kept a key. Do you know
about the drama the key? Did you read that?
Speaker 1 (14:11):
No? So I didn't read the whole story. I just
I saw that I need to talk to her and
that really I didn't get through it all.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
So it's kind of a long, but funny story. Funny
now if not at the time.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
So the day of the repair, the Verdant clock company
called me and they said, hey, do you have the
key for the clock? We can't get in. And I
was like, wait, what what key? What are you talking about?
Mind you, this has been like a year and a
half in the making, right, So I say, okay, you
know what, I will get there when I can just
hang tight, I will see what I can do. We
also ordered a scissor lift that day because he needed
(14:43):
it to get to you know, the clock.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
So he calls me again like five minutes later. He's like, hey,
the scissor lift is here. Great, awesome, that's good to know.
But it's dead. What what do you mean it's dead?
Are you kidding me? So I was like, you know what,
just please hang out. I will be right there. And
this is all before my coffee. And if you're a
coffee drinker, you know things like this happened before coffee.
(15:06):
It's like multiply it by one hundred. So I keep
my calm. I say, okay, I will be there. Just
just hang tight. I get there. I mean, I just
like throw on whatever and I get there. I don't
think I brush my hair. I just ran out the
door and I see people going in and out of
the green Leaf building, and so I grab one of them.
I say hey. I was like, can we plug in
the scissor lift? And they're like, well, no, I don't
(15:27):
think you can. I was like, look, I was like,
I promise you. It's okay. Here's my card, here's my name.
I know Alex. I was like, in fact, you know,
I'm borrowing the sizzle lift from my brother in law.
And you know they're they're cool with it, you know them,
blah blah, and they're like okay, Like okay, fine, it's like,
here's my card. I swear to God, if you're get
in trouble, drop my name. I will take the heat
for it. So we plug in the scissor lift. So
(15:49):
one problem solved, right. So he's going up and he's
fixing the clock faces. So meanwhile I'm trying to track
down the key. This is like nine nine thirty am.
I'm calling everybody. I'm calling everybody I know at city Hall.
I'm just ringing off the hook. They're calling people that
they know. Everyone's calling this person, this person. We're trying
to track down this guy named Ryan Jensen who worked
at the city, who you know previously did like help
(16:10):
with the repairs and stuff with the bunk before. Couldn't
find him. Nobody knew who he was, he didn't work
at the city anymore. I'm like, of course that's my luck.
So then I start calling the Jack's History Center. I
call Lindsay at with build up downtown. I say, hey, Lindsay,
do you have a key? She was like no. I
was like, do you know who would? She was like,
I don't know. Call Alan Bliss, Wh's the CEO of
(16:30):
the Jack's History Center. So she gives me his number.
He doesn't know me, so I call him. I was
like hey Alan. He's like who are you? And you know,
I tell him who I am and what I'm doing.
He's like, no, I don't have the key. You know,
have you tried city blah blah blah. It's like, okay, fine, yes,
no I have it. I have, but I'll keep going.
He was like, keep me updated, We'll see what support
we can find. So he's doing what he can't help. Also,
(16:51):
right the whole city is trying to find this one key.
So then I get to the point where I'm like,
I've exhausted everybody that I know. I mean, I call
Downtown Vision, I mean one. So I say, you know what,
let's just get a locksmith out here. Let's just bust
the lock. It's better to ask for forgiveness and permission.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Right, let's just mass that's how we're.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Let's just break this thing open. I'll pay for it
to get it fixed again, and I'll let the city know,
or maybe the city won't know. Who knows, like whatever,
it's a government, right, it's a project. I want to
get it done.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
Yeah. Right.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
So I'm calling around trying to get find a locksmith,
and I'm just running around in circles. No one's available,
maybe a couple hours, and then one of the guys
was like, hey, I know somebody owns a locksmith company.
I was like, oh great. He was like, let me
give him a call. He calls, somebody's about twenty minutes away.
Thank goodness. Okay, So twenty minutes later, the locksmith comes
out here and he's messing with it, and he's like,
(17:46):
oh no, I can't break into this. It has some
kind of security thing on it. I was like, oh
my gosh. So I'm thinking in my mind, We're gonna
have to reschedule. You know, I've got everyone set up
for this, the tow truck to bring the scissor lip
a bar, like, so many pieces come together just for
this day, and now I'm gonna have to redo it
all over again. This is the end of it. And
(18:06):
so I turned to the clock guy. I was like, man,
I just wish I could find Ryan Jensen. And the
locksmith who nobody knows, turns to us, was like, Ryan,
I know him.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
Of course, of course he does.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
And this has been three hours. I've been trying to
track down this key. A long time has gone by, right,
And I was like Ryan Jensen. He's like, yeah, he
used to work at City Hall. I was like, are
you kidding me? So he calls him up. Then Ryan
calls me and Ryan's like, hey, yeah, I used to
I know where the keys are at. Let me let
me see. I left it with somebody at City Hall.
He calls me back and he says, you know that
(18:39):
guy I left the keys with doesn't work there anymore.
I was like, oh my god. He's like, but I
did tell somebody where to possibly find them. So, come
to find out, it was locked in the basement of
City Hall in a key lock box. Oh, and they
found it and then somebody biked it over to me.
There was two keys, so I took one, gave him
one back.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
I was like, thank you, one for you for me.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
So I'm making copies of that key so that way
the History Center will have one just in case. JWB
obviously will have one. But and you know, the city
still has theirs.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
But now me right, of course, you're telling me the
story for a price. But that's as close to the
key of the city as I'll ever get.
Speaker 2 (19:20):
But you know, just to make sure this doesn't happen again.
So yeah, it was. It was pretty exciting. And then
as soon as we opened it, he went in there
and that's when it chimed for the first time. And
that's when I got the goose bumps and I started
crying because you know, all this excitement and you know,
back and forth, like happiness and then sadness, you know,
just everything accumulated. Yeah, it just happened at that moment.
(19:44):
And then to see everybody stop, I was like, oh,
it was just it was a it was a wild,
wild feeling. It was just so much emotions.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, Okay, that story about the clock that Tina just told,
just imagine what she does when she's telling other history stories.
That's what Jack's Tours is all about. And I can't
wait to take one because if you're that passionate about
telling a key story, then my goodness, your history and
the fun stuff that we can do downtown is I'm
just looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Thank you. Yeah, it's it's fun. It's my passion. I
really appreciate it. And you know, sorry, we have, you know,
so many cool things happening. You know, we have history
in hounds, So bring your dog for a walk. They'll
get like a bandana and a pup cup, you know,
just something fun for them. We'll tell you some history.
We'll do that in different places. Ghost tours coming up.
(20:34):
Sen Marco has asked that we do that. So we're
going to help with the San Marco clock. I'm the
clock lady.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Nowt here, you got one key, you might as well
get a collection.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
Yeah exactly. So we have that coming up and then
hopefully in Springfield helping out in that community.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Again.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
It's all about bringing people to these communities to have
these experiences, to see what local businesses are available. So
they want to go back with their family and their
friends or you know, out of town visitors whoever, and
kind of show them around.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
I do a lot of just in passing, as we
do in the morning show on QIK. I'll give just
little pieces of Jacksonville history every so often, as I'll
walk around with that junk in my head too, and
people are always just so amazed that, oh that happened here.
Oh he's from Jacksonville. I mean, just kind of little
things like that are just things that just blow people away.
And the civic pride they have just in knowing something
(21:25):
happened here that was kind of cool. It goes a
long way. So I love the fact you have made
this a wonderful tour, wonderful little package that we can
all enjoy and open up every time.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Thank you, Thank you. I do appreciate that.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
What's the website so people can find out more and
book these tours?
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah, so pretty easy www dot jackstours.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Dot com jacks Tours Tours plural yep, plural.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, and also social media jackstours dot com on all platforms.
Get them on Twitter, I haven't really or X whatever
it's called now, Yeah, I have it. I've never really
been a twit, so I don't want to know.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Not being a social media guy, you're not missing anything
on any of them. But uh yeah, jackstours dot com
and you can find out all this information and so
much more that Tina has up her sleeve ready to
roll out for Jacksonville. This has been such a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Thank you, Thank fun. Yeah, I really enjoy it. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
Got to have you back anytime. Okay, thank you.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
You know what, you might regret that, No, I won't
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