Baxter has become a retail and restaurant hub in recent years, but the community is also attracting more service-oriented businesses.

Most recently, a small Christian school, a math and science tutoring center and a barber shop opened in the community.

Shannon Murray and Tammy Puch, both former teachers and stay-at-home moms, decided to start the Carpenter's Workshop School this year with a kindergarten class for 5 year olds. Both of their sons will be among the inaugural class of 12 students.

"We really wanted them to have a faith aspect to their education, Murray said. "There are a lot of Christian schools in the area, but they're all more expensive than we could afford, or were too far away with today's gas prices. We decided to open the school we were looking for."

The pair found space in the Baxter Place building at the corner of Market Street and Sutton Road. They are starting small, accepting only 12 kindergarten students this year. Classes are open to any student who will turn 5 on or before Dec. 31. Tuition will be $3,850 for the year and no supply fee will be charged. The first day of class is set for Tuesday, Sept. 2, Murray said.

As of last week, up to six spaces were still open in the first class.

"We're taking it one year at a time," Puch said. "Next year we'll have a first grade."

Puch, an education veteran with 16 years in the profession as a teacher and education consultant, will take on the primary teaching duties. Classes will learn through a workshop-style approach, Puch said. Students will get ample individual attention and lessons will be designed around learning by doing.

"There will be a whole lot of demonstration, then a whole lot of practice and immediate feedback," Puch said.

The Carpenter's Workshop School is in the process of getting state accreditation through the private school sector, Puch said. The school also has a Web site at www.tcws.org.

Murray and Puch chose the Baxter location for several reasons. It's about halfway between Murray's home in Indian Land and Puch's in Lake Wylie. But the biggest reason was the access the site provided to other amenities inside Baxter. Puch will be able to walk with students to the Fort Mill Library and the students will have access to the parks and playgrounds inside the development. The school also hopes to work with businesses such as Noah's Art in Baxter Town Center, she said.

"Hopefully we will grow out of [Baxter Place] and into something bigger in Baxter," Puch said. "Baxter has really cool resources we can walk to."

Haircut and a shave

Also on Market Street, in the Baxter Commerce Center, Brian Dixon recently opened the Baxter Barber Shop. The fourth-generation barber has been cutting hair and shaving faces for the past 15 years. His new shop in Baxter is the third one he's opened.

"I had been working in Charlotte at the Corners Shopping Center, but there were rumors they were going to tear it down in about a year," Dixon said. "I had visited this area before and I liked the community. I realized there aren't a whole lot of traditional barber shops around anymore and I thought this was a good place to put one."

Dixon has eaten at most of the restaurants in Town Center, and on one trip several months ago he saw that space was available in the Commerce Center.

"It just kind of hit me," he said. "I saw the place was available and I made a move on it."

Dixon is open 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday. He charges $15 for a hair cut and $15 for a straight razor shave, $10 if the customer is also getting a haircut. He also offers drop-off shoe shine service. A big-screen flat panel TV hangs on one wall, usually tuned to sports or news. The barber chairs came from Dixon's father's shop and date to the 1960s.

"It's a little different. You can come in and catch up on sports or news and not have to smell any perm chemicals," he said. "It's definitely a man's place."

Next door to Dixon, North Carolina-based Wellington Math and Science Academy has opened in the Commerce Center. The tutoring center offers individualized instruction in math and science related subjects for K-12th grade students, according to an e-mail from company spokesman Jason Hwang.

The center is open after school hours Monday through Thursday and on Saturdays. Wellington instructors never have more than four students assigned to them so that each can give individualized attention, Hwang wrote. The company offers everything from homework help to SAT prep courses.

For more information about the programs offered by Wellington, call 548-2446.