On Saturday the newest West Roxbury business opened its doors, just in time to be part of the West Roxbury Main Streets Holiday Stroll. 

General Contractor Skate Shop, aka GC Skate Shop, located at 2064 Centre St., is clearly a labor of love for owner Sherike Morris. 

The décor is cool. Red brick walls, industrial flooring, work site lighting, traffic cones and even a port-a-potty dressing room (brand new) reflect Morris's days in construction work and create a hip vibe. 

The neatly folded t-shirts tell you Morris has seen a few years in retail. 

The floor to ceiling wall of high-end sneakers and boards?  Well, that is where the passion is.

"Retail, construction, restaurants, I've done it all," a laid back Morris said on opening day. "But this is what I've always wanted to do."

"Ever since my first job, I knew I wanted to be my own boss. It was just a matter of time and a matter of what. I'm a big sneaker collector. Initially I was going to open a sneaker store but I decided to open a skate shop and a sneaker store," Morris explains.

"I've always shopped at skate shops but had to travel to get to them.  There's nothing around here.  You have to go 7-8 miles to get to the nearest shop.  I thought why not create a shop close to home," Morris says.

A longtime resident of West Roxbury and Roslindale and a graduate of West Roxbury High School, Morris knows the area well.  He also knows many families in the area.

"I used to deliver for Upper Crust and got to know people in the community.  I feel like I've talked to everyone in town about my shop and they were all excited for the shop and for me.  I feel very welcome," Morris said.

Morris also has a bit of a following from the many area kids he coached through Pop Warner football and middle school basketball, some of whom may become customers.

Morris credits a loan from the City of Boston's Office of Business Development for helping make his dream a reality, but says it took longer than expected to actually get to the end of the loan process.  He'd hoped to open in the fall, but instead had to rush and work well into the wee hours these last few weeks to get GC ready in time for the Stroll.

Morris says Kara O'Connor, Executive Director of West Roxbury Main Streets, also helped him get to his grand opening.  "She just kept pushing me to be ready.  She's great to work with."

"Look," Morris says, gesturing his arms widely to show off his new store, "here we are."

Cookies and drinks stood ready for guests, as did a small army of friends and new employees to greet all who came.  And they did come.

Once the shelves fill up and the rushed over finishing touches are put in place, Morris plans to start offering skateboard lessons through the shop.