Peter Schorsch
Goodbye, B&N. Hello, Islander Market.
The Islander has taken over the lease on the old B&N Food Mart on Shore Acres as of Sept. 1. To Shore Acres residents, a new market that emphasizes “clean” is exactly what they want.
“I’m taking the first month and a half to strip and clean,” said Brad Bell, owner of Islander Market with his wife Amy.
Paul Wilson, a Shore Acres homeowner who has lived in the neighborhood since he was a teenager in the 1980s said of the old B&N Food Mart, “It’s a place where we go to buy cold beer and chips for a cookout, or when we were kids, the place was a Circle K, and we’d ride our bikes down there. I picked up a newspaper there this morning. It’s convenient.”
After learning of the new concept for the Islander Market that will open its doors to the public soon, Wilson said, “I was being generous—the place wasn’t the cleanest, and sometimes you’d notice a strange smell. It would be amazing if we had a market that’s more fitting to the neighborhood like what the Islander is envisioning.”
What Bell is launching is reminiscent of the old Snell Isle Market, though smaller in footprint but big in what the locals desire: fresh meats, some produce, a few prepared foods, beverages and snacks, focusing on the lifestyle of those who live in and around the Shore Acres area with family gatherings, cookouts, boating, etc.
Universally, the community appears to be looking forward to the opening of the Islander Market.
“It never occurred to me to go to the B&N Food Mart. It didn’t seem like a place where I wanted to buy anything, but the Islander Market concept would fill a gap,” said Shore Acres homeowner Barry Rubin.
“I lived in Shore Acres for four years, now I live nearby, just east of 4th Street North,” said St. Petersburg resident Forbes Riley. “My family and I always avoided the B&N Food Mart, but we’d certainly shop at the Islander and try it out when it opens. We love supporting small businesses when they offer an option with high standards and quality.“
Some residents of the Shore Acres Care Center facility, a rehabilitation center with many elderly and disabled patients located directly behind the market who have very few opportunities to shop and get out in the community due to physical and transportation limitations, several patients reported that they did not go to the B&N Food Mart because they were concerned that it wasn’t clean enough.
“These are residents who don’t have many shopping options, and some of them refused to go,” reported staff at the facility. When told of the plans for a new market to take over, clean, renovate and offer fresh selections of food along with many convenience foods, the residents and staff alike expressed that they look forward to trying it out.
Bell, owner of the Islander Market said that he was inspired to launch this concept in Shore Acres after driving by the B&N Food Mart for years. He and his wife are active at Lutheran Church of the Cross (LCC) and its school; LCC owns the property that leases the space for the market.
Bell pitched the concept to LCC, which decided not to renew the lease for B&N Food Mart and instead let the Islander Market have the space to create its new concept.
The owner of B&N Food Mart did not comment immediately for this article, but his brother who was working behind the counter reported, “[The church] did not renew our lease. That is all. No reason for it. Everybody is very upset. This is not a good time.”
Meanwhile, the new lease is officially signed over to Bell, who expects to open the doors to the Islander Market this fall. He, too, is a long-time resident of Shore Acres, and he remembers the former Snell Isle Market, the near-legendary bacon-wrapped filet mignon deals along with other fresh foods and convenience items, and he’d like to bring back some of that wholesome family-oriented vibe to the Islander Market.
Bell said that he is focusing on the needs of the families and the kids that frequent the market, which is located on the same property as LCC School. Unlike, B&N Food Mart, the Islander vows to never carry pornographic magazines, though they’ll still sell beer, wine and cigarettes responsibly to adult patrons.
“This is going to be a clean, family-oriented market that Shore Acres and the CCC community deserve in its neighborhood.”
__
Reporting contributed by correspondent Daphne Taylor Street.
