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Closings spare south Pinellas Kmarts
By SHARON L. BOND and MAREEN BYRNE AHERN SOUTH PASADENA -- Eleanor Perry is 90 years old and a frequent shopper at the Kmart here. She walks over from the retirement center where she lives at least four times a week. She doesn't know what she would do if the store closed. "Imagine how many people live here," she said of the two retirement towers near Kmart. "The majority do all of their shopping here. A lot of them come over in their wheelchairs." Giant discounter Kmart entered bankruptcy reorganization in January and Friday announced the closing of 284 stores in 40 states. The six Kmarts in south Pinellas County -- three in St. Petersburg, the one here and one each in Kenneth City and Seminole -- escaped the closings, at least for now. The South Pasadena store is important to the town, said store manager Greg Evans, who was following orders from his corporate headquarters and not talking about store closings. 'It's a neighborhood store," Evans said. "It is important. Business is always steady. There are a lot of senior citizens." At midday Friday, that was exactly the case. Many seniors knew of the impending closing list and expressed a lot of relief Friday that their store wasn't on it. "This is where I get my medicine at a cheaper discount," said Barbara Bobbitt. "I shop here. I love Kmart better than I do Wal-Mart. I buy all my presents here, all my Christmas presents, all my cards. I heard on TV that (some of) the stores were going to close. I thought, what am I going to do about my medicine?" Pharmacist Alexander Poulos said the South Pasadena store takes care of a lot of prescriptions for seniors. "We are all happy that the store is staying open," Poulos said. Many of the seniors are brought to the store by buses from their retirement centers and dropped off right at the door. They walk over to the Kash n' Karry next door after their Kmart shopping and the bus picks them up there at a certain hour. "I get my milk and everything here," said Perry. Friday she was looking at area rugs. She shopped at the St. Petersburg Kmart on 34th Street N when she lived in that area and got to know the manager so well that he gave her three poinsettias when she moved to South Pasadena just before Christmas. Seniors also are dependent on the Kmart in Seminole. When Mildred White needs a prescription filled or some fresh flowers, she walks the three blocks from her home to the Kmart at Seminole Mall. "I love Kmart," Mrs. White said Friday after learning the store had been spared from a slew of store closings. She says she shops at the store because it's so close to where she lives. She is not alone. Hundreds of retirees live in two large retirement communities next to the mall. Although Mrs. White drives, some of the seniors who reside at Seminole Garden Apartments and Freedom Square Retirement Complex no longer drive but walk or use electric scooters and wheelchairs. For them, having the discount retailer so close is a blessing. But it goes both ways. In this symbiotic relationship, this built-in customer base is also a boon to the store. One of the busiest spots in the Seminole Kmart is the cafe. Dozens of the nearby retirees line up outside the store every morning, waiting for the doors to open so they can eat some eggs and chat with friends. "We have nice customers," said cafe employee Sezen Lewis, holding a small plate with a grilled cheese sandwich. "I was happy for them and myself. They feel like this is their second home." Elaine Wagner, a retired registered nurse who lives in Seminole, doesn't eat breakfast at the store but she shops there a lot. Friday, she stuffed five huge Easter baskets filled with candy and toys in her shopping cart. They were for her grandchildren. Mrs. Wagner said she is relieved the store will stay open. "We were wondering about it because basically the mall is going downhill and Kmart seems to be the mainstay," she said. The Kmart on 34th Street S in St. Petersburg also draws senior citizens as well as a lot of tourists, college students and young adults such as Alex Pabbon, who lives in a neighborhood nearby. "I moved here from Puerto Rico. I've been eight months here in the neighborhood. I come here on Friday or Saturday, my days off. I go to the restaurant for lunch. I buy clothes and stuff for cleaning my car," Pabbon said. Deborah Martinez and Robert Stafford are among the younger Kmart shoppers. They frequent the St. Petersburg Kmart on 34th Street N. Martinez is on a fixed income and shops there only once a month, when she gets paid. Stafford comes a couple of times a month. "They've got good prices on fishing stuff," he said, plus the store is near where they live.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
