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Kash n' Karry expands n' excites
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- The Kash n' Karry grocery store in Pinellas Point unveiled its $2-million makeover last week amid a swirl of bunting, carnations and giveaways of every sort. Mayor Rick Baker, Deputy Mayor Goliath Davis III and City Council member James Bennett were present for the grand opening of the enlarged and refurbished store. That afternoon, longtime Kash n' Karry customer Terry Hunter appeared to sum up the sentiments of the neighborhood. "It's about time," he said of the sparkling, well-stocked supermarket. "This is wonderful. We've needed this for so long. You couldn't find anything. They didn't have anything. It's a lot cleaner and nicer than it was before. The people seem to be a lot nicer too." Store manager John Sievenpiper has been getting an earful from shoppers. "For us to refurbish and build a beautiful store like this, they really appreciate it and believe me, they haven't been shy about telling us," Sievenpiper said on opening day. "Everything, from the floor tile to the ceiling tile, has been replaced." The renovated store has been enlarged from 33,148 to just over 50,000 square feet, and new features, including a floral department and a liquor store, have been added. The new entryway gives customers a broad vista of mountains of fresh produce as well as the store's expanded bakery and deli departments and new seafood section with a lobster tank. As he showed off the store, district manager Eddie Garcia pointed to the broader selection of kosher products, as well as Hispanic, Asian, Caribbean and other ethnic foods. As an example, the store now carries foods such as Jamaican patties and bags of frozen yucca. It also has expanded its health food offerings. Renovation of the supermarket, in the Skyway Plaza shopping center at Dr. M.L. King (Ninth) Street and 62nd Avenue S took nine months. "It was almost like having a baby," Garcia quipped. The district manager said Kash n' Karry believed the time had come to expand and renovate the Pinellas Point store. The Publix supermarket near Coquina Key closed more than a year ago. Several years earlier, the neighborhood lost its Winn-Dixie supermarket. "We saw this as a prime opportunity for some growth and to do something for the community," said Garcia, adding that the store also has hired 45 workers, among them cashiers, baggers, stockers and new seafood and liquor store managers. The mayor's presence at last week's ribbon cutting was meant to acknowledge the company's efforts. "This is significant the work that Kash n' Karry did to rebuild that store," Baker said Friday. "We've had other grocery stores that have pulled out of the Point and there's been a concern by residents and we want to retain grocery stores in the area. Kash n' Karry has significantly upgraded and I thought that it was appropriate for the mayor to come and thank them for that." Deputy Mayor Davis, who lives in the neighborhood and shops at the supermarket, agreed. "We wanted to make sure that they knew we appreciated their investment in the city and especially to that community. And we wanted to share in their celebration," he said. Bennett, the area's City Council representative, is ecstatic about the renovation that has included an overall upgrading of the Skyway Plaza shopping center with new landscaping, lighting and resurfaced parking lot. "They have done just about everything that you can do for economic development for a shopping center that was on the decline," he said. The council member added that he was pleased that the mayor and deputy mayor were present for the store's reopening. "They had an opportunity to see economic development working in the south side," he said. "It is tremendous for the neighborhood and all of St. Petersburg. When all our neighborhoods improve, the whole city improves."
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
