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Nuts and bolts are not the only items at hardware store

Hammerheads, launched by a local business family, will also stock antiques, home furnishings, gifts and more.

By CHRISTINA K. COSDON
Published February 13, 2005

LARGO - Hammerheads Hardware won't be your usual hardware store.

It will have gifts, home furnishings, antiques and even some jewelry, in addition to the typical gardening, fishing tackle and regular hardware inventory.

The business is going up on the site of the former Largo Lanes bowling complex at 1015 West Bay Drive, a property that had been vacant for nearly three years.

The owners of the business are three generations of the Gessert family - Don and Terrie Gessert of Sand Key, their son Bill and his wife, Sue, of Belleair Beach and their two children, son Drew of Clearwater and daughter Audra Mills of Clearwater.

Bill Gessert said he and Drew will manage the store and his wife, Sue, will oversee the planning and operation of the home furnishings and decor part of the business. The family's ties to the business go back years. They have owned and operated a hardware store in Oldsmar for 20 years. Previously, Don and Terrie Gessert owned a True Value in Dunedin and a True Value in Menomonee Falls, Wis., before moving here in 1976.

Four years ago, the family decided they wanted to expand. "We sat around and talked about it," said Bill Gessert. "We wanted to be closer to our homes."

By the time Hammerheads opens this fall, Gessert, 47, said the family will have invested nearly $3-million in the project. The business is an ACE franchise, he said. Each franchisee owns their own business. "ACE gives us some incentives and we get a lot of support," he said, "but the financial burden is on the individual owner."

Bill Gessert said they plan to hire about 40 employees, and future plans for the property include construction of four separate buildings, each 1,600 square feet, that will be open for lease. "I'd like to see a sandwich shop and a barber so I won't have to go off the property," he said.

Caladesi Construction of Largo will manage the renovation of the existing building, construction of a warehouse and all site work. Project manager John Bratanov said he expects the job to be complete by early June. The project architect is Sofarelli & Associates of Largo.

Signature Bank, established just over five years ago in St. Petersburg, will open its first mid county office March 1 at 1465 S Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater.

"We have very strong Clearwater ties with current customers, as well as one of our directors Dennis Ruppel, who is a second generation Pinellas banker," said David Feaster, Signature's chief executive officer. Ruppel is one of the founders of the Clearwater law firm of Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns.

"This office will be our entree into the north county market," Feaster said. "We expect (to open) more north county offices within a year."

The bank will occupy 2,700 square feet on the first floor and will be staffed by senior vice president Rob Shaw, branch manager Effie Ebie and four employees. Shaw, who has worked six years in banking in the Clearwater area, is a West Point graduate.

Signature Bank's four other locations, including its headquarters, are in St. Petersburg.

In a recent national study by HealthGrades, Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs was among the top 5 percent for its clinical quality performance and received the 2005 Distinguished Hospital Award.

"This distinction means that Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital had markedly lower complication and death rates than at least 95 percent of the 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that HealthGrades reviewed," said Steve MacLauchlan, the hospital's president and chief executive officer.

The hospital is one of only 229 hospitals in the United States to qualify as a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence.

Sun Coast Hospital in Largo received five-star ratings of excellence for quality outcomes in pulmonary services from HealthGrades.

"In Tampa Bay, Sun Coast Hospital notably stands out in terms of delivering quality care for its pulmonary patients," said Sarah Loughran, executive vice president of HealthGrades.

As part of its seventh annual Hospital Quality in America study, HealthGrades independently analyzed 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2005 ratings, which assessed clinical outcomes, performance and quality. The 2005 HealthGrades ratings for all hospitals nationwide are available at www.healthgrades.com

Gro Miller has joined Clearwater Realty as a licensed Realtor specializing in residential, commercial and investment properties. A native of Norway, Miller moved to Clearwater in 2000 from Germany, where she operated an insurance agency for 12 years.

Clearwater Realty, at 519 Cleveland St., was established in 1995 by lawyer and broker Liz Adams.

Patty Malia has joined Ross Realty Group as a leasing associate and property manager. She has more than 17 years' experience in managing and leasing commercial and industrial property with such companies as Insignia/ESG and Rubin Real Estate.

Ross Realty Group, 20505 U.S. 19 N, Clearwater, specializes in the sale, leasing and management of commercial real estate in the Tampa Bay area.

News of businesses and business people can be faxed to the Business Digest at 445-4119, e-mailed to cosdon@sptimes.com or mailed to Business Digest, 710 Court St., Clearwater, FL 33756. We are interested in new and unusual businesses, promotions, expansions and major new contracts. Photos can be sent, but not all will be used and they cannot be returned.

[Last modified February 13, 2005, 01:07:16]