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It won't be MaNNY's, but very much like it

The new owner of the old cut-rate, independent gas station says those low prices will be back along with a deli.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published July 9, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Hoping to recapture some of the neighborhood family feel of the old MaNNY's on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street N, Indravadan Patel is rebuilding it as a gas station and convenience store.

"It was time to replace the tanks and everything, so we decided to just rebuild completely," said Patel of the property at the corner with 26th Avenue. "It will be family run."

Patel bought the property last year from Manny Bonotan, who had run one of the few independent gas stations in the county. The idiosyncratically named MaNNY'S had become a neighborhood icon in the 10 years he ran the store, in part because his independent status allowed him to sell gas cheaper.

Patel plans to forego the repair shop Bonotan ran, but remain an independent gas station and include a deli in a new convenience store.

"We'll have cheaper gas prices than the brand stores," he said. "Just like before."

Patel said being independent will allow him to buy gas from the cheapest vendor at any time, rather than be locked in to a brand and bound by its pricing. When MaNNY'S sold, regular gas was $2.15 a gallon but is now pushing $3 a gallon.

Patel tried to reconfigure the old 1,200-square-foot building but he said the repair shop didn't work well with what he wanted to do with the property.

Instead, he will spend $750,000 for new construction on top of the $400,000 he paid for the property to begin with.

The old building has already been razed and Patel said he expects to be back in business by the beginning of next year.

The new store will be named Suhani after Patel's daughter. The 1,500-square-foot store will be run by Patel's brother-in-law, who he said is coming from the family's ancestral home in India's Gujarat State later this year.

Patel had run a similar convenience store just to the south at 11th Avenue N. He sold that building, which has been converted into office space.

"I started my business in that store," said Patel, who lived in the area but has since moved to Wesley Chapel.

Patel said he also owns commercial rental properties in St. Petersburg and Safety Harbor.

Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com .

[Last modified July 8, 2006, 23:45:38]