Thursday, February 7, 2013
The grocery chain closed three of its St. Petersburg locations this week. Will you miss them? What businesses should take their place?
Now that three Sweetbay Supermarkets in St. Petersburg have closed because of what the company called underwhelming sales, what do you think should replace them? Mayor Bill Foster said he has already had discussions with other grocery vendors to help fill the space vacated by the Midtown Sweetbay after city leaders' last-ditch effort to save it failed. What would you like to see move into that location, at 1794 22nd St. S.? Two other local Sweetbay stores, at 6095 Ninth Ave. N. and 955 62nd Ave. S., have also been shuttered. Will you miss them? What should take their place? We want to hear from you. Post a comment below and let us know what businesses you'd like to see come to St. Petersburg. Sign up for the St. Pete Patch email newsletter…
27.75252
-82.66294
1794 22nd St S, Saint Petersburg, FL
/articles/what-should-replace-these-st-pete-sweetbays
/locations/8759873
27.78083
-82.718204
6095 9th Ave N, St Petersburg, FL
/articles/what-should-replace-these-st-pete-sweetbays
/locations/8759874
27.71213
-82.647114
955 62nd Ave S, St Petersburg, FL
/articles/what-should-replace-these-st-pete-sweetbays
/locations/8759875
Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Midtown Sweetbay is scheduled to close by mid-February, but much of the store is empty since no re-stocking has occurred since the closing announcement.
A last-ditch effort by the City of St. Petersburg to stop or delay the closing of the Midtown Sweetbay has failed. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Mayor Bill Foster and Sweetbay landlord Larry Newsome were told the planned mid-February closure would happen as scheduled. The company said it would help find a new grocer in the Tangerine Plaza in Midtown. "We look forward to working together with Mayor Foster to quickly find a grocer that can help meet the needs of this community," Sweetbay spokeswoman Nicole LeBeau said Wednesday morning." In previous public meetings Foster said he expected Sweetbay to close, and in the event it did, the city is in conversations with other grocery vendors to quickly fill the space. Foster and city …
Monday, January 28, 2013
Mayor Foster and council members Wengay Newton and Leslie Curran got into a very heated discussion Jan. 24 over the pending closure of the Midtown Sweetbay.
As a late edition to the Jan. 24 St. Petersburg City Council meeting, Mayor Bill Foster provided an update on plans to ensure Midtown does not lose its grocery store. Foster talked about his ongoing efforts to get in touch with the right people with Sweetbay and if that did not work, he hoped to have another grocery vendor fill the store. From there, the tensions rose as accusations were made, gavels slammed and insults thrown as council members Wengay Newton and Leslie Curran questioned Foster's plans and his handling of the Midtown Sweetbay. At issue is that despite claiming silence from Sweetbay, is the report that Foster met with Sweetbay officials in April 2011 about the struggling store. Foster said his calendar shows he met with …
Monday, January 21, 2013
City leaders and the landlord of the Midtown Sweetbay property have not heard directly from Sweetbay regarding the closure of the store.
Walk through the Sweetbay grocery store in the Tangerine Shopping Plaza, at 22nd Street and 18th Avenue South. There is row after row of empty shelves, where once there were fresh foods. Fresh vegetables are nearly gone, as are the meats. The deli is empty. There is no milk. And, there appears to be no plans by Sweetbay to restock its shelves. The store is quickly going out of business. On Jan. 16, Sweetbay announced it would close three 'underperforming' St. Petersburg stores by mid-February, part of a consolidation of stores across Florida. St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster and city leaders gathered outside the Sweetbay today to urge the The Delhaize Group, the parent company of Sweetbay, to reconsider ... or at least come to the table…
Coy M. LaSister
10:34 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
As a recent community resident of St. Petersburg, Florida and a whoilesale food market professional, I would like to see a Whole Foods Market or similiar brand frest food market developed at the former Sweetbay Supermarket site in Midtown. As an advocate for locally grown fresh produce and healthy food products, I would like the Mid-town community to come together again to direct the State … more ›