The tale of David and Goliath might come to mind. The shepherd boy slew a giant with one well-placed pebble to the head, popped from a sling shot.
But for small business owners, and even the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, putting a stop to the threat posed by formula businesses to the character of the island by one landlord, Benderson Development, might not be so easy.
The chamber board of directors sent a tersely-worded letter May 18 to the principals at Benderson Development of Sarasota, addressing the entrance of chain stores — in particular, a planned Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins — at Benderson’s Anna Maria Island Centre shopping plaza on East Bay Drive in Holmes Beach.
After years of branding Anna Maria Island as a last vestige of the old-Florida lifestyle, the incoming chains, or formula stores as they are called in the industry, threaten the very basis of that marketing premise, the chamber said.
“A key component in our branding is promoting a destination that is unique. For decades, Anna Maria Island has taken pride in being a destination devoid of high-rise complexes, billboards or retail chains,” the chamber said in its letter to Benderson — one of the largest privately owned real estate companies in the United States.
“Instead, we invite visitors to enjoy unique owner-operated restaurants, accommodations and retail boutique shopping,” the letter continued. “These claims are one of the things that help visitors choose to visit our island over other vacation destinations.”
The chamber acknowledges there are some exceptions, including a Walgreens store at the corner of East Bay and Gulf drives.
Up Bay Drive a block, a Publix Super Market is the only full-service grocer serving the three cities on the island. Another mega-drug chain, CVS, stands next to Publix. Independent drug stores and grocers have vanished from the island and many other communities.
And many of the ordinances designed to prevent formula stores in other cities, grant exceptions to grocers, banks and other financial institutions, drug stores and real estate companies.
So, where does the line get drawn on Anna Maria Island? What makes one chain entity acceptable on the island and another taboo?
Perhaps it is more a matter of necessity than excess. Fresh produce and groceries are needed on a daily basis. Baby formula and prescriptions are must-haves for some. The convenience of stocking up on wine when picking up hot dogs and chips for the backyard barbecue makes busy lives easier.
But mom-and-pop stores aren’t selling prescriptions or formula. They can’t compete with the price of fresh produce and staples on the shelf at Publix.
The mom-and-pops are selling one cupcake at a time. One T-shirt or boogie board. Maybe two pairs of flip-flops and a few bagels. They are sweating the bottom line and being vigilant with advertising dollars and operating costs. Each year they await the return of snowbirds — and their spending power.
Some tenants at Benderson’s island plaza say the dust-up over formula stores will amount to little more than a nuisance issue to their landlord.
When Benderson executive Mark Chait was asked May 31 for a statement regarding the chamber letter, Chait said he couldn’t comment until he “discussed the issue with all the principals involved.”
Subsequent phone calls and emails June 1 and June 2 to the company went unanswered. As of press time, no one from Benderson had commented.
The chamber letter said, “For the sake of the landlord retaining a renter and for that of a tenant, a business should be given the opportunity to reap the benefits of their investment before a direct competitor is located in the same vicinity.”
The urgency of leasing the empty plaza space may be override the fit for the community. Chait previously said management believes chain stores will bring more customers to all the stores in the plaza.
Benderson’s online promotion for the plaza touts the formula stores, Walgreens, Subway and Dollar Tree, and none of the independently owned stores that have been in operation there for many years.
The Benderson Development website states, “Benderson prides itself on providing each tenant with an appropriate environment conducive to its individual business and clientele.”
The chamber echoed a similar sentiment, but with a broader perspective, stating, “We care about the future of our local businesses and therefore, would like you to consider the concerns we have for our business community.”
The chamber also urged Benderson to adopt a “best practices” policy to protect small business investments in their centers and allow them to get established in our communities.
Deb Wing, president of the chamber said the chamber’s mission is to help support businesses that come to our area, but the chamber also “feels an obligation to the existing chamber members.”
“We want to keep our island. That’s what we are looking for,” Wing said.
NOTE: This is part 1 in a series looking into preservation of the business character of Anna Maria Island. Next week: Independents speak out on the influx of formula stores on the island.
