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After 3 years of passionate anticipation, Thrifty Specialty Produce
“There will surely be other people camping in the parking lot,” said Theresa Zide, a longtime Rockledge resident and director of Rockledge, Florida Community Updates.
Excitement has been rising in recent months, Zide said.
No one is more excited about the inauguration than Pedro and Lonelis Hernandez.
“We are sorry to come here,” Pedro Hernandez said. We are comfortable with demographics. The people won us over with open arms. “
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The local grocery store will be the fourth and largest circle of relatives in Central Florida. The couple and their sprawling circle of relatives also own Thrifty retail stores in Palm Bay, Melbourne and St. Cloud.
At 33,000 feet, the Rockledge store, 920 Barton Blvd. , is more than twice the length of locations in Melbourne (18,000 feet), Palm Bay (15,000 feet) and St. Cloud (13,000 feet).
The additional area means the Rockledge store will sell beer and wine, not found elsewhere, as well as more family-friendly products. The store also offers a bakery, new seafood, a meat counter and Mi Cocina Cafe, a hot bar. Shoppers can take their food home or eat at tables and chairs set up near the entrance.
Many of the dishes eaten at the hot bar are based on family recipes from the Dominican Republic.
“Breakfast starts at 7:30 a. m. ,” Hernandez said in a news release. “During the day we also serve delicious hot lunches and dinners until closing, adding combos of beef, pork, chicken, fish and vegetables, starting at $8 per dish. “. “
Thrifty will bring types of meat, such as duck, lamb and goat, that are hard to find at other grocery stores, Hernandez said. International foods and spices have a percentage of shelf area with better-known brands of cereals, snacks and preserves.
But it’s the products that excite Thrifty enthusiasts, such as Indialantic’s Scott Earick, who frequents the Palm Bay store when shopping for groceries for his upscale restaurant, Scott’s on Fifth.
“If you’re looking for that special vegetable that requires a recipe, you can find it at Thrifty,” Earick said. “It’s like a chef’s Disneyworld. You encourage yourself by simply navigating the products section. “
Hernandez said he turns to local and Florida farmers and manufacturers when possible. More exotic and foreign culminations and vegetables come from Miami’s docks.
“We have a myriad of suppliers with whom we have developed a relationship,” he said. “They know the product we want and the quality we’re for. “
Five types of eggplant? If they are in season, you will buy them in Thrifty. Durian fruit? You will too.
Hernandez and his wife are originally from New York, but their circle of relatives is originally from the Dominican Republic. They both grew up in the grocery store.
They bought Palm Bay in 2011 from the Bak family, which now owns Thrifty Produce.
When they bought the store, it was a small business that sold mostly Asian products, Hernandez said.
Hernandez’s family circle expanded this location and then opened the Melbourne store in 2014 and the St. Cloud store in 2015. Hernandez said they plan to open near Malabar, in Titusville and Vero Beach, though that’s a few years away.
For now, they’re focusing on Rockledge.
The circle of relatives bought the ruined square on the corner of Fiske and Barton 3 years ago. Renovations to the old Winn-Dixie, built in the 1960s and closed in the early 2000s, began right at the beginning of COVID.
This meant problems and delays in the source chain. Hernandez said he knew the network was concerned about the duration of the project, but was looking to get it right, not fast.
With John Newton of Newton Real Estate as assignment manager and MEC General Contractors for construction, he’s with the result.
“Our purpose has been to lead the right way,” Hernandez said. “Now I’m comfortable with the service and the product. “
Brenda Fettrow, City Manager of Rockledge, said the city is thrilled to welcome Thrifty Specialty Produce.
“This grand opening creates a huge one on Barton Boulevard,” he said.
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In recent years, Rockledge executives have run to revitalize Barton Boulevard, with plans to make it the city’s main street. New businesses have opened along the artery, My Island Pancake House, Cafe Krewe 22, Pet Pros and Double D’s Deli and More.
The Civic Center, a 1. 69-acre park and amphitheater adjacent to City Hall, was completed in June 2019. BeachFly Brewing Co. , the city’s first brewery, opened in Barton this spring. Rockledge Flats, a 247-unit luxury apartment community, opened last year on the site of a former Kmart.
“The remodeling that took place on Barton Boulevard almost transformed it in a very positive way,” Fettrow said. “We thank all business owners for their effort and dedication. “
When Fettrow took over the city in 2016, he said citizens begged him to do something about 3 major properties:
It’s to see progress in all three, she says.
More: “The City Is Very Excited”: Purchase of Rockledge Mall in U. S. 1, for Residential Development
Hernandez said he was pleased to do his part. The mall, now called Rockledge City Center Plaza, looks clean and tidy. The construction has a fresh and creamy coat of paint, cheerful red awnings and signs with bright green letters.
Ice Cream Hut and Pizza Vola recently opened their doors here, joining Autumn’s Crab, a casual seafood restaurant. A laundry is planned, as well as cages of D-BAT hitters. Hernandez said he hopes the plaza will be a position that attracts families to shop, eat and hang out.
“We are part of the community,” Lonelis Hernandez said. Our young people go to Rockledge schools. “
Now the circle of relatives is eager to open the store and meet their customers.
“We’re right in the middle of the city,” Pedro Hernandez said. “We have to make sure we constitute the city in the right way. “
Special saving products
The store will open on Wednesday, with a grand rite of opening and a rite of determination scheduled for Friday at 10 a. m. m. , with music, gifts and a raffle for a Weber fuel grill.
Call 321-726-8007 or thriftyspecialtyproduceandmeats. com.
Suzy Fleming Leonard is a specialized journalist with more than 3 decades of experience. Contact her at sleonard@floridatoday. com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or Instagram: @SuzyLeonard
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