Circle K on U.S. 41 reveals new look, extras

The 30-day remodel involved gutting the inside of the store and replacing everything.

The Circle K on U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs is now open and customers are sure to expect a surprise when they walk in the door.

The store was gutted down to four walls during the last 30 days as crews went to work bringing the store up to modern standards. The store opened Monday.

“Our customers in surveys told us they wanted new stores, more space and uncluttered aisles,” said Roger Williams, the market manager for the stores from Fort Myers to Everglades City. “... and that’s what we did and they will be shocked to see it now.”

Shocked doesn’t begin to describe what Ron Verrochio felt when he first walked into the store.

“It looks pretty nice,” Verrochio of Bonita Springs said while looking around the store that now has new freezers, new floors and a new ceiling. “I come here every day and I think they did a great job!”

Included is a state-of-the-art freezer that customers can walk into and pick up chilled 12- or 24-pack cases of beer.

“Every store will have this and that way people can come in, pick up their beer and be on their way,” Williams said. “They wanted cold beer and now they have it.”

Customers also can enjoy the new drink machines along with a coffee bar that sits next to a large magazine wall.

“This has been a long time coming and we hope our customers are pleased,” Williams said.

Final touches on the store will include a lunch area and will soon be able to buy lunch and eat on picnic tables that have been added.

The store is one of five in the area that is getting a makeover. Three stores in Naples and one in south Fort Myers will be spruced up as well.

Bonsai following blooming in Bonita

Procombens nana is a typical landscaping plant that was turned into a bonsai tree at The Bonsai Room Learning Center.

Renowned-bonsai artist Boon Manakitivipart will be making an appearance at The Bonsai Room Learning Center in Bonita Springs in May.

And, although the event is sold out, it marks the continuation of the spread of the art of bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) in Southwest Florida.

“The United States is still a baby when it comes to bonsai because it hasn’t been around that long,” said Dorothy Schmidtz, teacher and part-owner of the Bonsai Room. “We don’t have a lot of plant material to work with in the United States.”

Schmidtz would know because she travels around the country buying plants and learning about bonsai. She teaches and also keeps up private collections for clients.

“People like bonsai to look at and I see it as art,” said Schmidtz, who decided to open the learning center with her business partner Ernie Fernandez after seeing interest grow in the area.

“There are 26 clubs in the state, so it’s not unknown, but people are slowly getting into it,” said Fernandez, who opened the shop next to his sign business on Bonita Beach Road because he owns the building.

The shop is only opened part-time for the time being because Schmidtz and Fernandez are busy running the Bonsai Society of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers and a similar club in Naples.

“To open a shop like this takes a lot of preparation,” said Schmidtz, about the shop that opened in January. “Plant material isn’t easy to come by and we just had to find the time.”

The learning center offers private lessons and group classes for all skill levels. The shop also sells bonsai supplies like trays and plant materials but they aren’t a nursery.

“You can take a tree you really like and make it a bonsai. You just have to manipulate it,” said Schmidtz, while explaining that bonsai trees are shaped by using wire and tools. “Bonsai is in the development of being accepted as art.”

And the trees can be shaped to look beautiful but they caution that it takes years of work and skill.

“Bonsai means tree in a tray so it has to look like a tree, not a bush,” Fernandez said.

Schmidtz likes to explain it like this: “this is high tech trees and you work the real beauty out of it.”

Bonita to allocate $300,000 for more sidewalks

Tarpon Avenue and Imperial River Road will get new sidewalks.

City council officials are sticking to their plans to add more sidewalks to the city of Bonita Springs and make streets safer for pedestrians.

Officials voted to add sidewalks to Imperial River Road and Tarpon Avenue and from Southern Pines from East Terry, north to the entrance of Southern Pines community entrance.

Donald Dankert passes by Tarpon Avenue on the way to his home on Imperial River Road.

“I know it’s not necessary where I live but there is a lot of apartments on that road and they need them,” said Dankert, 80, of Bonita Springs. “There is a lot of kids riding bikes on Tarpon so this is good.”

The city will allocate its annual $300,000 sidewalk and bikeway construction budget to add the sidewalks.

Public Works Manager Daryl Walk says safety is a priority for the city and that’s why the investment is being made now.

“We see kids riding bikes on streets and people walking and it’s dangerous so we are working to fix that,” he said. “I’ve personally seen a lot of pedestrians on Imperial River and we have received a lot of requests from neighbors at Southern Pines,” said Walk, who is helping coordinate the project.

These projects will use up the budget, but next year Walk says new funds will be allocated for future projects.

But this year, Walk says, the project is costing less because Lee County has allowed the city to hire contractors based on their unit list price.

“Contractors give Lee County a list of how much they estimate jobs will cost. The city was allowed by the county to purchase things at their price,” Walk said.

The city also has hired consultants who are studying other areas that are in need of sidewalks and bike paths.

“This has been an ongoing process for the city since incorporation.,” Walk said. “The unique thing about Bonita Springs is that unlike other cities we don’t have sidewalks everywhere so we have to put them in.”

Work crews will begin construction in a few weeks that should be completed in two to three months.

“Right now, there is only one potential hang up with Imperial River because of a technically expired county price,” Walk said. “But we can come to an agreement soon.”

Pet food scare shifts were pet owners shop

Carol Goldberg, owner of Paws, Claws, & Tails, left, often helps customers like Sue Willis, who are looking for a natural alternative for their pets.

The Paws, Claws, & Tails pet supplies store had the best sales month in its seven-year history during the month of March.

Owner Carol Goldberg says the pet food scare is to blame because pet owners are scrambling for alternatives and ways to protect their pets.

“This has been going on for nine months now and people are very confused as to what to feed their animals,” said Goldberg, who first opened the shop on U.S. 41. “I think it’s just going to continue because there is so much being said in the media.”

The media, Goldberg said, is not only causing confusion but being irresponsible by telling owners to make their own pet food.

“It’s not a good idea for people to make their own food because with the rate of obesity in people, what is to say they can make good food for their pets?” asked Goldberg, who offers an extensive selection of organic and natural pet foods. “Animals need more vitamins and nutrients that most people foods don’t have.”

The store’s food selection includes natural foods in which every ingredient listed on the package can be consumed by humans.

“We have human-grade quality for human consumption and many people don’t realize the importance of that,” she said. “Every dog is on to its own and eventually they will get sick if they don’t get what they need.”

And Goldberg says the food she sells is the best on the market. She sells organic products and more than 20 varieties of natural foods including raw foods.

Sue Willis is a regular customer at the store who recently found the dog food she buys on the Food and Drug Administration poisoned food list.

The list is continually being updated as the department finds more and more canned foods contaminated.

“This is the first time I switch their food but I trust their opinions,” said Willis, of Fort Myers Beach about the advice she received at the store.

Willis has a Yorkie and a golden retriever. “I’m buying them natural food to see if it goes better.”

Buying natural food is a healthy alternative for pets with sensitive stomachs or those with ailments. But Goldberg advises that people see a nutritionist veterinarian before they change their pets food.

“Some people just don’t want to switch foods because the dog may get sick but I think you have to,” said Goldberg who owns two poodles.

Donors see results of giving

Susan Acuna, the executive director of the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs gives Shadow Wood resident and United Way donor Connie Lizak information about volunteering at the council. Lizak visited the Old 41 site to see how her donation is being spent.

Griselda Montes couldn’t speak English three years ago.

But no one would ever know unless they knew she was taking English classes at the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs.

The council recently invited United Way donors to visit Montes’ Moms & Tots class and see how the council is spending the money to help mothers like Montes.

“It is very difficult for these moms to learn English because they have nowhere to leave their children,” said Susan Acuna, the executive director of the council, while touring the Old 41 site with resident-campaign organizers. “Here we take care of the children and give moms a gateway to learn.”

The goal of the program is to prepare young children for school and make sure their moms can help as well.

“It’s very heartwarming to see this type of activity going on in the community,” said Connie Lizak, a resident and donor from Shadow Wood. “We don’t just like to give money; we like to get involved and see where it goes too.”

And the money is going to fund several programs, including night classes that teach English and work site literacy programs throughout the area.

There are six sites that the council has opened to better serve the need in the community.

“We started investing seven years ago in the Literacy Council and it’s amazing to come back and see what they have done,” said Cliff Smith, who has served as president of the United Way of Lee County since 1993.

Together, residents from Bonita Bay, Mediterra, The Brooks and Verandah raised $1.1 million for the United Way this year — more than 15 percent of the $6.9 million overall goal.

“I liked the idea that I could learn English and somebody could take care of my son,” said Montes in a letter she wrote and read aloud to visiting donors. “I think that without you we cannot have this and I thank you.”

The letter was just part of what donors got to see during their visit.

They also spent time listening to mothers get English instruction and watched their children play.

“Right now, we are trying to stimulate a lot more involvement in our community,” said Lizak, who is going to encourage her neighbors to volunteer their time at the council.

At least, she says, they should make an effort to see what the program is doing.

“You have to feel it in the heart and see it,” she said.

New gym prepares for mid-June opening

Fitness buffs and those still trying to keep their New Year’s resolutions will be happy to hear that Anytime Fitness owners Chris Goff and Misti Burns have set a target opening date for the gym that has been under construction for months.

The 24-hour, 365-day-a-year gym is slated to open in mid-June at the Bernwood Design Center off Old 41 in Bonita Springs.

The owners leased the 5,880 square feet retail space, or two units, earlier in the year and have been undergoing construction since. The gym was supposed to open in early June but the opening date was pushed back after Burns learned that a new line of equipment was available.

“It’s finally going to open now that we have talked to contractors and know how long everything will take,” said Burns, 25. “Hopefully things will go smoothly. We are anxious to open.”

The gym was supposed to open in early June, says Burns, but the opening date was pushed back after Burns learned that a new line of equipment was available.

“We wanted to wait just another two weeks to we could offer the best equipment and nobody in Bonita will have it,” she said.

And, so are locals in Bonita Springs who have already signed up on a list while the construction is completed. The gym will include tanning beds, showers and lockers and all sorts of cardio and weight lifting machines.

Beginning the week in May, the gym will be offering a special pre-sale rate and the first 100 people who sign up will receive a t-shirt or some other type of giveaway.

“We have tons of people signed up and everybody is just waiting to be able to join us,” said Burns, who has been introducing Bonita Springs residents to the 24-hour gym concept from the gazebo adjacent to where the gym will be. “We will be out there but it’s best if people call us just to make sure we are able to meet.”

The grand opening for the gym will be within 60 days after the gym’s first opening.