Wal-Mart market coming to south Fort Myers

A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market is moving into south Fort Myers.

A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in south Fort Myers will be opening in the winter of 2008 near the corner of McGregor Boulevard and College Parkway.

The 40,033-square foot store is being remodeled from an old retail store into a Wal-Mart food store.

“There was an existing facility there but it was very dark,” said Michelle Azel, the senior manager of public affairs for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. about the project.

“The existing shells of a former grocery store serve this purpose really well. They fit what we do in a neighborhood market.”

The market will join the existing 16 stores of its kind in Florida, including a new one that opened in Cape Coral a few months ago.

“Its predominately a grocery-only store similar to a Winn-Dixie or a Publix but we do have a lot of items,” said Azel about the inventory that boasts a product mix of 29,000 items. “The markets are smaller and don’t have general merchandise.”

Giving customers an alternate way to get their Wal-Mart groceries is why the market is going up, Azel said.

“People want convenience, they want options and we provide our everyday low prices,” she said about the market that will have competition from a neighboring Publix Super Market. “We save people money so they can live better.”

Shoeless Joe's fundraiser a success

Jimmy McGregor prepares drinks as a bartender at Shoeless Joe's Sports Cafe during the recently renovated Grand Opening event and fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Lee County. The restaurant also held a silent auction of memorabilia and fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Lee County during its grand opening. The cafe was able to generate $13,307 from $5 entry fees and the silent auction.

Shoeless Joe’s Sports Cafe is donating $13,307 to the Boys & Girls Club of Lee County following their recent Grand Opening celebration in south Fort Myers.

The Crowne Plaza hotel’s cafe at Bell Tower Shops held the fundraiser to show off a $75,000 remodel of the sports bar and do what they could to give back to the community.

“I was very impressed by how much (Boys & Girls Club) get down with the resources they have,” said Jim Larkin, the general manager of the hotel and the organizer of the fundraiser.

Larkin recently became a new member on the board for the Boys & Girls Clubs and felt it was his duty to help.

“We knew we were going to be doing this opening and try to raise money ... we have been blown away by how much reaction we have had,” said Larkin during the event in which more than 400 people donated $5 to enter.

A silent auction was also held and included sports memorabilia donated by 30 local collectors and about a dozen pieces that once decorated Shoeless Joe’s walls.

“Our goal is $8,000 and we feel that we will exceed that,” said Larkin before finding out that the goal was exceeded and almost doubled. “Our opening was a tremendous success.”

The success of the event not only exposed the clubs mission to the public but the money will be used to serve even more children.

“The key is that we serve a lot kids who can’t afford to get services ... this is an opportunity to get our board members to help the club,” said Bill Donahoe, the president of the Boys & Girls Club, adding that the money will also help run the club’s facilities.

Board member Lenny Katz attended the cafe was was suprised by the outpouring of support.

“There is such a need in this community for our services and with all that we do, we need additional money to do more,” Katz said. “We need the right mentors and then have to give them money so the kids get what they need.”

The cafe’s renovation took five months and includes the addition of a new meeting room that holds about 30 people and a dining area that can be used for meetings that seats 80.

“It’s a nice way to do it,” said June Remy, of north Fort Myers. She attended the event and donated money to the cause. “I feel good about giving back.”

More Taste than Money offers unique finds

Gina Rosenberg, owner of More Taste than Money, makes it her mission to find unique items to sell at the upscale resale shop in south Fort Myers.

The name of the store is “More Taste than Money” and owner Gina Rosenberg is hoping that’s what customers see when they walk into her consignment shop on McGregor Boulevard in south Fort Myers.

The almost 4,000-square foot store is full of inventory including furniture, home accessories and other treasures.

“Our speciality is the uniqueness of the items we sell,” said Rosenberg, of Cape Coral, about the items she hand picks from customers interested in selling them. “People come in looking for out of the way things, unique things and we have them here.”

Uniqueness for Rosenberg are items like an old sled someone had made a table out of by adding a glass top.

“No other shop would take it but I saw it and it fit here,” said Rosenberg about the store she bought after always wanting to own a store on McGregor Boulevard. “I love to bargain hunt, shop and decorate so things change here daily.”

Annemarie Blue is a regular shopper at More Taste than Money because of the items.

“She is really careful to get real quality stuff and she is really picky about what she takes in,” said Blue, who drives from north Fort Myers to shop.

Blue has bought many items at the store, which is run by her sister.

“You should see my house,” Blue said. “Her things are always beautiful and of high quality.”

Customers of all ages coming back regularly to shop and sell items.

“Our collection is very eclectic and I’m picky about what I accept and the condition it’s in,” said Rosenberg, who insists on seeing all items from customers prior to having them delivered to the store for resale. “You get a good deal here ... my prices are fair.”

And, customers have plenty of time to consider items before they purchase because of the layout of the store.

“It meanders around and it has a bunch of rooms,” said Rosenberg adding that she used to have a recurring dream in which she walked from room to room discovering new furniture.

The real dream though didn’t come true until one day – two years ago – that Rosenberg was driving down McGregor Boulevard and had been thinking about an article she read.

“It was about realizing your dream and it said to think about what you yearn for ... I wanted to own a store on McGregor,” said Rosenberg, who visited a consignment store called Kaleidoscope just 20 minutes later. “I walked in, told the owner I loved the store and she said it was for sale.”

Rosenberg and her husband, David, bought it and changed the name. They then expanded the business to include selling customer’s items on eBay.

“You don’t feel the work because everything we do is so much fun,” Rosenberg said. “It’s a good feeling to love what you do.”

Spirit Halloween already open

Spirit Halloween Assistant Manager Lindsay Sushio stocks the shelves with the store’s exclusive line of Leg Avenue sexy costumes.

Halloween is right around the corner and Spirit Halloween in south Fort Myers is ready for the scary season.

The company, which is affiliated with Spencer’s Gifts, is selling costumes, decorations, and accessories.

“We are everything Halloween. Decorations, costumes, latex props and our goal is to sell everything in the store,” said Ryan Jefferson, the manager at the 8,000 square foot store in the Jamaica Bay Plaza. “We have to have a big store because we have so much inventory.”

The inventory this season will include a new line of Playboy costumes for adults as well as new decorations for the home and parties.

“Every year we grow and we do have to reorder stuff but we try not to so we sell everything,” said Jefferson, about the store that will close Nov. 2 and anything left will be stored and sold next year. “We shift stuff around the store as inventory goes to make sure we sell it.”

And sell it they do.

Spencer’s Gifts has opened Spirit Halloween in six locations in Florida including Naples, Bonita Springs and Bradenton. There are more than 425 stores nationwide.

“A lot of people come in and it gets busier as Halloween is closer because of parties and decorating,” said Lindsay Sushio, assistant manager. “This year we expect a lot of people because we are right on U.S. 41.”

Last year, the store was located on U.S. 41 and Colonial but it was hard to find behind other buildings.

Because they are now more centrally located, the store is hiring anyone with previous retail experience.

“It’s very fast paced and there are a lot of customers all at once,” said Jefferson, who opened the store last week with a few employees. “We don’t have much time to ‘train’ people but it’s also because we are here only two months.”

Sushio advises anyone looking for a specific item this year to buy it now.

“We run out of everything so soon,” she said adding that they also have an exclusive line of sexier costumes for women. “We sell all the decorations the fastest, but if you want them, you have to come early.”

The store also sells make-up, party favors like bowls with spider webbing and have animatronics.

English Cafe’s popularity results in added classes

Ramiro Sandoval, 50, of Cape Coral listens while Edna Dachs, a volunteer at the Lakes Regional Library English Cafe, explains the concept of Halloween.

Anatoli Shpilevoi, 59, moved to the United States four months ago, but unless he attempts to speak English you wouldn’t know he is from Moldova in Eastern Europe.

He takes his time, speaking slowly and often conjugates English verb tenses aloud while trying to get his point across in conversations.

Shpilevoi is just one of a group of students who attends weekly sessions of the English Cafe at Lakes Regional Library in south Fort Myers.

“I speak very bad (English) but I will try better,” said Shpilevoi, who moved to south Fort Myers because his daughter lives in Naples. “I think learning English is hard but I just need more time.”

The library began offering the weekly Monday night sessions in August after discovering that students just needed a comfortable place to practice.

“People know they need to improve their skills so they can live here and gets jobs or just get along in the stores,” said Barb Coons, the Literacy coordinator for the Lee County Library System.

She runs all of the English Cafe programs and has seen its popularity rise.

“We aim to make people comfortable with using English they know and using it with people they see,” said Coons, about the program that has grown to include an additional three sessions at other libraries. “They can talk in small groups if they want also.”

Topics of conversations are usually based on what is on everyone’s mind or topics pulled from an envelope.

“Today, we took out a card and the topic was holidays,” said Janice Miller, the cafe’s teacher, adding that current events often infiltrate the conversations. “But we talk about anything really.”

Volunteer and English speaking native Edna Dachs said she has learned a lot about other cultures.

Students at the sessions have come from Mexico, Turkey, Croatia, Switzerland and Lithuania.

“It’s a light hearted environment and it hits home because everyone speaks English and don’t lapse back into their native language,” said Dachs, who explained the concept of Halloween to Shpilevoi, who had never heard of it. “We get a good cross section of people and it’s fun.”

Canine lovers eat at Clancey’s

Yves is a 5-year-old miniature poodle who has been diagnosed with juvenile cataracts and needs your help to get the costly operation.

Clancey’s Restaurant in south Fort Myers is giving patrons a chance to uncloud his sight and eventually find him a home.

“Anybody that comes in can ask for a cash register receipt and we will donate 10 percent to the organization,” said Bill Walker, the owner of Clancey’s, about the donation that will go to Pekes and Pals Canine Rescue, Inc. in Bonita Springs. “We adopted a dog and we do these fundraisers all the time.”

Pekes and Pals rescued Yves from an animal shelter in Miami where he was in line to be put down because of his condition.

“He is a sweet, loving little guy and is very affectionate but he needs surgery,” said Kelly Chasnov, a volunteer with Pekes and Pals. “Depending on the degree of the cataracts he could be almost blind but everything can get clear, and he will have much better vision.”

Chasnov said Yves, who currently has trouble moving around and is likely to bump into things, unless he gets surgery and is then adopted by a loving family.

“He is a great pet and very smart because he is a poodle,” said Chasnov adding that Yves is great with kids.

The surgery will cost approximately $2,800 but the rescue center is hoping an ophthamologist will help them with the surgery.

“We wanted to help them in this fashion because we had a good experience when we adopted our dog,” said Walker, about Seusette, a 11⁄2-year-old pomeranian mix who was also rescued from the streets of Miami. “We had Harley, our other dog, but she passed away, we think, from a buffo toad.”

That’s why they wanted to allow people to collect money for Yves and help her.

“We understand because we missed the pitter patter of little feet,” said Walker adding that all receipts must be taken to Pekes and Pals and they will be returned by the organization to him in exchange for a donation.