Small Grocery Store Opens Downtown.

“It’s About Time” could be the name of a clock shop. Or what your mother said after you picked up your room.

But it’s also a new convenience store downtown that left more than one customer repeating the phrase in relief; glad somebody finally opened up a place to buy groceries in downtown Bradenton.

Credit Jessie Esposito for the effort. She opened the shop last week at the Twin Dolphin Marina. It’s so new, she still doesn’t have a sign. That’s coming, along with more stock and the full bevy of government permits.

“I just got tired of getting in the car to go get groceries,” said Esposito. “So I decided to open up a grocery store.”

She is an unlikely grocer after retiring from the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Police after a 25-year career.

“My mom retired here, and I knew I wanted to come to this area,” she said. “I had two dreams as a kid. I wanted to be a cop, and I wanted to live on a boat. I did the first one, and now I’m doing the second.”

But living aboard meant groceries and constant shopping trips because boat refrigerators are small.

“Boaters need sun block and Dramamine. But the neighborhood has needs too, and we’re within walking distance of downtown,” said Esposito. All the basics are there — sugar, flour, cereals and spices. But so are frozen foods and ice cream treats and a variety of coffees and teas.

A little market research turned up 29,000 people in the downtown zip code, an areas that is expected to grow.

“A lot of people use the Riverwalk, and when the rehabilitation is done, it will attract more,” she said.

And she noted the elderly population living in the riverfront condominiums.

“I’d like to provide a delivery service for them,” she said.

During a recent conversation several customers came in to buy a variety of small items. “I’m so glad you’re here,” said one.

The store is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Reach Jessie Esposito at 896-9616. Esposito plans an official grand opening in January.