Despite Reports, Detwiler’s Won’t Be Moving Into St. Pete: Reports

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Despite reports that Detwiler’s Farm Market could be moving north into St. Petersburg, the Sarasota-based grocery chain said that’s not in the plans anytime soon, according to reports.

Members of the Sugar Hill Group, which was awarded a leasing and development agreement with the city of St. Petersburg for the redevelopment of Tangerine Plaza, told city council members at their Thursday meeting that they were in early talks to bring Detwiler’s into the plaza.

In a statement provided to the Business Observer, Detwiler's said, “We have not secured any locations in the St. Pete area but we are always looking for options in surrounding areas and we never know when opportunities will allow us to expand.”

• Also Read: Detwiler’s Farm Market Could Expand North Into St. Pete: Reports

Instead, the company will focus on its distribution infrastructure, including

"We don't have anything. We really told the people in southern St. Pete that we're going to have to walk right now. We sort of came home and we said we're not ready yet to go across the bridge," Henry Detwiler Sr, the owner of Detwiler's Farm Market, told WTSP.

The company broke ground last month on a new 133,000-square-foot distribution center in Palmetto, Sarasota Magazine reported.

The chain currently has six grocery store locations, three in Sarasota and one each in Venice, Palmetto, and Bradenton.

Sugar Hill’s plan for Tangerine Plaza, located at 1794 22nd Street S., calls for the construction of 115 affordable apartments and 10,000 square feet of commercial space, which includes at least 3,000 square feet set aside for a grocery store.

The group has 18 months to secure funding for the project, reports said. They’re also required to get a commitment letter from a grocer that intends to operate in the redeveloped plaza, which is in an area long considered a food desert, for at least five years.

Rev. Louis Murphy, part of the Sugar Hill Group, told council members that their group had “been in negotiations” Detwiler’s, reports said.

“It’s a great supermarket with fresh food and fresh meats at affordable prices,” he said at the meeting. “It would be a great plus to our community. People travel from as far as Clearwater and New Port Richey to go to the store in the Bradenton area. So again, we are super excited about that.”