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Waterfront Market sounds death knell
BY MANDY BOLEN Citizen Newspaper Staff Reporter 9-6-07 |
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| Waterfront Market, a downtown staple for fresh produce, seafood and sandwiches, will close in a month, leaving a void for local foodies and a gaping hole for restaurant owners dependent on the grocer’s fresh deliveries. Buco Pantelis, who has owned the market for 21 years, this week told his 45 employees that the store likely will close in 30 days. Pantelis could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but Waterfront Market General Manager Brendan McAloon confirmed the closing is likely. McAloon blamed the closing “100 percent” on recent and contentious lease negotiations between Pantelis and the city of Key West, which owns the harborside building that houses the gourmet grocery, deli and fish market. McAloon said the decision to close had nothing to do with any of Pantelis’ recent health or personal issues. Pantelis and the city had settled negotiations in July, but McAloon said Pantelis never signed the lease. Pantelis previously told The Citizen the lease would have included an annual rent increase of about $72,000, bringing the base rent to $181,000 before the costs of maintenance and other fees. Ginny Stones, an attorney who represented Pantelis in the negotiations, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. It is unclear what business will replace the popular business in the city-owned building. “The new rent was just too high and there were too many restrictions,” McAloon said, adding the grocery is doing its best to help the 45 employees who will be out of a job. Key West restaurant owners also are concerned about the closing. Denise Chelekis, who owns Camille’s restaurant with her husband, Michael, said, only half joking, that she and Michael will start growing vegetables in their backyard “because nothing will be fresher than the produce from Waterfront Market.” Chelekis has been buying fruit and vegetables from Pantelis for 17 years, and accepts at least one delivery per day. “I don’t know how we are going to survive on this island without Waterfront Market,” she said, estimating that 98 percent of Key West restaurants rely on the market for either produce or seafood or both. “These people make it happen with their customer service,” she said, referring to the employees who handpick the produce to be delivered to restaurants. “They hand-select every tomato they send out, so I don’t have to dig through half a box to find a good one.” Michael Stewart, owner of Square One, also has been buying from Pantelis for 19 years. “Things will have to be trucked down in bulk now, and with Buco you could buy just six pineapples rather than a case,” Stewartthe market closing. As the last remaining commercial fisherman operating out of Key West Bight, or the Historic Seaport, Starling sells 98 percent of his catch to Waterfront Market. “They are my primary market,” Starling said Tuesday. “This is really going to affect me. Waterfront Market always had a higher degree of quality — they’re probably the strictest seafood market I’ve ever worked with.” The popular deli, with made-to-order sandwiches and packaged sushi fresh from Origami restaurant, and countless other options also will be sorely missed by downtown employees, residents and anyone boarding boats. “This is just going to leave a huge void in the community,” Chelekis said. |
