Business
Southwest Floridian asks, ‘What’s that on Palm Beach Blvd.?’ A first.
Somehow among the 50 Starbucks in Collier and Lee counties, there’s a major dead zone in Southwest Florida for the coffee shop franchise.
If you head straight east from downtown Fort Myers, you don’t hit another Starbucks for 111 miles until Palm Beach County’s Wellington. And even along I-75, with about a dozen at or just off the exits in the two counties, you’re cruising for 36 miles north from Colonial Boulevard before you can spot the familiar greenish Siren logo again at Kings Highway in Charlotte County.
Well, java heads jammed in traffic, those gaps are about to shrink as we found in investigating Fort Myers reader Sheldon Hartman’s question: “What’s going on at the old gas station site of Route 80 and Orange River” Boulevard?
What are the particulars for this Starbucks on Palm Beach Boulevard?
Of course, like many of our roads in government’s diabolical plan to confuse tourists, that highway goes by at least a few monikers, State Road 80 and Palm Beach Boulevard to name a couple. And if you really want to baffle them, call it State Road 25, its designation until 1945 that still shows up in most public land documents In the Know will peruse.
But here’s what else could be perplexing for the geographically challenged and a little messed up about that corner, which had hosted Marathon among its gas brands over the decades. It’s officially not on State Road 80 or even Orange River. Nope. Its actual address is the street running behind it, 4030 Boatways Road.
However, it will become a landmark for directions as the Starbucks at the I-75 and Palm Beach exit after the folks survive the complete permitting process for the 1.12 acres of future frothy goodness. Visitors might enjoy the interstate roar of the 80 mph cars, more or less, from the 560-square-foot outdoor seating adjacent to the interior 2,526 square feet.
Based on the construction trajectory, by early next year you should be waiting in the sometimes long drive-through lines and eventually encountering baristas.
What other development is planned; where else is Starbucks headed?
And Boatways is busting out in more ways, with conversations this month with county officials on a proposed La Quinta by Wyndham on 2.35 acres along the curvy strip.
That would go with other entities stashed in there including Comfort Inn, Waffle House and Cracker Barrel, which In the Know learned Thursday from LSI Cos.’ new data report, is Southwest Florida’s fifth largest employer among eateries specializing solely in sit down dining, not fast food. The organizations ahead of it: Bloomin’ Brands with Outback Steakhouse a mainstay in its stable; Darden Restaurants; Perkins; and Dine Brands that has Applebee’s as part of its posse.
As the massive growth surges away from the coast, look for many more projects along that eastern corridor connecting to Alva and Babcock Ranch, which LSI shows has had about 900 new housing permits in the past year and has its own Starbucks rising off State Road 31, seven miles north of State Road 80. And in the eastern Collier County desert without a Starbucks, we know residents of Ave Maria, which has sold more than 430 homes so far in 2023, are lobbying for their own, or at least hoping and praying.
Tourism:Rescuing 1,200 after Hurricane Ian’s powerful punch, SW Florida boating brothers honored
Unrelated to Aldi deal, what furniture store moving into old Winn-Dixie?
As reported by my colleague J. Kyle Foster and others, Aldi hasn’t determined yet which of the Southwest Florida Winn-Dixie sites it’s acquiring will be converted to its brand although we learned this past week the latter is also selling its pharmaceutical assets to CVS and Walgreens.
And we do know what is happening with one of the Jacksonville-based chain’s former haunts here in the region.
There was a lot of enthusiasm in emails and social media about Clive Daniel Home setting up a Lee County outpost in an old Winn-Dixie, which we first unveiled earlier this year.
What’s prompting Clive Daniel’s new location in Southwest Florida?
When we write about a new furniture store coming, we don’t usually receive as much feedback as we do with Naples’ homegrown Clive Daniel, and its buzz flows over in Facebook. “I love that it’s going to be added to an existing area and not taking over another rare piece of vacant land. Way to go,” Fort Myers photographer Mir Anda said. “Looking forward to shopping at this beauty.”
And that recycling strategy fits into CEO Daniel Lubner’s motto these days for the dozen-year-old company of “Reuse. Restore. Rebuild.”
It’s the rebuilding that’s helping propel Lubner into Lee after Hurricane Ian’s horrific Sept. 28 pounding on spots like Fort Myers Beach, where he said he’s picked up a lot of clients.
In the Know:New arrivals at Coconut Point, Bell Tower, Ave Maria. Chains with Southwest Florida debuts
Who’s the new guy heading up the Clive Daniel operation in Fort Myers?
For Lubner, a Fort Myers High graduate and City of Palms area resident, it’s a bit of a homecoming for the new venue, which has hired a general manager ahead of a Gladiolus Crossing fall opening at Winkler Road and Gladiolus Drive. Lubner digs GM John Diaz’s passion and wealth of knowledge after more than three decades of experience in the industry and interior design.
“If I didn’t have children, I would do this job for free,” said Diaz, who reminds me of his boss with his fervor. “From design to sales, I love each part of the furniture business. It never feels like work to me.”
What other expansion is happening for Clive Daniel in Lee County?
A team of about 40 is anticipated in the 46,872 square feet that might eventually receive a mezzanine to move it closer to the 65,000 square feet in Sarasota, 70,000 in Boca Raton and 85,000 at U.S. 41 and Harbour Drive in Naples.
But its largest space will come in the form of the 175,000-square-foot warehouse that’s just about ready at 16670 Oriole Road in Fort Myers and had already been hiring for a building manager.
“We have numerous local, national, and international projects, so it’s crucial for us to be able to store and move large volumes of product in a quick and efficient manner,” Lubner said. “We want a facility that will match our 10-year growth plans.”
What growing furniture outfit is making its debut in Cape Coral?
And speaking of furniture-related companies and firsts, City Mattress made its Cape Coral debut over the weekend at 915 N.E. 15th Place crammed into the intersection of Del Prado Boulevard and Pine Island Road.
At 10,005 square feet, it was planned as the chain’s largest, according to LandQwest, which helped negotiate a $1.2 million deal for its 1.26-acre parcel.
Headquartered in Bonita Springs, the group has about 25 stores, with now eight addresses in Southwest Florida including clearance and outlet centers.
Based at the Naples Daily News, Columnist Phil Fernandez ([email protected]), who graduated from Bishop Verot High School, writes In the Know as part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Support Democracy and subscribe to a newspaper.
Mumbai:
The Indian equity benchmark indices opened higher on Friday amid positive global cues, as buying was seen in the IT, pharma and auto sectors in the early trade.
At around 9.27 am, Sensex was trading 265.3 points or 0.33 per cent up at 80,066.81 while the Nifty added 89.85 points or 0.37 per cent at 24,336.55.
Nifty Bank was down 222.85 points or 0.40 per cent at 54,978.55. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 54,980.80 after increasing 10.95 points or 0.02 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 16,903.30 after declining 60.20 points or 0.35 per cent.
According to market watchers, “after a positive opening, Nifty can find support at 24,200 followed by 24,100 and 24,000. On the higher side, 24,500 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 24,600 and 24,700.
“The charts of Bank Nifty indicate that it may get support at 55,000 followed by 54,700 and 54,500. If the index advances further, 55,500 would be the initial key resistance, followed by 55,800 and 56,200,” said Hardik Matalia, Derivative Analyst of Choice Broking.
Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, TCS, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Eternal, ICICI Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, Infosys, M&M and Tata Motors were the top gainers. Whereas, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India and IndusInd Bank were the top losers.
In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US added 1.23 per cent to close at 40,093.40. The S&P 500 climbed 2.03 per cent to 5,484.77 and the Nasdaq added 2.74 per cent to close at 17,166.04.
In the Asian markets, Jakarta, Bangkok, Seoul, Hong Kong, China and Japan were trading in green.
According to analysts, US markets extended their rally on Thursday as investors snapped up hard-hit technology stocks, helping boost the S&P 500 out of correction territory.
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 8,250.53 crore on April 24. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold equities of Rs 534.54 crore on the same day.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Mumbai:
Indian equity markets are trading in the red as tensions soar between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir. Sensex, the 30-share BSE benchmark, has crashed over 1,000 points and is now trading below the 79,000-mark. Nifty, the NSE index of 50 shares, fell below 24,000 points.
The markets went up in early trade, driven by a global rally and fund inflows, but the momentum got lost thereafter, and it gave up the initial gains.
The markets are also upset by unimpressive March quarter earnings by Axis Bank, the third-largest private sector bank of the country. The bank’s shares have fallen 4.65% after reporting a decline in quarterly profit from Rs 7,130 crore in the year-ago period to Rs 7,117 crore.
Besides Axis Bank, major laggards include Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, and Tech Mahindra. On the gaining side are TCS, Infosys, Reliance, HCL Tech, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank.
At least 26 civilians were massacred by terrorists in a tourist hotspot known as ‘Mini Switzerland’, leading to both countries pulling out their diplomatic staff and suspending visas issued to the other nation’s citizens. (Follow live updates here)
The latest flare-up at the Line of Control was speculative firing by Pakistani troops, which is being seen as an attempt to provoke the Indian side. Indian troops retaliated effectively against the firing from multiple Pakistani posts.
As Indian equities braced for the impact, global equities, including the Asian markets, were charting in the positive territory. South Korea’s Kospi index, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Shanghai SSE Composite were all in green.
Similar trends were seen in US equities, too. Last evening, Nasdaq Composite closed 2.74 per cent higher. S&P 500 jumped over 2 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1.23 per cent.
Mumbai:
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Thursday amid profit-taking after a seven-day rally and muted trend in Asian markets.
The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 242.01 points to 79,874.48 in early trade. The NSE Nifty went down by 72.3 points to 24,256.65.
In the past seven trading days, the BSE benchmark gauge zoomed 6,269.34 points or 8.48 per cent and the Nifty jumped 1,929.8 points or 8.61 per cent.
From the Sensex firms, Eternal, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, and HDFC Bank were among the laggards.
IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, and Tata Motors were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi index, Shanghai SSE Composite, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were trading lower while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 quoted in the positive territory.
US markets ended sharply higher on Wednesday. Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.50 per cent, S&P 500 surged 1.67 per cent and Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.07 per cent.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.12 per cent to USD 66.20 a barrel.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 3,332.93 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
The BSE benchmark jumped 520.90 points or 0.65 per cent to settle at 80,116.49, the highest closing level since December 18, on Wednesday. The Nifty rallied 161.70 points or 0.67 per cent to 24,328.95.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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