On the day of Hurricane Ian almost Two years ago, plans and permits for the renovation of Bailey’s General Store landed on Richard Johnson’s desk. He soon realized that it would have to be torn down, just like his family’s grocery store on Sanibel Island.
The store, located at the corner of Periwinkle Way and Tarpon Bay Road, was the third location of a company that opened in 1899, making it the longest-running business in Southwest Florida.
“When we arrived here and saw the extent of the destruction and damage caused by Hurricane Ian, we realized that rebuilding the store was not only necessary because of the 50% govern with (the Federal Emergency Management Agency)but it didn’t really make business sense either,” said Johnson, who separates his duties as mayor of Sanibel from his business responsibilities.
The new store’s sales area will grow from 2,700 square meters to 3,250 square meters. There will also be two outdoor areas for other stores with an area of approximately 550 square meters.
The ground floors will be used as open spaces and parking. The grocery store will be raised 10 feet, about twice the depth of the 5-foot storm surge from Ian. Building heights will be up to 45 feet, the maximum allowed by Sanibel building codes.
“If we want to be more resilient than before, we have to go up,” Johnson said.
Johnson married into the Bailey family, which founded the grocery store. When Ian took over, Bailey’s had about 105 employees. Now that the store is on hiatus, there are only a handful left.
“We’re going to get back to the right number,” Johnson said. “Whether that’s 105 or 125 or 95, we’ll take care of it if we need to.”
In 2004, another hurricane occurred—Charley—had disrupted the business. Johnson met with Francis Bailey, the then owner, and discussed a succession plan.
Johnson lived in Jacksonville and Information ttechnology work for grocery stores. He also worked for an insurance company that specialized in disaster relief. This experience helped him master the nuances of building a more resilient grocery store—one that can withstand future hurricanes.
“The first step is to get out of the way of the water,” Johnson said. “Secondly, we need to reinforce the electrical connections that we had. We’ll have some power backups.”
Bailey’s also plans to restore solar power to its rooftops and is exploring the possibility of supplementing its emergency generator power supply with solar-powered batteries.
Bailie Johnson, Richard’s daughter and Office manager of the grocery store, said she was excited to the progress.
“I’m glad what we had is gone,” she said. “It was so heartbreaking to see it after Ian. We can’t wait to get our spades in the ground. It’s great to start over.”
Bailey’s is a partner with several other companies are involved in the project, which is scheduled to break ground in 2025 and be completed by the end of 2026.
Benchmark General Contractors will manage the construction. GMA Architects and Planners designed it. UNFI, the abbreviation for United National Foods Incl.designs the interior. JR Evans Engineering takes care of the technical planning. Sanibel-based Coastal view design will provide landscape architecture. Delisi Land Use Planning & Water Policy is also involved.
