Find it all at Anna Maria General Store & Deli
LOUISE BOLGER | SUN
From left, Brian Seymour, Amy Kinder and
George Wilson are ready to serve you at the
Anna Maria General Store.
TV Westerns all had one thing in common – the general store where town folk came to purchase their supplies, rock on the front porch and catch up on local gossip. The north end of Anna Maria Island also has a general store pretty similar to the ones of old except for one thing, its painted purple and green and looks liked it just jumped off the pages of Coastal Living.
Like so many Anna Maria transplants, Brian Seymour discovered the island while visiting friends in 2009 when he was still living in Virginia. After working for Marriott Resorts for 20 years starting in the food and beverage area and moving up to assistant general manager, he was ready to trade in the stress of the corporate world for the lifestyle that a Florida barrier island offered.
Shortly after relocating Seymour met Mike and Lizzie Thrasher, who were in the midst of developing their Green Village on Pine Avenue. It was a fortunate meeting for both of them, since the Thrashers were looking for someone to manage their newly acquired Anna Maria General Store and Deli and Seymour was the ideal person to do it.
After managing the store for 2 ½ years Seymour bought the it in July of 2012 and has been putting his own personal touch on it ever since.
To say that the store is a deli would be a gross understatement. It is true employees make fresh deli sandwiches using Boar’s Head meats and cheeses and they also have daily specials and cold salads like macaroni and potato, but that’s just the beginning.
The store has a full line of 80 domestic and imported wines, craft beers, St. Armands’ breads, Hometown Desserts, Tylers Ice Cream, frozen meals from Island Gourmet Grill, frozen pizzas from Village Idiot Pizza, Greenleaf Wisconsin Cheese and fresh juice from Mixon Farms. Seymour is very proud of the fact that he either uses all local suppliers for his food products or prepares them in house like salads and fresh muffins and cookies baked from Otis Spunkmeyer dough.
It also carries fresh ice tea and coffee as well as fountain sodas, cigarettes, cigars, candy and personal items like sunscreen, ice, propane gas, bait and tackle, some household items and even an ATM. In addition, Seymour provides a pre arrival delivery service to the entire Island. He will make a trip to Publix to fill a shopping list, and visitors can contact him on the General Store’s website to request a pre arrival delivery.
The store participates in all of the Pine Avenue events like Bayfest and Food & Wine on Pine and is always looking for ways to make the store more energy efficient in keeping with the Green Village concept.
Seymour plans on expanding and remodeling the General Store during the next two years, and wants to thank the local community, visitors and the Pine Avenue business community for supporting him and helping to double the store’s business since 2010. In particular he wants to thank his staff of six associates who have all been with him since the beginning. Seymour says “good value, good portions, good quality” sets the store apart from others.
Anna Maria General Store lives up to its motto, “Your friendly local store.” It may not have a real front porch, just colorful tables and chairs outside and the barrels of old have been replaced with wine racks. Chances are you won’t witness a shoot out on Pine Avenue, but the essence of the old West’s general store is still there.
What it does have is great food, a good selection of beer and wine, homemade ice cream and a variety of canned goods with a little local gossip and produce thrown in. Marshal Matt Dillon never had it this good.