Surprising finds at Timesaver
SUN PHOTO/LOUISE BOLGER
Hish Boutiba and Mohdher Kobrosly welcome you to
Timesaver Food and Wine Store in Holmes Beach.
Tunisia is a lot different from Anna Maria Island, or is it? Both have access to a beautiful body of water and both have a lot of sand. Maybe that’s why Mondher Kobrosly found his way here from north Africa to make his home and start his business.
Kobrosly traveled to Anna Maria to visit his in-laws from his home in Connecticut on a regular basis. During one of those visits, while shopping in the same store he now owns, he decided he could run a more attractive business, made an offer to the owner and started packing up the family.
Since December 1999, Kobrosly has been continually turning what once was a plain vanilla quick shop into something that will surprise both visitors and locals who may have been driving by for years. Last year, he got some help after convincing his childhood friend Hish Boutiba who was living in Boston after selling his bar business in Zurich, Switzerland, to relocate to Anna Maria and lend a hand running Timesaver.
If you’ve never been inside of Timesaver Food & Wine Store get ready. The store on the Gulf Drive curve in Holmes Beach is chock full of surprises. In many ways Timesaver is your traditional local food store, stocking groceries, toiletries, candy, cigarettes, soda, water, milk, ice cream, snacks, coffee and newspapers.
But if you take a closer look, you’ll also find imported pasta, olive oil, vinegars and imported plum tomatoes. Timesaver also has a cold case of imported cheese and an impressive selection of premium cigars, the only place on the Island where these are available.
But the real surprise inside the doors of this modest shop is the selection of wine and imported and craft micro beers. Casual wine lovers and aficionados alike will be incredible impressed with the quality and range of the wine selection at Timesaver. There are rare wines with price tags not usually seen in local stores and quality discounted wines for the everyday dining table.
Timesaver's goal is to stock the best selection and best value wines in the area, and if you haven’t been to one of their legendary Friday night wine tastings you don’t know what you’re missing. The last Friday of every month is wine tasting at Timesaver where Kobrosly does the cooking and Hish Boutiba pours the wine. With a plentiful assortment of food and wine at its wine tastings, Timesaver has become a gathering place where locals and visitors meet and keep returning. It’s not unusual for 150 people to turn up for their Friday night events where you can learn a lot about wine from two men who really love their work. This month's wine tasting will be on Dec. 17 because of the Christmas holiday and will include beer tasting as well – not to be missed.
Influenced by their Mediterranean heritage, Kobrosly and Boutiba worship wine and believe that wine is for sharing. With the holidays upon us, make Timesaver Food & Wine Store your one stop shopping for holiday cheer and just about anything else.
Timesaver Food & Wine Store
5353 Gulf Drive,
Holmes Beach
941-778-1524
Monday through Saturday:
6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Visa, MasterCard,
American Express, Discover