Family-owned Bulk Food Superstore
celebrates 2 years in Sun City Center
Jan. 24 Anniversary Sale offers storewide discounts
By STEPHEN FLANAGAN JACKSON
STEPHEN FLANAGAN JACKSON PHOTO
Mary Rose, manager of the Bulk Food Superstore, scoops some cashew nuts while a customer in the background selects from the other barrels or bins at the Sun City Center store.
No one has ever accused South Shore or Sun City Center specifically of not having a choice or enough restaurants or grocery stores.
You could probably eat out at a different restaurant every day for a long time before meeting yourself coming back again.
As for grocery stores, the choices and numbers are not as many as the eating establishments, but the supermarket varieties and styles in Sun City Center can break the monotony of pushing your grocery basket through the same old supermarket aisles. You have Publix, Winn-Dixie, Save-A-Lot, Aldi, Walmart and one more. That one more is the super unique, super-distinct Bulk Food Superstore located in the corner of the Home Depot plaza.
Bulk Food Superstore is celebrating its two-year anniversary Thursday, Jan. 24, with storewide discounts, raffles of gift baskets, and a turkey raffle along with product demonstrations and free samples from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. One of the demonstrations is at 1 p.m. by the Colorado owners of the Green Gorilla CBD oil, a new non-marijuana hemp product which offers non-addictive relief for pain, stress and insomnia.
Though more of a niche market than a true supermarket in size and selection, the Bulk Food Superstore provides value, selection and service in bulk foods. Their inventory runs the gamut from B to T: Baking ingredients to tea in barrels or bins. The selection is too numerous to mention here, but includes large, unpackaged quantities of raw or cooked nuts, grains, beans, pasta, rice, dried fruit, candies, protein powder, spices, etc. You need to go for yourself to see the etc. They also feature fresh orange juice, locally produced honey, local roast coffee and health and nutrition products.
With its wide variety of food and healthcare products along with the organized cleanliness of the store, you see why and how the owners, Brian and Annette Brama, have a template that no other food store can match.
Annette Brama, left, co-owner of Bulk Food Superstore, chats with two shoppers, Monika Williams, center, of Ruskin, and Twyla Thorn, right, of Sun City Center as they browse among the bins and other products.
“Buy an ounce or buy a pound!” is their motto, with the punchline: “That’s the beauty of bulk!”
“Our mission statement,” proclaimed Annette proudly, “is that Bulk Food Superstore offers you an enjoyable shopping experience with the focus on selection of products to fit our changing dietary needs and reducing our environmental footprint.” The environmental or green concept is the reason Bulk Superstore offers reusable glass jars. Annette says, “You can store products in sealed jars to keep them fresher, longer.
“Buy the jars once, bring them back and fill them up when empty and save packaging costs and save the environment,” she said.
Annette along with her husband Brian are originally from Toronto, Canada. They and their three children worked together on the Canadian concept of the store, which they designed and opened in December 2016. Previously, Brian ran a manufacturing company, which he owned for 25 years, and Annette was a sales rep in the natural product industry.
Now as residents of the SCC area and as entrepreneurs they “love offering something unique that makes people happy,” Annette is quick to point out, adding, “We are content and satisfied with helping people with specific diets or food planning.” She said that just in the past year Bulk Food has expanded its bulk spices and loose-leaf tea selections, which have been a great addition to the store.
“We have a wonderful staff, and we pride ourselves on customer service and making sure that our customers have an enjoyable shopping experience,” said Annette. “Our team includes our manager Mary Rose, with employees Roni, Marian, Natalie, Larry and Patricia here to greet you and look after you.”
Annette expressed that the biggest challenge of the business is having the right mix of products and keeping the products as fresh as possible. “The other challenge is reaching the surrounding communities.”
“Sun City Center and the surrounding area has (sic) supported the Bulk Food Superstore from the minute we opened up,” said Annette. “We plan to continue to offer a great assortment of products and to expand our customer base to customers who do not know yet that we are here.”
So, for an old-fashioned, general store “scoop a little or scoop a lot” experience, try out this modern store, which is open seven days a week. The store is at 3804 Sun City Center Blvd. (S.R. 674). For more information, call 813-938-1605.
