Detwiler's Farm Market could be coming to St. Pete

A development group planning apartments and a grocer for a long-vacant plaza in southern St. Petersburg is in talks with Detwiler's Farm Market.

Why it matters: The city-owned Tangerine Plaza has struggled to keep a grocer, with its last tenant, Walmart Neighborhood Market, closing seven years ago.

• Meantime, the area around the plaza at 22nd Street South and 18th Avenue has been designated as a federal food desert .

State of play: Per the Tampa Bay Times , St. Petersburg City Council members on Thursday approved a redevelopment plan for the shopping center that also includes at least 115 affordable housing units.

• Representatives from Sugar Hill Group, the coalition of developers spearheading the project, told the Council they're in tentative discussions with Detwiler's Farm Market, per the Times.
• The retailer, with six locations in Sarasota, Bradenton, Palmetto and Venice specializes in fresh produce, fish and meat.

What they're saying: "It would be a great plus to our community," the Rev. Louis Murphy, a Sugar Hill member and pastor at Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, told Council members.

• "People travel from as far as Clearwater and New Port Richey to go to the store in the Bradenton area," he said, per St. Pete Rising .

Between the lines: A representative from Detwiler's told Axios the retailer hasn't "secured any locations in the St. Pete area, but we are always looking for options in surrounding areas."

Context: The family-owned grocer has Mennonite roots and is closed on Sundays. Patriarch Henry Detwiler Sr. grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and learned butchering from his grandfather, per the chain's website .

• Their Florida business began with Fruitville Grove Market and later opened as Detwiler's in 2009, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune .
• Along with fresh produce and meat, the grocer specializes in natural healing remedies, per the Herald-Tribune.

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