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Milk, Sandwiches And Friendly Faces

Tribune photo by Christine Delessio

Visitors to the San Ann Market can get a sandwich to go or settle down with a cup of coffee and chat.

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By JASON GEARY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 13, 2008

SAN ANTONIO - With the San Ann Market under new ownership, upgrades are planned for the combination grocery store, deli and ice cream parlor.

Just don't expect a change in character for the red brick, tin-roofed building at Pennsylvania Avenue and Curley Road, a longtime meeting spot that bustles with activity in the middle of this quiet town.

Some customers sit for a while, sipping coffee and reading newspapers. Others drop by to order a sandwich before heading back to work. After school, children come in for ice cream cones.

On Tuesday mornings, a group of women pull together a few tables and chat about politics, movie stars and a range of topics.

"We just solve the world's problems," said Diane Jones, 77.

Jones, the former city clerk for San Antonio, said she can still remember working at the store when she was 17. It was known as Sutton's Market then.

The store has had different owners over the years but, for the most part, has remained a cozy gathering place.

"We don't pay a whole lot of attention to who the manager is," she said. "We just know that we are welcome."

Cheralyn Gupta said she hopes to keep things that way.

The 46-year-old native of Manchester, England, said she began running the business a few weeks ago after buying out her former partner.

She plans to introduce a few changes. The store now provides wireless Internet access, and she hopes to soon bring in a coffee franchise called Cuppy's Coffee. She is stocking shelves with the popular Webkinz toys and also hopes to bring in specialty items, such as jams, pickles, preserves and sauces.

A block party is planned for April 18, with live music from country band Wiley Fox.

The store sits across the street from City Hall and a short walk from the post office and volunteer fire station.

At lunchtime, the store's parking lot is packed with cars and trucks. In the mornings, drivers headed down busy Curley Road to Tampa and other destinations often stop inside for a cup of coffee.

"I think it's on the way to everywhere," said Barbara Sessa, San Antonio's city clerk and a lifelong resident.

When Sessa was growing up in the 1950s, the place was a full-service grocery store called John and Mary's Grocery.

In the 1980s, it was a popular hangout called "The Establishment" for students of nearby Saint Leo College and criticized as the source of noise pollution. Later, the building became a discount grocery store selling scratched or dented items.

Jaki Jeffries and Terry Evans are credited with turning the building back into a grocery store in the 1990s and introducing gourmet products, Sessa said.

"It was just an incredible transformation," she said.

The business continued to change ownership over the years.

Gupta, a former manager with British Airways, said she went into the San Ann Market about four years ago to see if she could sell her gift baskets there. She decided to become a partner with then-owner Mark Fields.

She wanted to run a small business in San Antonio so she could be close to her two daughters, Allyshia, 13, and Nisha, 10, who attend nearby St. Anthony Interparochial Catholic School.

Although she is focused on updating the store, Gupta said she has no intention of changing the San Ann Market's atmosphere.

"It's not just a place to buy milk but to also see a friendly face," she said. "That's what I hope to achieve."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: San Ann Market

WHERE: 32750 Pennsylvania Ave., San Antonio

HOURS: 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

CALL: (352) 588-2055

Reporter Jason Geary can be reached at jgeary@tampatrib .com or (813) 779-4613.

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