SC photos by Alison Waldbart
The Captiva community has been excitedly awaiting the reopening of The Island Store, their favorite convenience store for groceries, liquor and goods. The same folks that welcome shoppers to Bailey’s General Store on Sanibel have enjoyed serving The Island Store shoppers over the past year on Captiva. With help from the Lee County Historic Preservation Board, Bailey’s and store owner RLR Investments are currently working together to rebuild and renovate the exterior and interior of the store with the same charm shoppers have enjoyed since “Ding” Darling opened it as a general store in the early 1900s.
After beginning construction, the contractors found significant deterioration of the building’s structural components. Structural engineers are currently drafting the plans to ensure structural integrity of the building in order to safely welcome shoppers upon reopening and for future generations to come. Unfortunately, due to the age of the building and the significant structural issues, a timeline on completion is impossible to predict. Community members should know all involved in the project are working to reopen the business as quickly as possible.
The operators of The Island Store understand this leaves a significant gap in the amenity offerings on Captiva. Fortunately, they are prepared to serve shoppers from Bailey’s General Store on Sanibel which provides delivery services everywhere on Captiva and can even stock homes or rentals before arrival.
RLR Investments and Bailey’s General Store would like to thank the community for their patience during this project. Rest assured, upon completion, the store will reopen as the same, quaint Island Store that shoppers have come to know, love, and count on, year after year.
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