Dunedin Merchant's Meeting is June 12

The Institute for Creative Arts will host the monthly meeting of the Downtown Dunedin Merchant's Association June 12. Come meet your downtown merchants and city officials at 968 Douglas Ave.

Evolving Dunedin

Traffic Advisory: Detours at Dunedin Marina, Businesses Open

Motorists should expect detours at the intersection of Main Street and Edgewater Drive (Alt US 19) throughout the four-month project.

Construction is underway for a pedestrian walkway to unite downtown Dunedin with the marina waterfront. The main entrance to the Dunedin Municipal Marina closed May 1 for crews to begin work. Drivers should expect detours at the intersection of Main Street and Edgewater Drive (Alt US 19) throughout the four-month project. Businesses in the marina are open and will continue to serve customers. Crews are installing an 8-foot-wide sidewalk along the north side of Main Street between Victoria Drive and the first driveway on Broadway. It includes landscaping and irrigation improvements, as well as a 172-foot stretch of sitting wall meant to visually tie the downtown shopping district to the waterfront. Once completed, city officials believe the…

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San Christopher Dollar General Plans Move Along

Dollar General developers updated site plans that replace a privately-owned "eyesore" storage lot. The item is up for discussion at tonight's city commission meeting.

Updated plans for a Dollar General Store to replace an "eyesore" storage lot are expected to get a green light at Thursday's commission meeting. Developers recently changed the plans based on resident concerns for noise, traffic and stormwater flooding in a Dec. 6 public hearing. The latest plans have already received staff approval and await the final OK from city officials at Thursday's second public hearing.  Land use and rezoning changes that allow for an incoming discount retail chain at 1326 San Christopher Drive met resistance in November in December from both residents and a citizen advisory board that focuses on Dunedin development.  Commissioners said they had no legal reason to deny the Dollar General plans. Developers said they…

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Kimberly Truitt

4:23 pm on Friday, February 22, 2013

If the city would like another dollar store maybe they should put it in the downtown Dunedin Main Street area...but that would NEVER happen, as that is the only area that concerns city officials.   more ›

What Should Replace Sweetbay on Main St. in Dunedin?

Will you be sad to see this grocery store close? What do you think should take its place?

A Dunedin Sweetbay Supermarket, at 1681 Main St., is among 33 under performing stores in Florida scheduled to close in Feburary, the grocer's parent company announced Wednesday. The story sparked a lot of discussion among Patch readers: Do you shop at this Sweetbay? Will you be sad to see it go? What do you think should replace it? Post a comment below and join the conversation.

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Bob Turner

12:57 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Sittin' between Walmart (price) and Publix (service) another grocery store would have its work cut out for itself. And Whole Foods is rumored to be coming in up the street at the lower level of Sears at Westfield at Countryside mall.   more ›

Meet the Chamber's Best: Achieva Credit Union

Achieva Credit Union was recently named the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce's large size Business of the Year as it moves its headquarters to town.

Editor's Note: Patch profiles the recent winners of Dunedin Chamber of Commerce's business of the year honors. In just two years as an official part of the Dunedin community, Achieva Credit Union has made a name for itself, and this year it was named the Chamber of Commerce’s large size “Business of the Year.” “Achieva named business of the year is an incredible experience, but it was not a total surprise since we have built a great relationship with the city and chamber,” said Gary Regoli, Achieva president and chief operating officer. In 2010 the credit union opened its branch in Dunedin on Virginia Street (off State Road 580 in the Weathersfield Complex) to meet the needs of a growing number of customers between Clearwater and Palm …

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Holiday Lamp Post Winners Announced

Dunedin's annual holiday-decorating lamp post contest saw 40 entrants from restaurants, businesses, civic groups, churches, and city departments. Winners were announced at Dunedin's Holiday Parade and Old Fashioned Christmas.

Judges named winners in Dunedin's holiday lamp post decorating contest this week. The annual contest saw 40 entrants this year from restaurants, businesses, civic groups, churches, and city departments decorating lamp posts in time for Dunedin's Holiday Parade and Old Fashioned Christmas.  Judges Kim Rohr, Wendy Barmore, and Joan McHale, city employee, helped pick winners in six categories, including "Best Overall" and "Best Holiday Spirit." More than 90 lamp posts are available to decorate. The contest is free to enter, except for a $10 identifying "plaque," and the overall winner gets to display a silver trophy all year long. Bob Ironsmith, city community redevelopment agency director, announced the 2012 winners at Pioneer Park during …

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Evolving Dunedin

Dollar General One Step Closer to San Christopher

Dunedin City Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of preliminary land use and zoning changes and site plans for a Dollar General discount retail store that would replace an "eyesore" storage lot on San Christopher Drive on Thursday.

Ron Retterer just wanted to sell the "eyesore" storage lot he's owned for the past 20 to 30 years. "I’m ready to sell this place, I really am," he told Dunedin Commissioners at Thursday night's city meeting.  And despite the fact that a citizen advisory board recommended city leaders deny plans for a Dollar General Store on his lot, commissioners told impassioned Dunedin residents they had no legal reason to do so. "It’s about, 'what does the law say,' " Commissioner Julie Ward Bujalski told residents. "If you say that [the store] is not compatible. It’s got to be something within our code." Residents issued passionate arguments both for and against the discount retail chain planned for 1326 San Christopher Drive, near the Pinehurst Road …

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Cecilia

10:31 am on Sunday, December 9, 2012

The Retterer's are the current property owners of the San Christopher parcel which was on the table last Thursday night........And yes many of the Dollar General Stores do carry bread and milk and canned goods; and beer and wine as well - the delivery of which will be an added burden to an already congested road system (despite what the City planners say the San Christopher/Pinehurst corridor IS …   more ›

Should Dollar General Replace 'Eyesore' Storage Lot in Dunedin?

The second proposal for a Dollar General Store up for public discussion within the last 75 days — this one at San Christopher Drive and Pinehurst Road — is on the agenda for Thursday's city meeting at City Hall.

Ron Retterer's boat and auto storage lot is a mess of code violations. Open boats and split tires on his property collect rainwater, making it a mosquito breeding ground, and the overgrown ditch in the back, well, that never gets cleaned out, said Greg Rice, Dunedin's director of planning and development. A volunteer advisory board went so far as to call Retterer's storage lot an "eyesore" during a Nov. 14 Local Planning Agency meeting, but snubbed plans for land use and zone changes that would allow a major discount retail store to go in its place. Rice is bringing the snubbed proposal for a Dollar General Store at 1326 San Christopher Dr. to city commissioners for approval Thursday anyway. Discount Retail Store May Help Struggling …

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Merchants Share Secrets of Dunedin's Small Business Success

Local shops and restaurants in downtown Dunedin thrive even during a tough economy. Business owners weighed in about the secrets to that success in December 2010. What do you think makes Dunedin's downtown thrive?