On April 19, Renee Edwards-Perry opened a brick-and-mortar store called Everyday Shoppes — an offshoot of Saturday Shoppes — in Brandon Towne Center Mall.
BY RAVEN JOY SHONEL | Staff Writer
BRANDON — On April 19, St. Pete showed up and showed out for the opening of Everyday Shoppes, an offshoot of Saturday Shoppes, in Brandon Towne Center Mall.
In 2021, Renee Edwards-Perry started the Saturday Shoppes on the grounds of Bethel Community Baptist Church. Her goal was to give minority business owners a chance to grow their businesses during the pandemic. By June of that same year, she had so many vendors she moved operations to Tropicana Field.
The entrepreneurial goddess’ expansion into Brandon Towne Center Mall gives 44 minority and women-owned business owners a new outlet to sell their wares.
Left, Harold Bryant, Jr. Julie Rocco, Renee Edwards-Perry, Dr. Kanika Tomalin
“We have 183 vendors on the waiting list. I didn’t know that this was such a need,” said Edwards-Perry. “So, hopefully, I can provide us with some other funding partners to get me a second store!”
Edwards-Perry thanked everyone who made the storefront possible, including Specialty Leasing Manager Allison Thompson, who helped her find the 1,900 square-foot space, helped with the store layout, obtained a visual merchandiser and helped secure a great rate.
Vendors must be a part of the Saturday Shoppes family and attend a 12-month retail class with Edwards-Perry to learn how to grow their business and make an economic impact.
Last August, Edwards-Perry provided Saturday Shoppes vendors with a chance to showcase their products at the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce in downtown St. Pete, and with a $250,000 grant from the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg and Bayfront Health, Edwards-Perry was able to expand her brand into the Hillsborough County retail space.
The grant focused on the funding priorities of mental health and wellness for Black, Indigenous and People of Color and economic equity and justice. The Everyday Shoppes initiative fell under economic equity by improving financial opportunities for BIPOC entrepreneurs.
“We celebrate triumph here today,” said Kanika Tomalin, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg. “Triumph of vision; triumph of persistence and endurance; triumph of opportunity.”
Tomalin said the $250,000 is not just funding or a gift, “but an investment in what we understand is a very real opportunity to transform the lives of everyone who not only sells in this shop but steps into this shop and sees that dreams can be realized in magnificent ways.”
Everydayshoppes.com should be up and running soon.
