Burnt Store Marina residents will be happy to learn that the Trading Post, located next to the Cass Cay Restaurant in the harbor, is now under new management. A new company has been incorporated by an ownership group consisting of Pat & Diane Elliott and John & Pam Ozulak (The Trading Post at Burnt Store Marina LLC). They have taken over the assets of the former owner, MohrLee Services LLC. This retail outlet, operating previously under several different names, formats and ownership groups has had a long and important association with the community dating back many years.
It was first established as the Ship’s Store in 1982/3 by John and Terry Landry who were prominent residents of the Marina. About this same time John served two terms as the first Commodore of the newly formed Platinum Point Yacht Club (1984/85 and 1985/86). Joanne Morrow was the second owner of the Ship’s Store, followed for a period by Bill Quantick. Initially the store included the space which is now occupied by the real estate office beside the Tiki Deck. The glass sliding doors of that office were installed for the Ship’s Store in late 2001. The clothing, boat parts and fishing gear inventory was much more extensive at that time than in recent years. For a number of years ending in 2013 the store was renamed as The Water Cooler and had several owners. In addition to its retail offerings it experimented with evening meals and gave up the corner waterfront space. The Water Cooler closed on April 1, 2013. I remember the distress this caused our morning bicycle group who had to improvise new home-based gatherings for our morning coffee get-togethers. Will Olds bought the operation in the summer of 2013 and renamed it the Trading Post, an appropriate name given the history of the Burnt Store. He integrated it with his tour boat and kayak rental businesses but after five years also moved on to make way for MohrLee who operated it for two years.
The new team has already made an impressive start to their new endeavor by reorganizing the layout of the store, restocking shelves which had become depleted in recent months and adding more tables for those seeking a quick meal or snack. One of their most impactful early initiatives was power washing the wood floors. The business plan for the Trading Post includes expanded marketing to improve customer traffic, updating and upgrading some of the product and food options and adding some new lines of business. The kayak business will benefit from new equipment and bike and scooter rentals may be added.
This article was first published in the February 2020 issue of the BSM Beacon.
