Frenchy’s Off the Hook Gift Shop in Clearwater, Florida, has been managed by Peggy Branner since it opened in 1997.
Aaron Lockwood
Visitors and locals to Clearwater, Florida, who want a good bite to eat flock to one of Frenchy’s restaurants. But for more than two decades, the lure of gifts, souvenirs, T-shirts and local artwork have given patrons and shoppers yet another reason to walk through Frenchy’s colorful doors.
Peggy Branner has served as the manager of the restaurant’s landmark gift shop, Frenchy’s Off the Hook Gift Shop, for the last 22 years. After all these years, she’s got no plans to slow down anytime soon. Not even a broken wrist, which she is healing from, can keep her away.
From restaurant to retail
Branner grew up in Portland, Maine, moving to Clearwater in 1972. Eventually, she found her way to a budding entrepreneur’s first restaurant. “I was a waitress at the original Frenchy’s Cafe starting back in 1981,” she says.
Frenchy, whose real name is Michael Preston, hails from Quebec, Canada, where the nickname comes from. In 1981, he opened Frenchy’s Original Cafe, known for its Super Grouper sandwich. Since then, his empire has expanded to include five more Frenchy’s restaurants, a fishing boat fleet, a motel, a surf shop and other non-Frenchy’s-branded restaurants.
By 1997 Branner had become the cafe’s manager. But after 20 years there, she found herself approaching 50 and wanting a change. Her boss had plans to develop the duplex next door, and the idea of opening a gift shop was tossed around.
“I’d always wanted to do a gift shop,” Branner recalls. Soon, a 1,000-square-foot building next to the cafe was converted to a retail space, and on Christmas Eve 1997, the doors opened.
From Frenchy’s themed items to work by local artists and artisans, there is no lack of interesting finds at Frenchy’s Off the Hook Gift Shop.
The owner had so much confidence in Branner that “he gave me ‘carte blanche’ — put me at the helm and let me do what I wanted,” she says. “We started out just selling T-shirts for the restaurant, but then we added all the unique, very coastal gift items.”
Preston’s decision paid off. “She was a natural fit, with a good eye for casual, beachy, eclectic items, and she had good taste,” he says. “I felt confident that this was right up her alley, and it turned out I was right.”
Going from restaurant work to retail was a bit of an adjustment, but she made it. According to Branner: “Restaurant work is great; you get good tips. Retail, though, allows you to be a little bit more creative.”
Off the beaten path, yet busy
Not being on a main drag is usually a big disadvantage for a gift store, but not for this one. “I’m off on a side street, tucked away, off the beaten path,” says Branner. “But we have the advantage of the captive audience from Frenchy’s Cafe next door. People know where we are, and we get a lot of repeat customers.” Last year, Frenchy’s Off the Hook Gift Shop turned over about $1 million.
As for the competition, “I have none,” Branner says. “There are no other stores like mine in the area. There are some specialty surf shops, but none of them offer the kind of things that I do.”
Not just T-shirts anymore
Indeed, the store has moved far beyond the days when all it sold was Frenchy’s logo T-shirts and hats. A shopper can find Dune and 4Ocean jewelry, Tervis and Corksickle insulated bottles, Allen’s Clocks (wall clocks with mermaid and crab motifs), Betsy Drake pillows, beach supplies, picture frames, coffee-table books about marine life, and Frenchy’s logo apparel and trademark hot sauce.
“We also have a cute kid’s section with coastal-themed toys and games that’ll keep the kids entertained while they’re on vacation,” Branner says. “And a pet section with beach-themed collars.”
Recycled furnishings showcase items for sale at Frenchy’s Off the Hook Gift Shop.
A Christmas palm tree stays decorated all 12 months “because I sell ornaments all year long,” Branner says. “They’re all coastal-themed: sea life animals, palm trees, pineapples.”
High-quality goods from companies with high ideals such as Dallas-based Fahlo, are also offered in the store. Each semiprecious-stone Fahlo bracelet comes with the name, story and picture of a real endangered animal, such as a sea turtle, penguin or shark.
The buyer can then “fahlo” its movements on an interactive map. If you buy one of the sea-turtle bracelets, 10% of the profits go to the Sea Turtle Conservancy. “I like carrying those kinds of things, it makes me feel good,” says Branner.
Trade shows have been invaluable in helping Branner find stock. She attends Surf Expo and Atlanta Market every year. “That’s where I see my sales reps,” she says. “I work with a lot of really good ones very closely.”
But of all the merchandise in the store, Branner is proudest of showcasing work by local artists and artisans.
“There’s Edmund Frechmann, a local artist who does beautiful watercolor prints of our restaurants,” she says. “Ron Gebauer from St. Petersburg makes manatees and sea turtles out of recycled tin, and Jan Chalmers, also from St. Pete, hand-paints exquisite wine glasses with manatees and palm trees.”
Weathered, eclectic with a touch of sand
Branner’s display style leans towards the warm and eclectic eschewing traditional store fixtures for real furniture. “I started out using orange crates, standing them on end, doubling them up and making shelves out of them,” she recalls. “A lot of our furnishings are just recycled stuff that was given to me. Somebody gave me a hutch, so we painted it and put that in a corner. Someone else built me a long showcase; we distressed it, made it beachy looking.”
Large scales used to weigh fish add to the nautical vibe. “We got them from the guy who used to run our seafood company,” Branner explains. “We painted them a pretty blue and they’re hanging with the kids’ stuffed animals in them.”
“I just try to have unique merchandise, cool artwork and a friendly staff. That’s the strategy that works for me.” — Peggy Branner, Frenchy’s Off the Hook Gift Shop
Even the flooring is recycled, made from discarded plastic bottles. “It looks just like weathered, old-looking wood. It’s not cheap to get this stuff, but it just lasts forever and ever — we’ve had it for over 20 years now.”
All of this gives the shop a funky dockside atmosphere, but at times there can be too much of it; it’s a constant battle keeping shore out of the store.
“We try to leave our doors open,” says Branner, “but we’re right by the beach, and I swear there’s a layer of sand on everything everywhere all the time.
Retirement? Forget about it
Branner has been married 26 years to a man who owns a dry-cleaning business. Her twin daughters from a previous marriage are 50 years old and live in North Carolina where one of them owns a wine shop.
Now 74, the store manager says she sometimes thinks about retirement — but that’s as far as it goes. “You’ve got to keep busy and have a purpose,” she says. “Besides, I love my job.”
What does she love most about it? “Probably the buying,” she replies. “I still get excited seeing new products.” And she says she has no problem being on her feet all day. “I’m a young person inside,” she says as she jokes, “I’m a ‘spring chicken’ in my 70s, but I feel 50.”
There is one aspect of the job Branner admits she’s not crazy about, though. “Managing employees,” she says. “That’s the hard part, hands down. I’ve got a pretty good staff; the ones I have now, they’re friggin’ amazing — but I need a couple more, and they’re hard to find right now.”
To other coastal retailers, Branner says, “I know that it’s difficult and there’s lots of competition out there. There are lots of great stores like the ones you see in Seaside Retailer. I just try to have unique merchandise, cool artwork and a friendly staff. That’s the strategy that works for me.”
