Shoppes of Blackburne Officially Open

Warm sunshine and a breeze greeted residents as they joined Mayor Stephen Mandel in officially opening The Shoppes of Blackburne recently.

The official opening took place on Tuesday, August 20, as owner Bob Gaetz’s dream   finally turned into reality.  Gaetz (pictured right with Mayor Mandel and Bob's wife Phyllis) told guests gathered that he had owned the land at the entrance to our community for about ten years. After a failed attempt to work with a convenience store and a car wash, he eventually entered into an agreement with Kevin Benoit, who opened Companion Veterinary Clinic last fall. The Modern Family convenience store followed and a Papa John’s franchise completed The Shoppes of Blackburne.

Gaetz noted that the land that the Shoppes is located on used to be part of a golf course, which opened in 1962 and closed in 1976.  He said he played on the course and a portion of the actual land the Shoppes is located on used to be a putting green.

Mayor Stephen Mandel spoke at the event and led in the ribbon cutting (photo on main page of our website).  The President of the Blackburne Creek Homeowner’s Association Brian Hawrelak (left of photo) also spoke at the official ceremony and congratulated Gaetz and the business owners.  He also said he hoped the businesses would be well supported by the people of Blackburne Creek.

The official opening was completed with some pizza and pop from Papa John’s and guests were also encouraged to partake in refreshments from the Modern Family store during the event.