A new life for the Panama City Target

Target #811

2340 Hwy 77 (M.L.K.- Jr. Blvd.)
Panama City, FL

Long after the Panama City Mall opened in 1976, the corner of Hwy 77 and 23rd Street had been a relatively quiet corner, with the exception of the super large Albertsons #4355, which opened in 1983 at the northwest corner. Heavy commercial/ retail developments had also happened westward along 23rd Street (FL-368) during the 1980's. Shopping centers such as Stanford Station, Wilbro Plaza, and Panama City Square had opened between 1985 and 1987. Stanford Station was anchored by Bruno's- owned Food World, which opened in 1986. Also opening directly across the street in the sprawling Panama City Square was Walmart and nearby a Delchamps Super Store.

 So by the late 80's people in Panama City had 3 large supermarkets along 23rd Street between Stanford Rd. and Hwy 77 (Then Cove Blvd) that were open 24 hrs a day and offered liquor sales separately (at least I'm sure about Albertsons and Delchamps having liquor stores, not entirely sure about Food World). 

However by the early 1990's there was another push for more retail development in the vicinity of the Panama City Mall. In 1991 the northeast corner of Hwy 77 and 23rd Street was just a grassy corner with some pine trees and apparently some type of city water pump station. During that year it was announced that Target would be building a new store in that precise location. In the early 1990's it goes without saying that people did not rely on computers for shopping but rather traditional brick and mortar stores. The Panama City Mall was already a booming retail center (which was very busy back in the early 90's!) Naturally citizens in the area were very excited to have yet another cool, new big box store to shop at for clothes, furniture, pool and patio, school supplies, electronics, and many other cool things that existed back then.

After a good 9 months to a year of construction on July 26, 1992, Target Corporation opened their very first Panama City and Bay County store at 2340 N. Hwy 77. This new Target store opened directly across the street from the area's only (at the time) Albertsons location, which also was a bustling supermarket.

This Target would serve the Panama City area with strong sales, even despite competition from a Walmart two miles to the west, and eventually a 2nd Walmart (a Supercenter) in 2009 three miles to the north in Lynn Haven. Although, I do believe that the Lynn Haven Walmart has negatively impacted sales for Target in the last 7 years or so.

The biggest impact that this store would encounter was not more retail development, such as Bay City Point in early 2018, but rather an act of God which occurred on October 10, 2018. Hurricane Michael had a devastating impact on Bay County, particularly the areas east of the Hathaway Bridge on over to Callaway. The owners of the Panama City Mall, Hendon Properties, announced in December that the mall would be closing for the foreseeable future. The mall's closure news was a huge blow for the area, as it had provided for shopping and hanging out for local kids for 42 years. The Panama City Mall had been so badly damaged from wind and water, that the cost for repairing the mall far exceeded the value of the mall itself. Thus the reasoning for Hendon Properties at arriving at their decision to close the place.

Getting back to Target #811, things were not easy for them either. The roof of the store received quite a lot of damage from an air conditioning unit (not secured strongly enough) because of them banging around in the 140-150 mph winds which hit Panama City during Michael's onslaught. Here is an article in the News Herald regarding Hurricane Michael's damage to the store:
https://www.newsherald.com/news/20190116/when-will-panama-city-target-reopen-team-members-say-soon

The Panama City Target officially held its Grand Re-Opening on February 17, 2019 nearly 27 years after the chain first arrived in Bay County Florida.

Soooooo... why shouldn't one YonWooRetail2 come check this place out after it's grand re-opening? Afterall, I did grow up in this town from the age of 5 til 24. Panama City has changed a lot since 1988. I recall back then and in the very early 90's that the speed limit on Hwy 77 between Mowat School Road in Lynn Haven to Baldwin Rd in Panama City was 55 mph! Now, it's 45, but also there's tons more lights and traffic!

I decided to make my run to Panama City in March to come do some repairs on my mothers property. While making a run out to the ridiculously busy Home Depot on 23rd Street, we decided to head over to this newly revamped Panama City Target, and man was it nice! From the exterior, Target has gone very red- like Winn-Dixie (yet they're still down and out)? Target has also changed their traditional red bulls-eye to a white one. Not sure if I like this just yet, but whatever!

Heading strait into the swinging front doors and turning around, this is what the front end of Target's Panama City proper store looks like now. The walls have been repainted to more contemporary color schemes. I like the grays and light greens on the top of the walls. Also, Target added a pickup spot within Customer Service to fulfill online orders. I also like the wood grain on the Customer Service wall!

Moving down to the right along the front aisle, I turned to the right to view the CVS Pharmacy on the front wall. The CVS Pharmacy counter at this remodeled Target looks very clean and presentable. 

Moving over to the Pantry/Grocery section this is what I noticed immediately. Target has been installing these decorative wooden beams over the Produce and Dairy in their new stores. This is exactly what I saw in this new Target in Gainesville. Only, the ones in that new store were a little closer to the ceiling.

Walking over to the far right side aisle is in Grocery are brand new coolers. They look very nice! Target really did a good job putting this store back together. However from walking around in here, I feel a little sad for Target. It really wasn't that busy in here. I hope this is not a bad sign for Target in Panama City. I think having this store closed for 4 months caused a lot of people to rely on Walmart, and many may have not realized that Target it up and running again. Winn - Dixie is probably going to be in a similar situation, as they are not expected to have their entire stores open (besides the Pop-Up Stores) until Fall 2019!

One aisle over from the Dairy and Produce is Beer and Wine. They have made these tile floors look so nice and shiny!

Moving over one more aisle is the Beverage aisle.

Stepping back out into the main right aisle, not many people here but lots of clean pristine floors and well stocked shelves. Still that atmosphere of Target is far more pleasant than your typical Walmart.

Here's a look down the far right side store aisle containing more dry grocery, beverages, and the Frozen Foods and Desserts.

Before we head out of Grocery and Beer & Wine, here's a shot down the main aisle horizontally through household items.


Here's is the aisle near the end of Grocery and Beverage. I got this photo mainly to show the new wall decor installed.

Cruising on down the back main aisle here is something Target has decreased their emphasis on since I guess the early 2000's- Gardening and outdoor supplies.

Turning back to my right beind my right shoulder was something that seemed odd to me, the placement of the Seasonal candy. Why wasn't this over closer to the Grocery section rather than next to Outdoors and Gardening stuff?

Moving further down was Pet Care located between the back wall and the back main aisle roughly near the center.

Here's a random shot down one of the aisles right before household transitions into clothing. This particular aisle had DVDs and Computer/ Video Games.

Staring at me out of the back left corner of the store were the Fitting Rooms all with new paint and signage. Women's Clothing on the left; Men's Clothing to the right.

There is a new wall decor piece showcasing the Men's Clothing near the left side of the back wall.

A perfectly placed mannequin  displaying 'Champion' apparel looks as if he is running right down this little gray aisle away from the stock room.

To end, here is just another random photo taken down the Baby/ Toddler Clothing aisle, containing socks, shirts, and underwear. I figured was a halfway decent way of ending this post showing the 'Thanks' in the 'Thanks for shopping at Target' sign on the front wall.

The Revamped Panama City Target looks great! I hope it can stay in business for many more years to come. Even though Amazon has put a hurting on a lot of brick and mortar stores, hopefully Target's charm and cleanliness can keep shoppers interested enough to keep the physical stores around longer.