The owner, who has had the business at the current location for four years, says he has not been able to make a profit.
By SHARON L. BOND
Published August 24, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - Chef Emil Topel is getting married in a couple of weeks, and he decided to close Fancy's Fine Meats & Gourmet and move on in his professional life as well.
The gourmet food shop at 1003 Fourth St. N, a favorite of northeast St. Petersburg, will close Wednesday night at 7.
Topel, 33, has owned Fancy's for four years. A native of England, he bought it from Cary and Kendra Burns. The original owners, Max and Barbara Elson, operated Fancy's for 15 years in a spot farther north on Fourth Street. After they closed the business at that location, they sold the name to the Burns, who opened a scaled-down version of the specialty shop at 1003 Fourth St. N.
"I'm just burned out on the business," Topel said last week. "I've had it for four years now. I tried to make it work. It never reached the level of actually making profits."
Topel said he has been cooking for 17 years. He will look for work as a chef for a hotel and hopes to find something in this area, though he points out there is not a multitude of large hotels. He worked for the Belleview Biltmore Resort in Clearwater earlier in his career.
Fancy's offers cooked entrees for take out as well as fresh meats, breads, desserts, wines and a variety of specialty foods. Topel was doing gift baskets and catering.
"There is not enough business in St. Petersburg to keep me going or to reach the next level," Topel said.
He has a loyal customer base, some of whom have cried at the news of the closing. He said he has gotten to know a number of them very well over the past four years. But once he made up his mind to close, it felt as if a big weight was lifted off his head, he said.
And where will these customers go?
Downtown has several specialty shops, including Marketplace Express on the street level of the Cloisters condominium tower and Gioia Deli in the Bayview Tower. More to the west is Mazzaro Coffee & Italian market, 22nd Avenue N at 29th Street. It is larger than the downtown specialty shops, having recently opened up a back area.
Topel plans to sell everything in Fancy's, including the equipment.
