Pictured: Ashley Petrone inside The Fox Mercantile's brick and mortar location. Photo courtesy of Brooke Papp.

The Fox Mercantile on Anna Maria Island is the creative brain-child of Southern California native Ashley Petrone and has become the perfect whimsical escape from the day-to-day–a destination where visitors can sip an excellent cup of coffee while shopping a carefully curated selection of goods hand-picked by Petrone herself, or just stop by for a relaxing afternoon spent with a good book and pleasant company.

After moving to Anna Maria Island three years ago with her husband, Dino, and four children, with the hopes of giving the kids a slow and peaceful beach-town life, Petrone was initially hoping to open a coffee shop. That eventually turned into the creation of The Fox Mercantile, an online-only store that carried homeware, gifts and paper goods. “It really came from coffee at first, I just wanted really good coffee. And then I decided to open up a store and that started online. I had that for about a year and it kind of made sense to just marry the two together and create a store and coffee shop all in one,” Petrone says.

Plans for the future of a brick and mortar store and coffee shop fell into place when the old Sea Hagg store’s building became available on Anna Maria Island. The set-up of the property, with its dual indoor and outdoor spaces, made Petrone’s vision of a welcoming and warm gathering place for both locals and visitors possible.

The store officially opened on June 8th and now offers a vast variety of gifts, many of which are locally made and support Floridian vendors including artists, jewelry designers and, of course, coffee from Leatherback Roasters, which is based outside of Orlando. What makes The Fox Mercantile stand out is that the whole store is a carefully crafted collection of goods that can be effortlessly combined to make a cohesive gift, since every item is selected by Petrone herself. “It's all my favorite things and everything is curated in a way that it all goes together. It makes it really simple for a shopper to come in and make a table setting or make a gift for somebody.”

But the storefront is not based on trendy aesthetics and Instagram-worthy photo-opts alone. The core of Petron’s mission is to facilitate genuine hospitality for all who visit the Fox Mercantile store or coffee shop. “I wanted people to feel like they're not just getting coffee or shopping when they walk through our gate, because you can go anywhere and do that.” Petrone adds. “Lately, customer service has gone down the drain, so I just wanted us to be set apart in the way that when you come here, you just feel good. You’re having a whole experience.” Whether that means a conversation with a barista or getting advice from an employee within the store, The Fox Mercantile offers genuine connections to everyone who walks through the door.

The Fox Mercantile, 12304 Cortez Rd W, Cortez, @thefoxmercantile, thefoxmercantile.com

Pictured: Ashley Petrone inside The Fox Mercantile's brick and mortar location. Photo courtesy of Brooke Papp.

thefoxmercantile.com