Grocery Shopping...
A Tour In Central Eleuthera
Every week my wife and I do our grocery shopping in Governor's Harbour and Palmetto Point. Come with us and visit the stores we like. Below I'm showing pictures of most of them. Notice that Eleuthera grocery stores are open on Sunday mornings, too. ===== Sidebar =====For getting around on Eleuthera, buy the best
Eleuthera map on two sheets
from ISLAND FARM which I'm showing below. ===== Sidebar =====
Driving into Governor's Harbour from the airport, you will first see a large SHELL station to the left. Right in the back of it is Eleuthera Supply, a large grocery store. We shall visit it at the end. Our tour runs from Governor's Harbour to Palmetto Point... and back to Governor's. First we go south on the main highway. Then we come back to Governor's on the scenic Old Banks Road which runs parallel to the main road.
From the SHELL station we drive another 200 yards and go to Burrows grocery store -- Phone: 332-2999. Burrows is the busiest grocery store in Central Eleuthera. Open every day...Monday - Friday: 6 am - 6 pm
Saturday: 6 am - 7 pm
Sunday: 6 - 10 am
Near Burrows grocery store -- shown to the right -- is the Bakery which is hidden somehow. Anyone will be able to direct you. Apart from bread, Johnny Cake, meat pastries and cinnamon rolls the bakery makes good dough nuts. We continue on the main highway for a quarter mile. The ESSO store is to our right and it carries all the first-class candies. Even chocolate from Switzerland... hmm, our favorite.
From Governor's Harbour to
Palmetto Point
5 miles south of Governor's Harbour is the settlement Palmetto Point. On the right side of the main Palmetto crossing, there's Sands, a grocery store which is not shown here. About a mile after the main Palmetto crossing, you'll see this sign. Here we stock up on fresh fruit & vegetables straight from the field. The ISLAND FARM is open from 9 am to 4 pm.
Phones: 332-0141 or 332-1921.
Clide Bethel - to the right - is the proud owner together with his US wife Anne. The excellent fresh bread they are selling on Tuesdays and Fridays from December to April, is baked by Anne. Clide and Mark will also sell you this
Eleuthera map
printed front to back on two sheets. It's an excellent map for getting around and the best one you can find on the island. What else are Clide and Mark selling? The choice is wide. Honey, jams, home-made bread - mentioned above - hot sauce, greeting cards, sea glass jewelry, a variety of nursery plants and mulch. The Island Farm's point of sale... Kind of a meeting point for Winter residents and tourists.
Now let's go back to Palmetto Point where we turn right at the main Palmetto crossing. That's the direction of Unique Village, a hotel.
After less than a quarter mile and to your right you'll see the grocery store above. Sometimes we find fruit here that we didn't find at Burrows in Governor's.
And if we're not lucky at BETTER BUYS - because the demand for fruit is high and the supply sometimes limited - we continue for a quarter mile...
MILLARD'S is easy to see because of the large parking on the right. Friendly Mr. Millard Bethel is selling fruit and sometimes vegetables... Papayas, bananas, tomatoes and peppers that he grew in his own yard. He is also selling produce from local residents in Palmetto Point.
Above Millard's cash register is a copy of "The Sacrament of the Last Supper", painted by world-famous artist Salvador Dali. Notice the text on the wall which reads... "God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change... Courage to change the things I can and ... Wisdom to know the difference.". Yes, Eleuthera is a very religious island. You'll see dozens of churches here and all kinds of denominations. Now we continue on the same road. Oh, you want some really good ice cream? Just watch out for the
Country Cafe
to your left. LAKIA'S VARIETY STORE... We like it for its friendly service and good choice of fruit and vegetables. Find Lakia's by turning left at the Country Cafe (above link). Turn left again after a few yards and continue for about 200 yards to see this sign on a building to your right...
They're accepting VISA and Mastercards. Business hours are Mon. to Sat. 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun. 6 to 11 a.m. Or are you looking for fresh fish? Kingsley - a farmer and commercial fisherman - lives in North Palmetto. Call him ahead of time -- phone 332-1619. Evenings is best. He will also sell you bait and give you advice of where to fish.
From Palmetto Point Back To...
Governor's Harbour
Now we continue the last bit up to the T-junction at the huge Silk Cotton Tree, the most important landmark in North Palmetto where we turn left. After a short distance we turn right at the next T-junction and continue until we see
Tippy's bar and restaurant
right on the water. What a beautiful beach they have at Tippy's! A short distance after that restaurant we see...
The BANKS ROAD DELI which is on the left as we drive north towards Governor's. Open 8 am - 3 pm The Deli is a real asset to the grocery stores of Central Eleuthera. Here we find French cheeses, Italian salami, Swiss wines and many more goodies. For example... Belgium chocolate, Italian pasta, exquisite wines from around the world, root beer - if you like that - Parma Ham, French Camembert, big olives, croissants.
They even bake the long and crunchy French bread called Baguette. Fresh every day!You better go there and let yourself be surprised for I haven't told you all. Before I forget, adjacent to the Deli is a tastefully decorated Souvenir Shop for the guests of the eight *Pineapple Fields* condo units that are part of the Tippy's operation, too.
Outside the Deli is a pleasant and shaded deck surrounded by native trees. A great place to have a picnic. I like the rocking chairs they have.We continue on this road running parallel to the one we used to go from Governor's to Palmetto. After a while it goes up, then downhill to the point on the water where we entered Govenor's Harbour at the beginning of our tour.
At the bottom we turn left where we see the SHELL station again. Here at Eleuthera Supply - right behind the SHELL station - is our last stop on the grocery shopping tour.
This store is open...Monday to Thursday: 6 am to 6 pm Friday: 6 am - 6:30 pmSaturday: 6 am - 7:30 pmSunday: 6 am - 3 pmThis grocery store also offers a good choice of meats.
Friendly butcher Greg Petty is always very helpful. Here he is filling the fridge with freshly cut meat. Only frozen meat available.At this SHELL store you will find all kinds of groceries, household items, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, even disposable cameras.
And next door is Eleuthera Supply's hardware store, selling propane gas in small and large bottles.
Other Stores Of Importance...
North and South of Central Eleuthera
The FOOD FAIR in Spanish Wells -- west of northern North Eleuthera -- is a large, modern store. You can reach Spanish Wells only by boat and the drive from Governor's to the ferry is over 1 1/2 hours.THE MARKET PLACE in Rock Sound is the largest grocery store on Eleuthera, almost equal to what you would find in the States. And in the adjacent large hardware store you'll find all the fishing gear in case you want to catch your dinner yourself. Rock Sound in the south is a leisurely 1-hour drive from Governor's Harbour. Special Tip... Before Rock Sound do stop by the turquoise waters of Tarpum Bay. Watch the fishermen bring in their catch of the day. Here is one of the few places where you can buy fresh fish, lobster or conch, usually at around 3 p.m. And sometimes fresh fish is also sold at the boat ramp in Governor's Harbour. And that's it. We've found all the groceries we wanted. But bear this in mind... Sometimes you'll have to do a bit of hunting for your food. The island is not always supplied with fresh produce. The boat may come in late, particularly when the sea is rough. Usually Wednesday is a good shopping day because the boat from Nassau comes in on Tuesdays. Enjoy your stay in Central Eleuthera!
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