B-21 Through the Years
Back in 1948 Mom and Pop Frassrand founded the first B-21. Its neon sign was 'B-21' surrounded by an airplane silhouette. Over the years the family has been asked countless times what does B-21 mean? You have to "Be 21 years old". Four years later Pop retired from Chrysler and sold B-21, moving the family south to Dunedin, Florida. The B-21 name did not appear again until 1960 when a new store is opened just north of Curlew Road on Alt.19 in Dunedin by Mom & Pop and their two young sons Mark and Ron. Mark later opened two more stores, one at East Bay and U.S. 19N in Largo in 1964 and a second in Tarpon Springs in 1966, the current location. The Tarpon Springs store became the focus and by 1970 housed the main warehouse and offices. In 1974 a new 7,500 square foot store was built to handle the growing business now flanked by 10,000 square feet of warehouse space.
Mark and Louise's son, Bob Sprentall, began his study
of wine and joined the business in May 1979 after graduating from Tulane
University in New Orleans. His avocation for wine soon became vocation,
and business soared. Business boomed and by 1983 with sales over six
million dollars B-21 became the highest dollar volume wine and spirits
store in Florida and has continued to grow.
Bob is the key to B-21's wine acquisition abilities,
having developed life long business relationships with wineries
and winemakers in the
United States,
Bordeaux, Burgundy,
Champagne,
Rhone Valley, Italy,
Spain,
New Zealand,
Chile, Australia and
South
Africa. Bob's travel schedule is daunting with buying trips to Europe
and the Southern Hemisphere, and logging
over 100,000 flight miles this past year. Tasting thousands of wines
each year, Bob's ability to ferret out bargains and 'beat the press' has
become legendary.
Article from Market Watch Magazine: Top Ten Retailers in the US (1991) |
1948 -
Our first store the A&M
1962 - Mark A. Frassrand,
Jr.
1964 - East Bay Store opens
1966 - Tarpon Springs Store Opens
1970 - The B-21 tower was a landmark for Tarpon Springs
2006 - B-21's only store now located in Tarpon Springs
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