Morton’s market to refill hardware store with liquor

A new type of business is coming soon to Siesta Key Village: a liquor store.

The owners of Morton’s Siesta Market plan to open Siesta Village Liquors in the space Siesta Hardware currently occupies.

The hardware store will remain open until July 31, with Morton’s slated to take over the lease Sept. 1. Following renovations, the liquor store will open at 215 Canal Road as early as November. 

Morton’s Siesta Market is currently limited in the kinds of alcohol it can carry because Florida law restricts grocery stores from selling hard liquor. 

“There is hardly any place you can buy liquor in the village,” Morton’s Siesta Market owner Eddie Morton said. “There is a place on the south end of the Key, but there is no place in the village.”

The only other liquor store on the key is Siesta Spirits, located near Stickney Point Road and Midnight Pass Road. 

“We think it would be convenient for residents and tourists alike,” said Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce Executive President Ann Frescura. “I think it’s unfortunate to lose the products and services a hardware store can provide to a small community, but we understand things change.”

Morton says the market is working to identify the hardware store’s staple products, such as basic tools and the key machine, to incorporate into the grocery store. 

“We don’t have a lot of room to dedicate to hardware, but we’d like to have some,” Morton said.

Although Morton’s didn’t originally intend to fill the liquor store void in the village, the retirement of Siesta Hardware owners Jim and Patricia Hillier created an opening for a new business.

The addition of the store to the village doesn’t surprise Siesta Key Village Association President Mark Smith. 

“With all the visitors and even the residents, there is no place to buy liquor,” Smith said. “I’m surprised it’s taken this long, actually.” 

Morton’s Siesta Market opened  in 2015 in the former Siesta Market location.