What Year Was The Wynn Built

 

In 1938, the Rouse Brothers wrote their hit tune “Orange Blossom Special”, about the famous Seaboard Air Line train that brought frozen northeasterners to the magically sunny wintertime Florida . The eastern, main route of the OBS began in New York and ended in Miami . The western route ended at the Naples Depot, which has been preserved and can still be seen on its original site at the northeast corner of 10 th Street and Fifth Avenue South. In the middle of the Great Depression, that train and the winter visitors that it brought to the Haldemans' grand Naples Hotel were very important to this little fishing village. Back then, fewer than 150 people lived year-round in Naples . Across Fifth Avenue from the Depot, the Frank brothers (Goodlette- Frank Road) owned and operated Naples' only auto repair garage, and the town's only school for grades 1 through 12 had just been built on Third Avenue South (now Gulfview Middle School). Collier County founder Barron Gift Collier was still living at the time, and Everglades City was the county seat and real center of business activity.


The Old Bay View Inn and Grocery
This is where it started almost 60 years ago.

The Venetian and the Wynn Las Vegas are two of the most elegant and luxurious hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. A stay in either of these boutique resorts is guaranteed to be a memorable experience. Choosing between these two hotels is going to be difficult simply because they are so comparable. Wynn Las Vegas, with a $2.7 billion construction price tag, opened in April 2005. The Wynn and sister property Encore built in 2008 have more than 4,700 rooms. Wynn Las Vegas meets more than 360 global health security standards and implements expert-validated best practices for your safety and comfort. Working closely with a team of leading medical and public health professionals, Wynn and Encore have created a health and safety program that is based on the most effective health-safety practices. Earlier this year, the Virginia state legislature passed a bill that will legalize sports betting and could grant up to 12 online sports betting licenses by the end of the year. 'Like Wynn, NASCAR.

Of little note at the time, but of great importance to us, it was also in 1938 that Peter Parley Wynn moved to Naples and purchased the small Bayview Inn, located in what is now the Crayton Cove business district at the base of the Naples City Docks. Peter and his wife, Vida also operated a grocery store and restaurant in half of the Bayview building. They had come to Naples from Lakeland, Florida, where they owned another grocery store, which had been left under the control of their 22 year old son, Don.

With the start of World War II, young Don Wynn entered the military, and the Lakeland store was sold. After the war, Don intended to return to central Florida, but he came to Naples to help his parents for a while, and, as sometimes happens, “for a while” became forever as Don met and married Annie Merle Echols, and the two raised five children, all still living in Naples.


Naples ' first modern grocery store – Don Wynn's Sunshine Super Market
(later to be Wynn's Sunshine Hardware and finally Kepp's men's clothing store,
where Yabba's restaurant now operates in the Wynn Building).

1948 – What a difference 10 years can make. By this time, Naples had a permanent population of almost 600, and there were some 200 individual telephones in the town.

Thanks to John Pulling there was a Naples Board of Realtors. Henry B. Watkins, Sr. had recently arrived and would soon be adding the “Hotel” part to the already established Naples Beach Club golf course. Annie and Don Wynn now had a one year old son, Larry, and Don figured it was time to move “up town”. So, the Wynn's built Naples ' first modern grocery store on the northeast corner of 7 th Street and Fifth Avenue South (where the Wynn Building with Yabba's restaurant is today). It was a rather bold move at the time. That part of Fifth Avenue had just been zoned for commercial use, and when Wynn's Sunshine Super Market opened, the only building on the half mile of Fifth Avenue South between the market and the beach was the small, 15 room Gulf Hotel at 4th Street.


As Naples began to grow, so did the Wynn family business.
Sunshine Suprex was opened in 1953 next door on 5th Avenue.

Was

Just 5 years later, in 1953, the Wynn's built a new store, twice as large and just to the east of their first Fifth Avenue super market. The grocery business was moved to the new building, and the original building became the birthplace of the other well known Wynn Family enterprise, Sunshine Hardware.

That original super market and then hardware building (eventually Kepp's men's clothing store) stood at the corner of 7th Street and Fifth Avenue South until 1999, when it was raised to make way for the new Wynn Building and the Plaza that leads to the Naples Players' Theater. The later, 1953 building was home to Wynn's Family Market on Fifth for nearly 50 years and, happily, has been preserved within the new Wynn Building, which runs from Yabba's Grill, at the west end, to Island Pursuit, at the east. If you look closely at the new, modern front of the building, you can see that Wynn's on Fifth, Kilwin's Chocolates, and Island Pursuit are all actually in the old Wynn's Family Market structure.

In 1964, Don Wynn brought even more convenient shopping to Naples with the construction of a large building on the entire block between 1 st Ave and 2 nd Ave, fronting on the west side of US 41. From the picture below, you can see Don's interesting concept of operating the market and hardware as one store. Today, the stores are separated by an interior wall and have different operating hours, but there's still a Wynn's Market and Sunshine Hardware at that single address of 141 9th Street (US 41) North.
1964 – the Big, Modern Sunshine Foodway & Hardware is built on US 41

As the years went by, the Wynn's expanded their businesses to include grocery and hardware stores in Naples , Bonita Springs , and Golden Gate . In 1985, Don Wynn sold several of the grocery stores to the Kroger company and shifted more of his time and attention to golf and fishing. His youngest son, Tim, then 26, took over direction of the Fifth Avenue store, and the Wynn's became landlords to the Kroger market (Florida Choice) at the US 41 location, next to Sunshine Hardware. Eventually, the Kroger lease ended on the US 41 space, and today Tim runs that store, as well as the Wynn's On Fifth Deli and Wynn's Catering. Tim's brother, Jerry, runs the hardware stores in Naples, Golden Gate, Bonita Springs, and Estero.

From the beginning, Tim realized that his success as an independent grocery store operator would depend upon offering his customers greater personal service and unique items unavailable in the large chain stores. With that in mind, he added Wynn's Market home delivery service, expanded the store's gourmet foods line (now one of the best in the area), and created our “from scratch” fine bakery department featuring a product line that combines international delicacies, American classics, and Wynn Family favorites from his mom, Annie Wynn's own recipes. Wine and spirits expert Ted Janowitz was brought on board to develop one of the most distinctive wine departments in southwest Florida . Then, in 1992, as a complement to the market, Tim started Wynn's Catering, now one of the largest and most prestigious catering firms in Collier County.

In his nearly two decades at the helm of the Wynn food operations, Tim has introduced many changes and advancements (including this web site), but, just as importantly, he has preserved the core attitudes and principles that his father and grandfather started with, foremost among which is that Customer Service has always been the primary key to Wynn Family success.


1950
Don Wynn standing next to the first refrigerated meat case in Naples

1964
Mayor Archie Turner, Don Wynn, and a young Tim Wynn at the opening of Sunshine Foodway.

1990
Tim took over the helm of Wynn's Market and through the years kept
his Father's philosophy of providing the best product and service at a fair price.

Steve Wynn sold 12.1 million shares of Wynn Resorts over the past 2 days, divesting himself of his entire stake in the company he founded 16 years ago. Steve Wynn sold 4.1 million shares on Wednesday, then followed that selloff by ridding himself of the remaining 8 million shares of Wynn stock he owned on Thursday.

Thus, Wynn Resorts and Steve Wynn no longer have any connection whatsoever. The only Wynn who owns company stock anymore is Elaine Wynn, the former casino executive’s estranged former wife and sometime arch-enemy.

The move comes 6 and 1/2 weeks after Wynn stepped down as CEO and chairman of the casino and hotel company which bears his name. He left the board of directors at the same time, roughly two weeks after the Wall Street Journal reported multiple allegations of sexual misconduct against the former casino mogul.

In a statement to Forbes on Thursday, Steve Wynn representative Lin Wood said, “Mr. Wynn does not wish to be a participant in the current media frenzy related to his personal and business matters and, therefore, declines comment.”

Allegations Against Steve Wynn

Steve Wynn’s lawyer added, “Based on my review of the multitude of articles recently published about him, I do not believe that the atmosphere lends itself to fairness and, in many instances, to accuracy.”

Those articles came from multiple sources. WSJ had several follow-up articles detailing various allegations against Steve Wynn. British tabloids like the Daily Mail ran several stories a week with new charges. The Las Vegas Review-Journal also disclosed allegations that the newspaper buried back in 1998, when Nevada’s paper with the largest publication was under different management. The writer on the 1998 story was told to destroy her news copy, but preserved it for 20 years, because she thought it might one day be important.

Steve Wynn’s Casino Career

Only two months ago, the 76-year old Steve Wynn was riding high. His 50-year career in Las Vegas casinos saw him reach a pinnacle in 2017. Wynn had been on the Forbes list of billionaires since 2004. He owned various properties on the Las Vegas Strip, including Wynn Las Vegas. The executive’s company also had its lucrative Chinese casino, Wynn Macau, while it had opened a $4 billion luxury resort on the Cotai Pensinsula, the Wynn Palace, in 2016.

Work was proceeding apace on the Wynn Boston Harbor, a $2.4 billion casino development in the Boston suburb of Everett. Steve Wynn was a frequent analyst on Fox News. His old rival and current friend, Donald Trump, was the newly elected president of the United States. Steve Wynn was the Finance Chairman of the Republican National Committee and had generated record donations during his single year in the position. Two months later, Steve Wynn has lost all his positions, while he’s out of the industry he helped shape for the past half-century.

Steve Wynn Worth $3 Billion

How Much Did It Cost To Build The Wynn

Of course, falls from grace can be relative. After the sell-off of 12 million shares of Wynn Resorts stock, Steve Wynn still is probably worth roughly $3 billion. While his reputation had taken a drubbing, most of the charges appear to be beyond the statute of limitations or otherwise un-provable.

What Year Was The Wynn Hotel Built

Wednesday’s sell of 4+ million shares of Wynn Resorts stock had been expected. Due to regulatory probes by the Nevada Gaming Commission, Massachusetts Gaming Commission, and Macau Inspection Bureau, it had been reported that Wynn Resorts needed someone else to be the largest shareholder in the company.

Elaine Wynn Top Shareholder

The Wednesday divestiture meant Elaine Wynn, Steve Wynn’s estranged ex-wife, was now the company’s largest shareholder. That same day, she gave a statement indicating she had a number of suggestions and requests of the Wynn Resorts board of directors. Elaine Wynn and Steve Wynn earlier this week had agreed to settle their long legal dispute, allowing her to sell $1.6 billion in stock.

What Year Was The Wynn Built 2020

Last week, Wynn Resorts bought $2 billion of shares from Universal Entertainment Company, the Japanese gaming machine manufacturer once owned by Kazuo Okada. Okada was once a business partner of Steve Wynn and major shareholder of Wynn Resorts, but had been forced off the board in 2010. Back in 2012, when he still was CEO of Universal Entertainment, Okada sued Wynn Resorts, trying to gain the right to cash out his shares earlier. A bribery scandal led Okada to leave Universal, but his old company finally settled the dispute with Wynn Resorts.

Wynn Resorts Buyout?

When Was Wynn Built

That allowed Steve Wynn to clear the way for his own sell of Wynn shares. Against the backdrop of Steve Wynn’s departure, financial analysts now include Wynn Resorts on their list of companies primed for a buyout. While buyout talk is merely in the stage of media rumors at this point, various experts have suggested Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Resorts, or Melco International might be natural choices to buy Steve Wynn’s former casino company.

Cost

If so, it is entirely possible that the “Wynn” name might disappear from the many casino developments Steve Wynn built over the years. Already, Boston area groups have called for the name Wynn to disappear from the Wynn Boston Harbor. The locals do not want to see an accused sexual harasser’s name in neon lights.