LABELLE, Fla — A brand-new 7-Eleven just opened in LaBelle, making it the third one within a mile.
Since Fox 4’s Hendry County Community Correspondent Austin Schargorodski works in this area every day, he’s always checking local Facebook groups, where he had seen a lot of comments from people asking, "Why another 7-Eleven?" So, he set out to get some answers.
Watch what Austin found out:
The store opened Thursday and was already filling up with customers. But some people said it was one too many.
“I’m not happy about it,“ said one resident. “I mean, we have so many gas stations around here as it is,” said another.
So Austin asked around - if not another gas station, what would people rather see?
“I’d like to see another grocery store,” said a resident. “I’d love a Publix,” said another. “Some nice restaurants,” added a third.
Austin took those comments to LaBelle Commissioner Hugo Vargas. Over Zoom from Tallahassee, Commissioner Vargas said this new 7-Eleven wasn’t about adding - it was about replacing.
Because LaBelle is growing fast and traffic has gotten bad, he said there’s a plan in the works to build a roundabout at Main Street and Cowboy Way to help alleviate it. But the existing 7-Eleven there would have to be demolished to make way.
“It’s a network of roads there that worked when we were smaller," Vargas said. "But with all of the increased traffic we have now, something needs to be done that makes it safer for our residents and makes it easier for them to get back and forth between their destinations.”
As for the calls for restaurants and shops, Commissioner Vargas said the city was focusing on infrastructure - like upgraded water and sewer, or the roundabout - first. Without it, he said, LaBelle couldn’t support those new businesses.
“We’re learning from some of the surrounding counties and some of the mistakes they’ve made," Vargas said. "So I feel like we’re doing a good job of staying ahead of it now and actually planning for our future growth.”
The city values input like the feedback Austin brought to Commissioner Vargas, so he encouraged people to come to an upcoming community workshop in May.
“I would like to see our residents get more involved in the process and really have a say in how our town grows," he said. "Because the growth - we’re not going to be able to stop it. We want to grow smart and be able to continue to be who we are in LaBelle and always have been.”
