Manatee Avenue Market in Bradenton highlights popular homemade soup with Gumbozilla

Chock full of ingredients and seasoned to perfection, Andre Bazile’s seafood gumbo sells well year-round. It makes an especially satisfying meal on a cold winter’s day.

The seafood gumbo is so popular that it is the No. 1 seller at Manatee Avenue Market-Gumbozilla.

The market at 5104 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, serves about 20 gallons of it a day, said Bazile’s wife and business partner Traci Kearton.

The couple opened the business two years ago as a neighborhood market with a heavy emphasis on Bazile’s cooking skills.

It also offers products that you might expect to find in a convenience store — beer, soda, jerky, cereal and more.

As well as some items you might not expect to find: soap, candles and wind chimes made by local artisans and Fromm dog food.

What customers usually make a beeline for, and what has endeared them to their neighborhood, is the freshly made food offerings.

“They are the kindest people,” Beth Monette, a regular customer since the store opened two years ago, said of the owners.

Monette came in recently for the sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich and some of the store’s boiled peanuts for her husband.

There are a variety of other breakfast sandwiches available, served on fresh croissants or bagels, for $4.69.

The seafood gumbo is available every day, along with a rotating companion soup. This week it was chicken and dumpling. Other times it might be lobster bisque, chicken noodle or broccoli cheddar.

Also available are pressed Cuban sandwiches, tuna salad and more, and a variety of salads.

The menu, written on a whiteboard at the store, included a variety of baskets and sandwiches, including tacos, grouper sandwiches, fish and chips, blackened, grilled or fried shrimp, a half-pound Angus burger, a chicken sandwich, chicken tenders and more.

An act of nature

If it weren’t for Hurricane Irma in 2017, Manatee Avenue Market-Gumbozilla might not exist.

For 17 years, Bazile was the cook at the Anna Maria City Pier restaurant and Kearton was the server.

They were happy there, but when Irma destroyed the pier, they were suddenly without work.

Bazile then cooked for five years at Hurricane Hank’s, 5346 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach.

In all, Bazile has 23 years of experience cooking.

Kearton started her career working in a Crazy Papa’s deli and later ran a Circle K convenience store.

“That’s how we came up with the idea for a business like this,” Kearton said. “Andre could do the soups and I would run the store.”

From the beginning, the couple knew a prime focus would be on soup.

“We try to have a little bit of everything you need, and you can also get a home-cooked meal,” Kearton said.

The seafood gumbo uses okra, rather than flour, as a thickener, Bazile said. That’s because some folks can’t handle the gluten that comes with wheat flour and other grains.

Secret shopper

In early 2023, two men visited Manatee Avenue Market-Gumbozilla, bought candy, sat at a table, laughed and took photos inside and outside the store.

Kearton didn’t know who they were and didn’t think anything about it until customers started visiting the store, asking about NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. The fans wanted to take photos where the star athlete had sat and eaten candy.

Beckham, often referred to as OBJ, was a first-team All-American football player at Louisiana State University. After he entered the NFL in 2014, he set several rookie receiving records.

The word got out that the NFL free agent was in Bradenton when he posted the photos to Instagram taken at Manatee Avenue Market and his workouts at IMG Academy.

Later, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens football team, which is now in the playoffs for the Super Bowl.

Kearton has one question about OBJ’s visit: “He’s from Louisiana. Why didn’t he buy gumbo?”

But she appreciates his visit and the bump in business it brought the store.

The future

Bazile would like to eventually open a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant.

In 2023, the couple bought a food truck, where Bazile does much of his cooking for the market. The food truck also can be found at special events throughout the community.

What to know

▪ Name: Manatee Avenue Market-Gumbozilla

▪ Address: 5104 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton

▪ Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

▪ Phone: (941) 896-6245

▪ Online: https://www.gumbozilla.com/