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BONITA SPRINGS — Strolling out of Sweetbay Supermarket with a shopping cart full of groceries, Kim Bradshaw paid no mind to the increasingly dark clouds rolling in overhead as she headed to her car.

Bradshaw, a Bonita Springs resident, was at store near Bonita Beach Road and U.S. 41 at noon Monday buying food for her family of three. With Tropical Storm Fay fast approaching, Bradshaw picked up a few more non-perishable items than normal, but said, for the most part, it was just a routine shopping trip.

“When we had tropical storms before, it wasn't big news,” Bradshaw, 48, said. “Tropical storms didn't used to be a big panic until we had (Hurricane) Charley.”

Cautious though not alarmed, Bradshaw exemplified the attitude of many in the Bonita Springs area early Tuesday afternoon. Local grocery stores and gas stations saw increased traffic throughout the day, but businesses typically didn't see mad dashes or last minute rushes despite Fay looming to the south.

Inside Sweetbay, more customers filled the aisles than on a typical Monday afternoon, but it was nothing store manager Jerry Weigert said his employees couldn't handle.

Weigert, 53, moved to Southwest Florida in March to take his current position at the supermarket. He moved south from St. Louis, Mo., where snowstorms send citizens flocking to the store the way hurricanes do in Florida.

“When you have a snow scare, everybody stocks up on everything because they think they're going to be locked in the house for days,” Weigert said. “Down here, it's not a stock up. It's just a few items – flashlight, batteries, water.”

A few miles down the road, Ron Morrissey surveyed the checkout lanes at Albertson's near Imperial Pkwy., and Bonita Beach Road. The grocery store's manager has lived in the area for 15 years, and said Monday's pre-storm rush was one of the calmest he's seen.

“It doesn't seem to be as much of a panic as we've seen in the past,” Morrissey said. “I don't think people are reacting to it as much they would if it were already a hurricane.”

At Home Depot, 54-year-old Martha Kuzak reached into her purse and pulled out a folded sheet of notepad paper, revealing a list of items she'd surely need in the next 24 hours.

Matches. A radio. A flashlight. Batteries.

Wearing a pink tank top, black shorts and Nike running shoes, Kuzak left the beach Monday morning after her daily jog to stock up, feeling more like a Floridian every minute.

She and husband Duane have owned a condo in Naples for years. The Michigan couple is here more regularly now that Duane, a transportation consultant, opened an office in the area.

"This will be our first hurricane," Kuzak said, as she scanned a table featuring an array of high-powered flashlights. "I'm kind of looking forward to it."

Within 20 minutes, Kuzak had marked off every item on the list. She stepped to a self-checkout line and purchased $44 worth of hurricane supplies.

Bring on Fay.

"Don't get me wrong," Kuzak said, "if it was a Category 2 or 3, I'd be out of here. But this shouldn't be too bad."

Not if you're prepared, that is.

Naples resident John Shewchuk, 67, picked up a portable weather radio soon after entering Home Depot. He picked up a small Brinkmann radio-flashlight hybrid on his way out.

Lynn Houghton, a 49-year-old Bonita Springs resident, pushed an empty cart that she planned to fill with flashlights, oil lamps, bottled water, batteries, a Sterno and, maybe, a small power generator.

"Miss Prepared," the Community School of Naples public safety employee calls herself.

Home Depot store manager Ricardo Robles, who spent much of Sunday evening at home paneling windows, said the rush of customers making storm preparations was expected.

Since news of Fay's potential arrival hit late last week, tables featuring radios, lanterns, gas tanks, ice chests, toolsets and the like have been showcased at the front of the store.

"About half the costumers we've had are here on usual business," said Robles, who took Sunday off to preserve work hours. "And the other half is here for hurricane prep."

Some local businesses have backup generators in case they lose electricity during the storm. Albertson's and Sweetbay plan to be open regular hours Tuesday.

“If there's a roof still on the store, we'll be working,” said Steve Whittle, assistant manager at ACE Sunshine Hardware on Bonita Beach Road.