Officials reflect on first installment of Fresh Fridays

The organizers of the Fresh Fridays event series in downtown Sarasota overcame their first major challenge at the inaugural installment on Nov. 5: nature.

Heavy rain cleared up shortly before the 8 p.m. start time for the festivities on Lemon Avenue, an event funded by the city and Downtown Improvement District. Although some aspects of the plans had to be scrapped because of the weather — a laser light show was a no-go — organizer Joe Grano said he was happy with the turnout and community response. 

“It really was very resounding, the level of interest we had in this event,” said Grano, the president of marketing company Next-Mark.

The DID hired Grano as part of an investment into Fresh Fridays as a pilot program. Earlier this year, the group of downtown property owners began discussing holding a series of events on the first Friday of the month to attract visitors, emulating programs in other communities such as Lakewood Ranch and St. Petersburg. Members of the City Commission embraced the idea, working with the DID to develop and approve plans for Fresh Fridays in October.

The DID committed $60,000 toward a six-month trial run of events, with the city contributing an estimated $3,600 to $4,800 in in-kind services monthly.

Although Grano and other DID board members felt positive about the first-ever Fresh Friday, there were some signs of concern in the wake of the event. John Moran, the DID’s operations manager, said in a Nov. 6 email to City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch that there was “lots to discuss and adjust” about Fresh Fridays, particularly as it pertained to the schedule of 8-11 p.m. — a point of contention among officials during the commission’s discussion of the program in October.

On Nov. 9, the city issued a notice for a special Downtown Improvement District meeting with one item on the agenda: a review of Fresh Friday to discuss adjustments.

“A rethink of Fresh Friday is in order,” Moran wrote. “An 8 to 11 [p.m.] event is not compatible with downtown’s residential population of 12,000 60 to 85 year olds. The shift from 6 to 9 [p.m.] to attract younger attendees was flawed.“

Less than a week later, the city had called off the special DID meeting, and Moran took a more reserved approach to his analysis of how this month’s Fresh Friday event had gone. Moran said those involved in the planning process felt it was unfair to judge the successes and failures of Fresh Friday based on a single data point that was affected by stormy weather. He said the DID would wait until after December’s Fresh Friday to review whether the program was achieving goals such as effectively promoting downtown businesses.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to ask some of the deep, probing questions on Dec. 7,” Moran said.

Ron Soto, DID board member and president of the Downtown Sarasota Enrichment Association merchant group, shared Moran’s assessment that November’s Fresh Friday did not provide sufficient information about whether plans for the event needed to be adjusted.

“Let’s do the next one, see how it works from that one and then we can tweak,” Soto said.

In an email through a spokesperson, the city offered positive comments about the first Fresh Friday but also said more information was needed to evaluate the parameters officials set for the series.

“We were pleased with the turnout in spite of the weather for the inaugural event,” the email said. “We’ll need to host a few more Fresh Fridays to truly learn what works best and to continue to grow our partnerships with the downtown community.” 

Grano said organizers understood the importance of featuring merchants as part of the event series. Prior to Nov. 5, the Fresh Friday team distributed informational material to downtown businesses, held a pair of kickoff meetings and encouraged stores and restaurants to stay open as late as they could if they usually close before 8 p.m. Grano said the group would work to be inclusive of local businesses for the December event, a holiday-themed gathering titled “Shop, Stroll, Sing.”

“We have some really, really fine merchants, and we want to make sure that we showcase them,” Grano said.

November’s event was not without its detractors. Don Costantino, a resident of The Mark condominium that overlooks the Lemon Avenue footprint used for the first Fresh Friday, sent a message detailing his discontent to Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch before the festivities had even concluded. Constantino questioned who was benefitting from the event and complained about the noise associated with a musical performance. 

“This was supposed to [be] light music and some snacks,“ Costantino wrote in the email. “Not even close. They lied to us. Nothing but a loud terrible band and the bars love it.“

In response to commentary from another resident of The Mark who suggested downtown events should have a 9 p.m. cutoff and a 75 decibel noise limit, Commissioner Liz Alpert said downtown has been a hub for late-night events long before the condominium was built. She said different people can have different opinions about what constituted reasonable constraints on special events, but she said officials were considering more than the interests of downtown residents when determining what plans are in the city’s best interests.

“While it is important to create an environment for our downtown residents to enjoy, the idea is to have activities and offerings in our downtown to appeal to all segments of our population,” Alpert wrote in a Nov. 7 email. “This is a downtown for everyone.”

Grano said it would not be possible to put together an event that made everyone in the city happy, but he felt any complaints were minimal compared to the hundreds of people who attended Fresh Friday or expressed excitement about the idea. He said organizers wanted to coexist with their neighbors peacefully, and he believed the city did a great job of clearing out the event footprint prior to midnight.

“We went into this knowing that we’re part of a neighborhood, and we’re respectful and mindful of that neighborhood,” Grano said.

Some complaints were significant enough to get the attention of city officials. Resident Linda Haller Sloan expressed concern that promotional material for Fresh Fridays did not include information about the existing First Friday Walks on Palm Avenue, which highlights art galleries and other businesses on the downtown street. In a reply to Sloan’s email, City Manager Marlon Brown said he agreed with the feedback and that the art walk would be featured in future information the city shares with the public.

Resident Susan Cohen said she thoroughly enjoyed the inaugural Fresh Friday, but she contacted Commissioner Hagen Brody about the city charging $5 for entry to the State Street garage the night of the event. Cohen expressed concern that not offering two hours of free parking, as is standard for city garages, would discourage some people from attending Fresh Fridays.

Since 2018, the city has charged $5 for entry to public garages on certain dates when heavier parking volume is expected, a policy Parking Manager Mark Lyons said was designed to improve the flow of entry and exit. Still, Brody said he was shocked the city was doing so on Nov. 5. At Brody’s request, the City Commission is scheduled to discuss parking procedures at a meeting in January.

Moran said he was looking forward to next month’s event so the DID could begin its analysis of how the events are going — and whether any changes may be necessary.

“Hopefully, we’ll see we’re getting a real return on investment, which is substantial,” Moran said.

Others may be holding out for more information, but after just one installment, Grano said he believed Fresh Fridays was already succeeding in its goal of getting more eyes on downtown and downtown businesses.

“This is a pilot, but I think we’ve got great momentum,” Grano said.