Business Observer

+ New martial arts facility opens on Ashton Road
Red Tiger Martial Arts is now offering martial arts group lessons, including tae kwon do and jiu-jitsu, after-school care and adult fitness classes at 4581 Ashton Road.

Red Tiger will be hosting free events every Saturday in September in honor of its grand opening. The schedule of free classes includes Insanity class at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6; jiu-jitsu at 10 a.m.

Saturday, Sept. 13; Red Tiger X cardio kickboxing class at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20; and boot camp at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27.

For information, visit redtigerma.com or call 922-2530.

+ Seven Icard Merrill attorneys honored
Seven Icard Merrill attorneys have been selected by their peers to be included in the 2015 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. The Best Lawyers 2015 edition is based on more than 4 million detailed evaluations of lawyers submitted by other lawyers in the same or related specialties.

The seven attorneys from Icard Merrill include: Charles J. Bartlett, Michael J. Furen, Thomas F. Icard Jr., Robert K. Lincoln, Robert G. Lyons, William W. Merrill III and Jaime L. Wallace.

The law firm of Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen & Ginsburg, P.A., was founded in 1953 in Sarasota. The firm currently has office locations in Lakewood Ranch and Punta Gorda, as well as its headquarters in Sarasota. Icard Merrill is a full-service law firm offering business, commercial and construction litigation, personal injury, real estate, land use, family law, probate and tax and estate planning services.

+ Grapevine receives industry accolades               
Grapevine Communications announces recent industry accolades. The firm was recognized as the 2014 Small Business of the Year by the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, one of the “Top 25 Ad Agencies in Southwest Florida” by the Tampa Bay Business Journal and “Best Marketing/PR Agency” by readers of SRQ magazine.

“We’re very proud to continue providing the services and results to maintain our place among the area’s very best and brightest agencies,” said Angela Massaro-Fain, founder and president of Grapevine Communications. “We feel these acknowledgements stand as a testament to the remarkable talents, hard work and personal care our team brings to every client, every day.”

Grapevine also continues its tradition of serving the community with local board memberships and by providing more than $133,000 in pro-bono services for nonprofit organizations in 2013. The company has already selected 13 organizations and provided more than $125,000 in grants for 2014.

+ National chain opens spa in Sarasota
Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa has opened its first Sarasota location at 3800 S. Tamiami Trail. Hand & Stone offers Swedish, deep tissue and sports massages, as well as facials.

Co-owner Amy Sankes is the former director of development for the Ringling Museum of Art, and her husband and business partner, Joshua, also owns his own financial-planning practice with Raymond James and Associates.

For more information, call 702-5224 or visit handandstone.com/spa/store/Sarasota.