Change continues to come to downtown Sarasota

Hello/Goodbye

Scott Allen, excited to open his new store on Main Street in Sarasota, had this to say of the business environment downtown:

“We love the clientele, the people, the growth of Sarasota,” Allen said. “Downtown seems to be upticking with the condos and the cranes up in the air.”

That was just more than a year ago, when the store, Fugate’s, opened in September 2014. Now, despite that optimistic outlook, Fugate’s is gone from its location at 1476 Main St.

He wasn't the only merchant to praise the business climate along Main Street, only to close within a year of opening. Flatbread on Main, located at 1473 Main St., is gone after moving in earlier this year. Famous Tavern opened at 1573 Main St. late last summer but closed this spring.

Still, new businesses have been eager to move in where their predecessors quickly failed. Top Sushi moved into the space vacated by Famous Tavern; Pixie Dust Metaphysical Boutique is relocating from its store in the 1400 block of Main Street to replace Fugate’s starting Oct. 24, and Sol Meyer New York Delicatessen will replace Flatbread later this fall.

That’s why Downtown Economic Development Coordinator Norm Gollub isn’t worried about the impact the departing businesses might have on potential tenants weighing a move to Main Street.

“It’s kind of like a two-headed hydra,” Gollub said. “When one store disappears, two more come up.”

"It’s kind of like a two-headed hydra. When one store disappears, two more come up." — Norm Gollub

Both Flatbread and Fugate’s had nearby locations — the former in Englewood, the latter in Boca Grande — that attracted Sarasota clientele. The owners of both businesses cited that as a major factor in their decision to move to the city.

Gollub said he gets calls weekly from people interested in opening a downtown business, so he’s not concerned that other merchants and restaurateurs might be reluctant to expand into the Main Street area. The overall downtown vacancy rate, which includes the Rosemary District, is at 4%, a slight downtick over last year.

Solomon Shenker, a Long Island, N.Y. native, is the owner of Sol Meyer New York Deli. Undeterred by the departure of Flatbread, he believes his restaurant will fill a void in Sarasota’s food offerings — particularly in the robust downtown restaurant scene.

"It’s something that’s not here, and there’s nothing like it on Main Street." — Solomon Shenker

“We did some homework and realized that Main Street, Sarasota was a place to be,” Shenker said. “My motto is, if you have a great product, they’ll come.”

Bus Stop

When the new Evie’s Tavern and Grill opened on Main Street last month, one thing was notably missing: neighbors.

Evie’s is a centerpiece of entrepreneur Jesse Biter’s properties in the 1500 block of Main Street, which is slated to include a new Taco Bus as well as existing tenants Pho Cali, Drunken Poet Café, Melange and Pangea Lounge.

The construction of the new businesses and the rehabilitation of the old ones was scheduled for completion in September, but as of today, just Evie’s is open. So what’s the source of the delay?

Ben Kiekel, chief operating officer of Biter Enterprises, says there were two factors that pushed back the opening and re-opening dates. At the existing businesses, Kiekel said, construction crews discovered more work needed to be done than originally anticipated. He said the bulk of that work should be done by early next week.

At that time, the businesses will determine when they open. Kiekel said Pho Cali was planning to open as soon as possible, but the other three restaurants have additional renovations planned in addition to the structural improvements.

The situation for Taco Bus is more complicated. Already, project managers had to deal with the city’s denial of a proposed façade and a pickup window. Corporate changes — including the loss of the person managing the development of the Sarasota location — further compounded the process.

Kiekel said the owner of Taco Bus is currently pushing ahead with the project, but it’s still unclear when the popular Tampa-based restaurant will ultimately open.

“I don’t have a timeline for them,” Kiekel said. “I would hope it would be within a month, but I can’t say that’s when it will happen.”