Gary Kompothecras to buy Crescent Club

In the new year, an iconic Siesta Key bar will be under new ownership.

Gary Kompothecras, a Siesta Key landowner and founder of 1-800-ASK-GARY, confirmed today he is set to purchase the Crescent Club at 6519 Midnight Pass Road. The bar has been in operation near the south bridge to Siesta Key for more than six decades.

Kompothecras said he plans to maintain the property once the sale is complete. He expects the deal to close in the first week of January.

“I’m dedicated to preserving it,” Kompothecras said. “I think it’d be a shame to change anything.”

Crescent Club owner Julie Brown could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kompothecras said he hoped to help revitalize the area around the Stickney Point bridge. Kompothecras owns more than an acre of land on Old Stickney Point Road. He wants to build a hotel in the area, a concept that has drawn concern from Siesta Key residents even as the county has revised its regulations to help facilitate such a project.

Kompothecras said he was also interested in the former Bank of America building at 1237 Stickney Point Road, which is on the market after the bank closed earlier this year.

“I’m interested in that whole area to redevelop it, because it’s so sorely needed,” Kompothecras said. “It needs a sprucing up. It needs to be revitalized, because it’s kind of dumpy down there and it shouldn’t be.”

He cited the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego as a point of reference for his vision for the area. In addition to the hotel, he said he was interested in opening more restaurants and putting in cobblestone streets.

Kompothecras is aware his interest in the area has worried some people on Siesta Key, but as an island resident himself, he said he wants to improve the quality of the south bridge area.

“I’m here to help the Key,” Kompothecras said. “I’m not here to hurt the Key.”