Main Street at Lakewood Ranch is still the place to be

When I left Middletown, New York, to attend college, I didn't know I would be saying goodbye to the town's main shopping mall, the Orange Plaza.

But the mall, which was the shiny, new thing in town as I approached my teen years, became a dinosaur as new shopping opportunities were built all around it.

Less than 20 years after my departure from the area, it was gone.

It just one of our lessons growing up, that things change and things go away. When I was a kindergarten student, the Orange Plaza didn't even exist. There was an open field and a roadside bar with a Wise owl sign on top of it. I lived right across the street.

The bar was plowed under and the Orange Mall entered, and eventually, I worked at the Woolworth's there. We know what happened to the Woolworths.

So when Schroeder-Manatee Ranch built Waterside, and trumpeted its upcoming entertainment hub, Waterside Place, I began to worry a bit about Main Street at Lakewood Ranch.

My first day at the East County Observer in 2015, I arrived on Lakewood Main Street early on a Monday morning. it was quiet, and not a car was parked on the street. A Frank Sinatra tune was playing up and down the street through a speaker system, and I couldn't have imagined my new workplace being more beautiful.

Photo by Jay Heater

But with Main Street at Lakewood Ranch being more than 20 years old, and Waterside Place being the new, shiny thing, I didn't know if crowds would still flock to the "older" hub.

Last Saturday, I was convinced there was nothing to worry about.

I had come early to cover the annual Youth Fishing Tournament that was presented by the Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club and Lakewood Ranch Community Activities. I quickly noticed the sign that told me Lakewood Main Street was closed due to an event.

It was 8:30 a.m. and the hundreds of parking spots on the west side were filling up quickly.

I headed onto Lakewood Main Street, and expensive sports cars lined the street on either side. It was the 2023 Exotic Car Show hosted by Ferrari Drivers SRQ, with all proceeds benefiting the Flight to the North Pole, an event that is dedicated to providing goodwill for families dealing with a child suffering from life threatening or special health problems.

Flight to the North Pole also is a Manatee Sheriff's Office Charities' event and therefore Sheriff Rick Wells was riding atop the lead car of a small parade that weaved through cars that most of us only dream about.

The street was packed with folks who wanted to see what the rich and famous drive, and everyone was smiling because it all was for a good cause. To find out more about Flight to the North Pole or to donate to it, go to ManateeSheriffCharities.org.

Wells was doing the parade wave aboard a Ferrari driven by Sidney Ettedgui, who founded Flight to the North Pole in 1985 with a number of Eastern Airline flight attendants.

Wells might have been a bit out of his element, but he knew the bottom line.

"We want to give these kids one special day," he said of the Flight to the North Pole event. "We might see them next year, so this is all about them."

I asked Wells if he couldn't have his department buy a couple of Ferraris. No way criminals are getting away.

"I'm OK with (Chevy) Tahoes," he said with a laugh.

Behind Wells was Bello Nock, the legendary circus performer and clown, and behind Nock was the Lakewood Ranch High School Marching Mustangs band. The place was hopping.

But I needed to scoot over to Lake Uihlein to talk to the kids fishing in the tournament. They gathered behind Lakewood Ranch Town Hall, so I headed that way.

It was hard to get around the town hall, though, because Lakewood Ranch Community Emergency Response Team was hosting a clinic with dozens participating.

When I got through them, I found an elated Lakewood Ranch Anglers Club team that had attracted 68 kids to the event and their parents. I walked around the lake, talking to parents who were delighted with both the anglers for helping their kids with instruction, and with Lakewood Ranch Community Activities for providing so many different activities for both them and their children.

By the time I finished interviewing everybody, Lakewood Main Street was gushing with people. I headed back to my car, and as I walked through the parking lot, three cars came up behind me, all wanting to claim my one spot. Other cars were darting in and out of other aisles, hoping to get a spot.

As I drove away, I thought about how often that same scene exists. It's packed for Music on Main, all holidays, art shows, craft sales, and all types of special events.

With thousands more homes coming to East County, there is little doubt that Main Street of Lakewood Ranch is going to remain the place to be, even if Waterside Place pulls some people away.

No way is it going to go the way of the Orange Plaza, or the bar with the Wise owl. You can give SMR a high five on this one. Main Street was built to last.

And early in the morning, I can still enjoy a quiet walk down Lakewood Main Street, although I don't know what happened to that music system that used to play Sinatra.