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A year of change at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

Jack Dusty Anniversary Party

By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune

It has been a good year for Jack Dusty, the nautical-themed restaurant that has helped transform the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota.

The upscale resort property has made significant moves recently to redefine luxury in Southwest Florida.

The Ritz has been the standard of high-end resort and condominium living and dining in Sarasota, but in the last year the has property shifted away from the idea that a grander lifestyle must be exclusive and pretentious.

The hotel has instead taken on a more modern, hip and casual approach.

Read more here.

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Forging a new path for Robb & Stucky

By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune.

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The return of one of the premier brands in the furniture industry bodes well for the Southwest Florida region, the housing market and the local economy.
Robb & Stucky reopened its store at 7557 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota in early December. And while shoppers may remember the Robb & Stucky name and its upscale line of furniture and home decor merchandise, the chain is now under new ownership and forging a new path in Florida.

This isn’t your grandmother’s Robb & Stucky, said Steve Lush, president and CEO of the new brand.

“There are a lot of misconceptions out there about who we are as a brand,” Lush said. “We offer the same quality customers remember. But we’re under new ownership and management and have more furniture arrangements than ever before that cater to all price points.”

The company’s stores across Florida closed in 2011, including the 68,000-square-foot location in south Sarasota, despite having been one of the top sellers in Southwest Florida just five years earlier.

The brand started making a comeback in 2012 by opening stores in Fort Myers, where the chain is headquartered, and in Naples, before opening its third and largest store in Sarasota.

Read more here.

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Christmas shopping in Sarasota: Holiday retail coverage

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Leland, 15, and her mother Beth McCullagh are Black Friday shopping enthusiasts and are excited to get out to the stores Thursday evening into Friday morning. (November 26, 2013) (Herald-Tribune staff photo by Rachel S. O’Hara)

Editor’s Note: Herald-Tribune reporter Justine Griffin shopped with two Sarasota families this holiday season. She went shopping in Sarasota with Melissa Tomasso, who waited until after Thanksgiving and in Brandon with Beth McCullagh, who hunted for Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving night.

Below are stories I wrote during the holiday season:

Lists handy, shoppers gird for holiday hunt By Justine Griffin. Published: Nov. 26, 2013

Between Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and three weeks of shopping from now to Christmas, shoppers have more options than ever to get all the gifts on their holiday lists.

Southwest Florida moms Melissa Tomasso and Beth McCullagh are two of the 140 million people who are expected to shop during the Thanksgiving weekend — the biggest for shopping of the year. That turnout is down about 5 percent from last year, according to data collected by the National Retail Federation.

With doorbuster deals beginning earlier than ever — in some chain stores as early as 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day — consumers are poised to see some of the best Black Friday discounts in years, experts say.

The Herald-Tribune will follow Tomasso and McCullagh as they hunt down deals, navigate shopping crowds and stores, and ultimately check off items on their holiday gift lists this holiday season.

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Consumes have plans. Merchants have hopes. By Justine Griffin. Published: Nov, 30, 2013

Beth McCullagh and her daughter ran to the entrance of Macy’s — not to be the first in line for doorbuster deals, but to get out of the 50-degree weather.

McCullagh and her daughter are career Black Friday shoppers. Together, they’ve managed the lines, the crowds and the long early-morning hours spent in malls and other shopping plazas. But they have always come home victorious, bearing bags and boxes full of gifts acquired at prices that make friends and family envious.

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After Black Friday, shopping deals still abound By Justine Griffin. Published: Dec. 9, 2013

The tree’s up in the living room and the colorful lights dangle from the roof of the Tomasso family home.

It is early December and Melissa Tomasso, a wife, sister-in-law, daughter, mother of two and a substitute teacher in Sarasota, is eager to wrap up her holiday shopping for friends and family. She is one of the 46.2 percent of Americans who waited to shop until after Thanksgiving, according to data from the National Retail Federation.

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Retailer’s season hasn’t been merry By Justine Griffin. Published: Dec. 23, 2013

While retail stores were busy with the many bargain hunters looking for a last minute deal before the holiday this past weekend, Sarasota shoppers Beth McCullagh and Melissa Tomasso were relaxing at home, their shopping already done for the season.

McCullagh, a dedicated Black Friday shopper who lives with her family in Lakewood Ranch, spent a few days in stores after Black Friday, but wrapped up most of her shopping online. Tomasso, who waited until December to begin shopping for her family who live in Sarasota, shopped online and in stores, but grabbed everything on her list before jetting to New York for a short getaway before Wednesday.

As of Dec. 9, the average American holiday shopper had completed only half of their gift shopping for friends and family, which is slightly less than how much shoppers had completed by that time last year, according to the National Retail Federation. That fact boded well for store chains as they geared up for Super Saturday and the last weekend before Christmas, where retailers offer a final round of marked-down prices in a last-minute effort to purge inventories before the end of the holiday season.

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Shoppers spent less than expected in 2013 By Justine Griffin. Published: Jan. 14, 2014

Melissa Tomasso checked off every item on her children’s holiday wish lists this year, but kept well within her strict budget.

Her daughter Malia, 11, got a Kindle e-reader and MacBook Pro, expensive electronics but tools she uses for school, too. Her son, Jared, 14, also got a Kindle and some new fishing gear.

Every year when the holidays roll around, Melissa and her husband, Chris, who live in Sarasota, come up with a limited spending plan.

“My kids may have gotten all the gifts they wanted this year, but we always stick to our budget,” Tomasso said. “We splurged a little on the kids for electronics, but we were prepared for that.”

That seemed to match a broader sentiment among shoppers clearly evident in spending patterns during the recent holiday season. More consumers spent less than they expected, but only 14 percent said they spent more than expected, reported Bankrate.com, a Palm Beach-based consumer financial firm. Being on a budget was fairly universal: no age group spent more than expected, Bankrate.com data showed.

 

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After months of ‘opening soon,’ is it time for Bob’s Boathouse?

My A1 story on Oct. 30 about the reopening of a controversial restaurant in Sarasota. It was the most read story on HeraldTribune.com the day it published.

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Photo by Elaine Litherland, Herald-Tribune staff.

SARASOTA – The sign posted outside Bob’s Boathouse on South Tamiami Trail changes week to week as it has for many months: Opening soon.

The reincarnation of what was a staple Siesta Key watering hole has been a long time in the making, and if the 1,700 fans on Bob’s Boathouse Facebook page are any indication, there is plenty of interest.

“Sign on 41 says opening week of Halloween!” says a recent post.

Bob’s Boathouse, a unique spot many remember on the Intracoastal Waterway at the Siesta Key Bridge, was a popular causal spot for tourists and locals alike before it closed in 2001 to make way for a 38-unit condominium development.

More than a decade later, Tom LeFevre, the man behind Bob’s Boathouse, pledges to bring back the restaurant many residents still remember, this time at the cleared site of the former Royal Oldsmobile GMC dealership.

Tucked back on Phillippi Creek, at 5515 S. Tamiami Trail, passersby see the restaurant — but more noticeable are the shells of boats littering the parking lot as if abandoned by a rogue wave.

Those who remember the old Bob’s Boathouse have shared their memories on Facebook. People post pictures of the current site or share photos from the old spot from Stickney Point Road near Siesta Key.

The social media banter from these many patrons pose the same question over and over.

Just when is Bob’s Boathouse going to open?

Read more here.

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Column: How to land one of those thousands of seasonal jobs

My “What’s in Store” column from Tuesday, Oct. 8. Published in the Herald-Tribune.

Photo by Justine Griffin for the Sun Sentinel.

Photo by Justine Griffin for the Sun Sentinel.

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The market for seasonal part-time jobs might fall flat this year, but there are opportunities for those looking for a way to make a little extra cash around the holidays. Now’s the time to apply.

Hiring for seasonal retail jobs is expected to be around the same as last year, early predictions show. That means some 700,000 jobs open up across the country.

Locally, thousands of part-time jobs are available at chain stores such as Best Buy, Macy’s, Walmart and Bealls.

And the hiring has already started.

Most employers encourage applicants to apply online through company websites, even for part-time and seasonal work.

Here are some tips to make the job search a little easier.

Read more here.