Tag Archives: Sarasota

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Saks Fifth Avenue will have its own upscale place to dine

Photo courtesy of Fifth Dining LLC

By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune.

When the new Saks Fifth Avenue department store opens at the Mall at University Town Center, shoppers can expect more than just expanded departments and two floors of merchandise. The 80,000-square-foot Saks space — one of the key anchors for the $315 million mall in Sarasota County — also will boast its own restaurant, and be one of the first in the chain to do so.

 

When Saks opens, so will “Sophie’s,” a new restaurant concept by Fifth Dining LLC, a new restaurant effort within the Saks brand. The elegant, gourmet restaurant will complement the department store’s look and feel but will offer a completely separate lunch and dinner dining experience for Saks shoppers.

…Saks Fifth Avenue is the latest upscale retailer to venture into the dining sector in recent years.

Nordstrom’s department stores, including the one in Tampa’s International Plaza, have their own line of in-store cafes, which serve lighter fare, coffee and cocktails.

The concept has helped make Nordstrom more of a destination for shoppers, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president with Chicago-based Technomic, a food consulting firm.

Read more here.

 

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Sarasota airport eyes international market

By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune

Renovations to expand the U.S. Customs and Border Protection operation at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport are set to begin next month in what officials hope will be the next step of several to attract international air carriers to Southwest Florida.

As sports venues like Nathan Benderson Park and the IMG Academy in Bradenton continue to attract more international sporting events to the region, airport officials are attempting to keep up with the expected influx of visitors from overseas by updating airport facilities to accommodate international planes and passengers.

“We want to be in sync with venues like Benderson Park and IMG as they grow over the years,” said Fredrick “Rick” Piccolo, Sarasota-Bradenton’s chief executive. “There’s no guarantee that if we make these improvements that an international carrier will come, but if we don’t do it, they definitely will not come.”

In 2001, the airport spent roughly $15 million, much of it federal money, to extend the airport’s main runway to accommodate larger, internationally based aircraft. Expanding the customs operation is the next step in solidifying preparations for international traffic.

Read more here.

Related:  SRQ hopes to add direct flight from  Baltimore

Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport officials are hoping they can provide enough incentives to persuade air carriers to offer flight service to and from the Baltimore area for the spring training season next year.

 

They spoke about incentive packages, which could include up to $500,000 for advertising new flight routes and waiving landing fees for a carrier, at a Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority meeting on Monday.

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Sarasota sports strategy: Just build it

By Justine Griffin for the Herald-Tribune.

Sarasota BMX Park

Photo by Thomas Bender, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

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Sarasota County officials have developed a formula they hope will grow a variety of sports in the region: Build it and they will come.

Following the success of Nathan Benderson Park, once a mining pit used for highway construction and now the site of the 2017 World Rowing Championships, Sarasota County plans to build an Olympic-level supercross BMX track for cyclists at the existing Sarasota BMX Track on Tuttle Avenue and 17th Street.

The 40-year-old park is the longest-standing BMX track in the United States and will soon be one of only two in the country that boasts an Olympic-level supercross track, said Carolyn Brown, Sarasota County’s director of parks and recreation.

“Over the years the park has served thousands of children and adults, but the improvements will allow Sarasota to host a higher level of competition,” Brown said. “More people can stay here and train. The economic impact will be great — these people will use our hotels and possibly even move here.”

The county has allocated $1.7 million, partially funded through tourism development tax dollars, to go toward building the professional-level track, which will run alongside the existing amateur track. The new track requires an 8-meterstarting ramp, compared with the existing 5-meter ramp, and larger obstacles.

Construction is set to begin in October, Brown said, and the new track is expected to be completed by summer 2015. Officials are considering doing the construction in phases, which would allow the track to remain open.

Read the full story here.

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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.