Rain doesn’t dampen SoMa district’s spirit

BRADENTON — It was raining, but Chef Dave Shiplett, the owner of the SoMa restaurant in the rapidly evolving little Bradenton neighborhood that is still searching for its permanent name, said he didn’t care.

Shiplett stood in the soft drizzle Sunday and listened to singer Sheri Nadleman covering Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on a rented stage in the middle of a patch of land just west of SoMa.

Only a handful of people braved the rain to come out and stand with Shiplett to celebrate the one-year birthday for SoMa, which stands for South of Manatee Avenue.

But, rain or no rain, this was an historic event, Shiplett said.

It was historic because this area of Bradenton, roughly from Eighth Street East to 10th Street East and from Sixth Avenue East to the Manatee River, had never before been the scene of a public party, many observers said Sunday.

A party is a big step for an area that doesn’t even have a universally accepted name, like Village of the Arts, Waterfront, Old Main or 14th Street corridor, which are Bradenton icons, said Nancy Cobb of Cobweb’s Unique Finds, which shares 817 Manatee Ave. E. in this new district with Retro Rosie, owned by Rosie Dole.

Some call this area Old Manatee. Others call it Old Bradenton.

Both are appropriate for a neighborhood that is close to the first Manatee settlement.

Still others call it the Antiques District because it is home to businesses such as Cobweb’s Unique Finds, Retro Rosie and The Wishing Well.

Perhaps because of SoMa’s catchy name, which sounds like the SoHo district in New York City, some are also calling it the SoMa district.

“Old Bradenton is what I hear the most, but real estate agents have been calling it SoMa district lately,” said Tonya Kida, SoMa’s event coordinator.

But whatever the name, some of the merchants who were at Sunday’s party — which featured unique offerings from Shiplett’s menu, merchant booths, face painting and plenty of music — said the district is steadily evolving due to aggressive networking.

“All of my wait staff go to the Central Salon to get their hair done and Central Salon sends customers to us,” Kida said of a nearby salon in the district. “Even Kyle’s Transmissions and Car Repair sends us customers.”

LyteWorks, which has lighting and home furnishings in the district, also networks aggressively and SoMa returns the favor, Kida said.

Kida can recite all of LyteWorks’ products.

“This is what we do,” Kida said.

Kida said there has been some buzz about a monthly district party, like Get Down Downtown on Old Main.

When an area is new, the little things can be exciting, said Kristie Kindstrom, an artist who works with copper, silver and other metals to make jewelry.

“We heard that some people from California were passing through and saw the party and stopped to see what was going on,” Kindstrom said.

Shiplett said he envisioned Sunday’s party, right down to the details.

“I had a dream and I saw the stage right under that big tree,” Shiplett said. “Now it’s real.”

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 748-0411, ext. 6686

This story was originally published August 9, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Rain doesn’t dampen SoMa district’s spirit."