Tommy Knockers to open third location in Manatee County
A “typical neighborhood-type bar” with two locations in Manatee County is knocking into another.
Tommy Knockers, with one location on 14th Street West in Bradenton and another, Tommy Knockers Clam Stand, on 7th Street North in Bradenton Beach, will open a third location at 7004 Cortez Road W. Tommy Knockers will take the place of the Badda Bing bar, which closed earlier this year.
Each location is different, said Tommy Knockers owner Mark Rosato, but the Tommy Knockers on Cortez Road, as he called it, will have “the typical Tommy Knockers spin.” He doesn’t plan to change the look of the location much, though, for nostalgia’s sake.
“We’ll just clean it up, remodel and renovate,” Rosato said. “But Badda Bing was such a popular place before, and before it was Badda Bing it was O’Hara’s, which was a popular Irish place many years ago. And it hasn’t really changed on the inside.”
Rosato will bring in a couple pool tables and plenty of TVs so customers can watch NFL games and other professional sports. Rosato has been in the bar business for more than 30 years. He moved to Florida from Yonkers, New York, more than a decade ago with the intention to retire, but like many who arrive in Florida with the same plan, “It didn’t work out like that.”
People know what they’re getting from Tommy Knockers. Clean bathrooms and good personalities behind the bar.
Owner Mark Rosato
The first Tommy Knockers opened in Bradenton in 2008 and Rosato later opened a Tommy Knockers in Gulf Gate, which he’s since sold. The Bradenton Beach location opened in March of this year. He hopes Tommy Knockers on Cortez Road will open by Sept. 1.
The future home of the third Tommy Knockers location is in the 71 Street Plaza, which is also home to a Kelsey’s on Cortez restaurant and bar, a convenience store and chiropractor Glenn Gallo’s office. Gallo owns the strip mall, according to Manatee County Property records and Florida corporate records.
Tommy Knockers locations do not serve food; just drinks and a consistent experience, Rosato said.
“People know what they’re getting from Tommy Knockers,” he said. “Clean bathrooms and good personalities behind the bar.”
Janelle O’Dea: 941-745-7095, @jayohday
This story was originally published July 28, 2017 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Tommy Knockers to open third location in Manatee County."