Manatee County restaurants prepare for Florida tourist season, see early increase in traffic

MANATEE -- Though Florida's tourist season is typically a time of temperate weather, Manatee County restaurateurs are already feeling the heat, and not just because it's been a muggy autumn.

Winter is the busiest tourist season for the southern and central regions of Florida, according to Visit Florida.

But it's still fall and Patrick Coleman, co-owner of Poppo's Taqueria, has already seen 20 to 30 percent more traffic in his Anna Maria Island location than what he saw last November.

Anna Maria Island resorts are at capacity during season, and Coleman speculates that more people are choosing to vacation earlier because "there's no room at the inn in high season anymore."

He also expects his new University Park location to be packed on Black Friday, and that business will steadily increase through the holiday season. By Valentine's Day, business at the island restaurant will "explode," he predicts.

Tommy Dennis, co-owner of Joey D's Chicago-style food restaurant, is seeing an increase in early-season traffic as well.

"They're here early even with the good weather up north," Dennis said. "December, January, February, March and April are the five heavy months, and November is slowly seeing it turn the corner." Joey D's has three locations in Bradenton and Sarasota, with another one to open soon on Manatee Avenue West.

To prepare for the season, each Joey D's restaurant usually hires about 10 additional staff members, Dennis said, after he gives priority to his existing staff if they want more hours. The increase in November traffic doesn't necessarily come as a surprise to Dennis.

"It seems like every year in the last 12 years it's getting heavier with the traffic and restaurant flow," he said. While working on the Manatee Avenue restaurant, he's seen traffic steadily increase on the busy thoroughfare.

Adam Ellis, owner of Anna Maria Island seafood restaurant Blue Marlin, says Bridge Street is always a busy place on the island, but his restaurant is seeing more traffic already. And it's not necessarily from the typical island customer.

"We can definitely see it picking up," Ellis said. "More local people are out now."

Though the past couple of months have been unseasonably warm for Manatee, Ellis said slightly cooler temperatures and a desire to enjoy the area's amenities before it gets too

crowded with tourists are bringing locals out.

Like Coleman, Ellis estimates the biggest crowds of the season will show up around Valentine's Day.

Jeff Vangen, co-owner of Demi's Noodle House in Palmetto, says they've been "tooling up" and adding staff to prepare for the holidays and busy months.

Vangen's wife, Demi Vangen, has worked in Florida's restaurant scene for 10 years and expects business to reach its heights in January.

"We have seen a shift from our regular clientele in the last two weeks," Jeff Vangen said. "We've seen a lot of first-timers and it's easy to measure for us because we've only been open 90 days."

Until now, the Demi's Noodle House main client base has come from Palmetto neighborhoods, but the Vangens are seeing a lot of "self-confessed snowbirds" coming in to try Demi's pho and other Vietnamese recipes for the first time.

"We're really scheduling Black Friday as our kickoff and we know we really have to capitalize on season in January," Jeff Vangen said.

"We know this from traditional experience."

Manatee County collected almost $60,000 more in bed taxes November of the 2014-15 fiscal year compared with the previous cycle, according to data from the Manatee County Tax Collector.

November is one of the lowest months in bed tax collection, while February and March pull in the most, with more than $1.3 million each in the last fiscal year.

Overall, Manatee County collections increased more than $1.2 million from one fiscal year to the next, proof more people are traveling to Manatee County for vacation throughout the year.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayohday

This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 11:46 PM with the headline "Manatee County restaurants prepare for Florida tourist season, see early increase in traffic ."