Downtown restaurant scene is about to explode

Downtown Bradenton continues to experience something of a Renaissance as business and entertainment growth continues.

Several new businesses, including three restaurants, have plans to open on an entire block of 13th Street West.

Planned for the 500 block of 13th Street West, just north of Manatee Avenue West, are:

• A European-style restaurant at 535 13th St. W. Wim and Mieke Lippens, owners of Palmetto’s Riverside Bed and Breakfast, hope to be open by the end of the year.
• Obscure Cafe, 540 13th St. W., has signed a lease and renovations are underway of its building.
• The owner of the same building, 540 13th. W., is negotiating with a tenant to also open a pizzeria in the building.
• A French grocery and wine store, 530 13th St. W., offering fine wines and cheeses, is expected to open on the same block.
• The building’s owner, 530 13th St. W., also is in negotiations for a possible children’s fitness center.

The Lippenses just opened a restaurant called Dining at Palmetto Riverside Bed and Breakfast in November, featuring food and atmosphere with a European flair, believing that a meal should be an event and experience rather than just something to eat.

Wim Mieke confirmed Thursday that they are expanding into Bradenton with a similar concept and are awaiting their final permits to begin renovation.

“We love to be there on that side of the river and will probably open later this year,” Mieke said. “It will be European, which means good Italian, French and Spanish cuisine.”

A transformation

Thirteenth Street West has already been undergoing a transformation.

Sugar Cubed bakery moved from the Village of the Arts after three years to 13th Street West, opening their new location in December at 531 13th St. W. Owner Dana Johnson said he outgrew his space in the village and now has a lot more room to expand his operations for walk-in traffic. Johnson said more businesses will clearly attract more people.

“Downtown has to be more than one street,” Johnson said. “The more businesses we have, the more reason for people to walk all over downtown.”

Johnson’s business partner, Valencia Mitchell, said Old Main Street has its own atmosphere and everything that is going on one block over will offer something new and different.

“There is going to be more coming to downtown than just getting something to eat or going to a bar,” Mitchell said.

Indeed there is, noted one local Realtor, who didn’t want to be identified for client-confidentiality reasons. He says he has at least two high-profile clients who are looking to open new businesses in downtown Bradenton.

“Bradenton is about to go boom,” he said. “Everyone is looking at Bradenton right now. It’s not only growing, but growing in the right way.”

According to Ellen Nepustil, who owns the building where Sugar Cubed is located, three new independently owned massage and wellness clinics have recently opened on the second floor.

Hand Me Your World is owned by Haley Capwell, Warrick Wellness is owned by Kelly Warrick and Virdian Massage is owned by Donna Salemink. Nepustil also has a business on the second floor called Fiber Arts.

“We are very excited about the changes coming to downtown Bradenton, and are excited to be a small part of it,” Nepustil said.

Two other businesses started the street’s transformation. Kings Station, a business incubator and conference center, opened in late 2016. About the same time, the marketing firm of Brand Story Experts, which among their clients are the Pittsburgh Pirates, opened their doors. Both businesses invested several hundred thousand dollars each into the renovation of the older buildings on 13th that have long sat vacant or were used by Manatee County.

For Samantha Bruno-Keenan, co-owner of Brand Story Experts, the growth spurt is most welcome. Her company isn’t exactly a walk-in business, but Bruno-Keenan said the growth of downtown Bradenton will help retain millennials coming out of college, which is her primary hiring target.

“We are thrilled to see this happening,” said Bruno-Keenan. “We’ve been hoping and waiting. We live in Bradenton and moved here from Sarasota because we liked the quieter atmosphere, but at the same time we need to grow more excitement and life into downtown. For us, we like to hire younger people to bring that young perspective into what we do. But they have to have a reason to stay in Bradenton and a lot of these (university) students graduate and start looking to St. Pete or Tampa. The more Bradenton has to do, the more likely they will stay.”

This story was originally published February 15, 2018 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Downtown restaurant scene is about to explode."