New restaurant said to be coming to downtown Bradenton. It’s a name you’ll recognize
When Paradise Ventures purchased the old Checkers site that has long been vacant at 115 Manatee Ave. W., company officials pledged — without knowing what would be developed — something exciting.
Their conceptual proposal keeps that promise to the point where Planning and Community Development Director Catherine Hartley said, “I’m excited to see how they will put this together.”
Paradise Ventures is proposing a new restaurant on the site with next door retail or an office building with a mini storage on top.
Rumors are flowing about which restaurant is coming, but the developer is telling the city that the new tenant will be Bradenton-based First Watch.
A First Watch spokesperson confirmed the company has been looking at the site with the developer but would not confirm whether it was negotiating a lease. However, the spokesperson would not deny it either, saying only that they could not speak about any potential new locations until a deal was finalized.
Paradise Ventures officials have not returned a request for further comment. The development company purchased the land in November for more than $1.5 million.
Paradise Ventures Project manager Brad Karns said in November that the site was challenging because of the city’s form base codes, but those codes will ensure the retail or office space — that conceptually has a ramp going into the storage area on top — doesn’t look like a typical storage facility.
Hartley said the unofficial renderings hide the building’s intent nicely, “And quite frankly they are nice-looking buildings.”
Paradise Ventures is one of the largest developers of Publix shopping centers in Florida, but also builds popular restaurants such as Bonefish Grill. It is currently developing the new Panera Bread location at 6351 Manatee Ave. W.
The Checkers closed in 2007 and had leased the property from the Manatee County School District, which sold the property in 2014 for $1.4 million. Little interest was shown in the property over the past five years until now, though Thorntons expressed interest in 2016, but the city shot down the proposal when the company wouldn’t adjust its design.
The proposal would maximize the space and by going vertical with mixed use, officials “are figuring out a way to make the second floor profitable that doesn’t require parking,” Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff noted.
There is no timeline for breaking ground, but Hartley said the developer hopes to have something final to the city by June.