We deserve more than bars in downtown Bradenton

In the July 20 article, “The Fish rebrands, reopens as a Play Arcade and Bar,” Joey Bennett, the owner of The Fish was quoted as saying that his choice to rebrand his restaurant as a barcade is “just more Bradenton,” noting that Bradenton is “a city of blue-collar people.”

We enjoyed The Fish in its short life as a sushi restaurant and were looking forward to its expansion. The blue-collar people of Bradenton like good food! They are supporting established restaurants like O’Bricks and Favs and welcoming newcomers to downtown like Jennings Downtown Provisions and Sage Biscuit.

While a barcade sounds fun, and we wish Bennett well, we would like to see more than bars in our downtown. We hope to also invite diverse restaurants, businesses, stores and art. We appreciate the revitalization of Downtown, Riverwalk and the Village of the Arts. All people -- blue, white and green collar — love good food and good art.

This story was originally published August 10, 2017 at 12:11 PM with the headline "We deserve more than bars in downtown Bradenton."