Will You Miss These Bradenton Restaurants?

A trio of downtown restaurants — Lucky Dogs, Retro City Cafe and Jennifer's Cafe — recently closed up shop. Are you sad to see them go?

Jose's Real Cuban Food Expands to Downtown Bradenton

The Cortez Road restaurant has a new satellite operation at 1800 14th St. West for takeout and deliveries.

Downtown office workers in Bradenton will have a new option for lunch: Jose's Real Cuban Food. Really. The popular Cortez Road restaurant is starting a branch operation at 1800 14th St. West that will handle takeout and delivery, the Bradenton Herald reports. How convenient is that? The grand opening is Wednesday, though owner Jose Baserva started taking orders Monday, according to the Herald. Folks can chow down on Cuban sandwiches, rice and beans, flan and other tasty specialties without leaving their desks! Or commuters can order food to go before they head home in the evening, making a stop at the new place. The restaurant gained the national spotlight when Food Network star Guy Fieri visited in 2011 to film an episode of the popular …

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Enjoy The Blues

Blues Fest among Bradenton's weekend highlights.

This weekend in downtown Bradenton is primarily about the blues, but not in a sad way. It’s the Bradenton Blues Fest and it kicks off with a teaser on Friday followed by two events on Saturday. Even though Saturday’s main event is happening on Riverwalk, we still like the idea of closing down Old Main Street on Saturday evening to coincide with the party at the park. That’s because there is easy access and bar-hopping opportunities at places we love like Old Main Pub, McCabe’s Irish Pub, Lost Kangaroo, O’Bricks Irish Pub & Martini Bar, Cork’s Cigar Bar and Distillery Tavern. And Old Main Street is where you’ll find plenty of drinks (The ‘Roo itself has more than 170 varieties of beer), cigars (Cork’s has brands like Cusano, Oliva, Romeo y …

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Bradenton Business Spotlight

Retro City Serves Up Diner Classics With 1950's Flair

Downtown Bradenton restaurant, Retro City, features a fun and funky 50's theme and diner classics.

It may be one of the newer restaurants to hit the downtown Bradenton scene, but Retro City is all about nostalgia. The 1950’s-themed diner and deli is precisely the kind of place where, in a bygone era, one might expect to run into leather jacket-clad greasers and girls in poodle skirts splitting two-straw milkshakes on their way to the sock hop or a drive-in movie. The restaurant décor includes old motorcycles and guitars, mounted antique car parts and photographs and images of retro celebrities and cultural icons such as James Dean, Elvis and Betty Boop. The menu features a wide array of classic diner fare with a few fun twists. Located in the Suntrust building at 1001 3rd Avenue West, the restaurant opened its doors to serve breakfast …

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Bradenton Business Spotlight

Three Generations of Italian Tradition at Ferraro's Pizza

Ferraro's Pizza, a family owned and operated business with three locations in Bradenton and seven in New Jersey, is one of the most popular local pizza joints.

Combining only the freshest ingredients with classic southern Italian recipes that have been perfected over several generations results in quality dishes that thrill the taste buds with every bite — which is precisely what makes Ferraro’s Pizza one of Bradenton’s most popular Italian eateries. Ferraro’s — the name of which is derived from an antiquated Italian word for iron worker, according to co-owner and executive chef, Sal LoGrande — opened the doors of its first location in New Jersey in 1980, just a few years after LoGrande’s grandparents emigrated to the United States, bringing their family recipes from their home in Palermo, Sicily. Simple, classic Italian dishes such as hand-tossed pizza and pasta characterize the majority of the …

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Viewfinder: Riverwalk Grand Opening Photo Gallery

The long-awaited grand opening of Bradenton's Riverwalk took place on Thursday.

Bradenton's $6.2 million Riverwalk project reached fruition on Thursday with a grand opening that drew thousands. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place at 5:30 p.m. while families enjoyed the water park, playgrounds, skate park, outdoor volleyball courts, live music and more.  Check out the exclusive Bradenton Patch photo gallery. Have photos of your own? Add them to our gallery!

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Rudy Jones

2:06 pm on Saturday, November 17, 2012

I will gather to bet that no more than $1.5m went to the actual skatepark construction costs.   more ›

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Live Music, a New Riverfront and Honoring the Mustache

There's something for everyone — and every day — this weekend in Bradenton.

If you plan on attending the grand opening of Bradenton’s revamped Riverwalk on Thursday — which everyone is going to do of course! – it's 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. with live music, skateboarding, volleyball, tai chi, public art talk and walking tours. But don't forget about the street party on Old Main Street! Main Street Live (formerly known as Get Down Downtown) will be from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. with drinks, plenty of food vendors and live music from Lauren Mitchell Band. Old Main Street between Manatee and Third avenues closes to vehicles around 1:30 p.m., so don’t park there after lunch!  Here's what else is going on around town:

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Hookah Returns to The Cellar

And Get Down Downtown, or at least the monthly event once known by that name, returns to downtown Bradenton this Thursday night.

Hookah helped put The Cellar on the map. And now it’s back. The Cellar Bar, 4307 26th St. W., announced recently that it has brought back its hookah practice along with 20 varieties of shisha, a flavored tobacco that is smoked out of the multi-stemmed hookah instrument. Flavors include grape, apple, watermelon, strawberry, lime and a dozen more. The cost is $10 per hookah. While Hookah is legal for adults 18 and over, you can’t get into The Cellar if you’re under 21 – yet. The Cellar’s owner, Bill Hatoum, said he’s considering one or two 18+ nights at The Cellar. We’ll keep you posted. The Cellar is open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day but Sunday. It proclaims itself as the home of the $5 Long Island ice teas which come in 10 different …

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Bradenton Business Spotlight

Classic Ink Tattoo Studio Supports the Arts in Downtown Bradenton

Classic Ink tattoo parlor, established in 2009, was part of an effort to invigorate the art community in downtown Bradenton.

Brandon Sommers believes that art and community go hand in hand — which is why he chose downtown Bradenton as the home for his tattoo studio, Classic Ink. It was the eclectic mixture of diverse clientele that drew the former resident of Manhattan’s “Hell’s Kitchen” to the downtown area after he moved to Bradenton in 2008 to be with his wife. Sommers immediately noted the restaurants and bars, burgeoning nightlife and the camaraderie between local artists and the business community in downtown Bradenton and in 2009, opened the area’s first and only tattoo parlor on Old Main Street. “I knew that the nightlife was guaranteed to keep me open, but in the three years that I’ve been here, I’ve been excited to see so much growth in all of the …

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When Alligators Get Active, a Summer Solstice Soiree and More: June 20

Here are 5 things to know in Bradenton today.

1. Renovations to Warner's Bayou's boat ramp that were stalled in the spring are back on the discussion table. A public workshop has been announced for 6 p.m., July 11, at the Palma Sola Elementary School cafeteria, 6806 5th Ave NW, Bradenton. Before changes will begin, such as a grassed storm water runoff, new restroom and fish cleaning station, the public can provide some input at the July 11 meeting, so save the date. Manatee County Government has more information. 2. Are you Team Ketchup or Team Mustard? The first 500 fans at the Bradenton Marauders' Thursday night game will get a T-shirt to show their pride at Condiment Duel II during the 6:30 game. It's also Thirsty Thursday at the ballpark, so select draft beers and sodas are $1.  3…

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