What Businesses Should Come to Bradenton?

A gluten-free restaurant? A Trader Joe's? Einstein Bagels? A skating rink? Check out Patch readers' suggestions and add your own here.

Bradenton Patch recently asked readers what they'd like to see come to the site of a former Winn-Dixie at State Road 70 and Lockwood Ridge Road, where a new shopping center had been planned. A few dozen people chimed in on Patch and our Facebook page with their suggestions for businesses that they'd love to see pop up in this spot. Below are some of Patch readers' picks. What about you? What would you like to see come to Bradenton? Post a comment below and join the conversation. Jennifer Palmer: "An Ace Hardware, a Gluten-free friendly restaurant/pizzaria, a pet store, or a place for kids to have fun... " Arty Cholminski: "I would really like to see a World Market in SRQ or Bradenton..." J: "A community garden!!! People can grow and eat …

•  10 Comments
• Photos (1)

Business Owners Have a 'Vision' for Village of the Arts

As the Bradenton neighborhood considers its future, the owners of Arts & Eats Restaurant and Gallery share their vision and their challenges in a blog post on Patch.

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?

Is the 'Best Florida Beach Bar' in Bradenton?

Several Bradenton area establishments are nominees in an online contest to find "Best Florida Beach Bar," so which one would get your vote?

Could Florida's best beach bar be right here in Bradenton? Several area establishments are in the running for this year's "Best Florida Beach Bar" crown, as chosen by readers of floridabeachbar.com. Voting in the online contest runs through April 30. Below is a look at all of the Bradenton area bars on the list. Which one would get your vote, and why? Last year, Jimmy B's Beach Bar in St. Pete Beach finished No. 1 overall. Sign up for the Bradenton Patch email newsletter to get our top headlines delivered straight to your inbox so you won't miss a thing!     

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

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 …

• Photos (1)

Four Teens Charged With Burglarizing Bradenton Business

Deputies arrived to find the rear door of Tri-H Metal Products on 21st Street East had been pried open Saturday. Four teen boys were arrested and charged with burglary.

Four teens were arrested and charged with burglarizing a Bradenton business Saturday afternoon, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office reports. Deputies were dispatched to a burglary alarm at Tri-H Metal Products, 5815 21st St. E., around 4:30 p.m. When they arrived, they found the rear door of the business had been pried open, according to a news release. Two of the suspects were found and arrested nearby, a sheriff's office spokesperson said. The two other suspects fled on foot but were later apprehended. Arrested and charged with burglary were Ethan T. Gallagher, 18; Joseph M. Fabec, 18; and two 15-year-old boys. Sign up for the Bradenton Patch email newsletter to get our top headlines delivered straight to your inbox so you won't miss a …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Bradenton Business Spotlight

All Kinds of Unique Finds at Braden River Antiques

The downtown Bradenton antique shop showcases a variety of mid-century modern items.

Stepping off the street of downtown Bradenton and into Braden River Antiques is like stepping into a secret cache of forgotten treasures and gadgets. Antique trinkets fill the shop and line the walls from floor to ceiling, showcasing a dizzying array of furniture, art, hardware, decorative items, toys, books and more. “There’s definitely an obsessive compulsive hoarding aspect to the business of collecting antiques,” the store’s good humored owner, Jess Sturtevant, confessed. Sturtevant, a Bradenton native, said that he grew up in the antiques business, often spending time in an antique shop owned by his parents, The Whistle Stop, which was formerly located next to the 14th Street Salvation Army.   “After I graduated from high school, my …

• Photos (6)

Bradenton Business Spotlight

Shop Local for the Holidays with Bradenton Patch

Bradenton hosts a range of special events, deals and sales this holiday season so that you can get one-of-a-kind gifts while supporting local business and charitable organizations that support the community.

Several of Bradenton’s resident holiday-shopping pros were up long before the crack of dawn last Friday to battle the chaotic hordes that characterize Black Friday in the United States, while others hunkered down at their computers and scoped the deals online Monday. For their efforts, many earned the reward of breathing that sigh of relief that accompanies the completion of gift-buying and heralds a December of worry-free, sugar plum-tinted dreams. For others, however, ‘tis the season of stress and store-to-store scrambling on a frenetic quest for holiday gifts — but with a little planning, shopping can still be a breeze. Check out the list below for deals and gift ideas from local businesses and organizations offering holiday specials. …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Manatee Memorial Nurses Open Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Shop

SubZero Ice Cream & Yogurt in Sarasota uses liquid nitrogen to flash freeze cream to turn it into frozen treats.

A new ice cream shop in Sarasota using liquid nitrogen promises ice cream in a flash.  A team of six nurses from Manatee Memorial Hospital partnered to open the first SubZero Ice Cream & Yogurt franchise location east of the Mississippi River at the Expo Center on Clark Road.  Inside you won't find cases of ice cream, but instead a 1,000 liter tank of liquid nitrogen that pumps through a line to flash freeze a combination of creams and flavoring to make more than 37 trillion combinations of ice cream, yogurt, custard, milkshakes, smoothies and even pies (actually, Pi, thanks to their science and math humor). "Your imagination is the only limitation of what SubZero can offer you as far as ice cream," Wirth said.  The men of the group are …

•  1 Comment
• Videos (1)

Participate 2012

Longboat Key Resident Creates Punching Politicians

Lynn Armstrong Coffin offers non-partisan options for political punching puppets at Gov. Mitt Romney rally.

Politicians can be both metaphorical puppets and punching bags, so why not combine the two for fun? That's what Longboat Key resident Lynn Armstrong Coffin did as she had her Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama punching puppets for sale at the Romney rally Thrusday at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. They're called Punching Politicians and can be found at PunchingPoliticians.com. Coffin, a designer, said her and a business partner had the idea one day last year in her Longboat Key studio to start the company. "We had an old prototype from about 40 years ago, and a light bulb went off and we said, you know, it would be really funny to put a politician's head on this character," Coffin told Patch. And that they did. The …

• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)