Gulf Gate merchants plot new association

A group of about 20 people — including the owners of a French bakery, an upholstery company and a trophy shop — assembled in the lounge at Wild Ginger Apothecary Monday evening.

The gathering was potentially significant, although there is admittedly reason for some skepticism. Still, the intent was to lay the foundation for the eventual creation of a merchants association within Gulf Gate Village, a shopping district located south of the city and just east of U.S. 41.

It’s still early in the process, but there’s a belief among merchants that this collaboration could spur improvement for an area that often goes overlooked.

Gulf Gate Village is a noticeably dense and compact area. There are more than 150 businesses within the four-street quadrant that constitutes the district. And yet, there is no formal organization of business owners within the village, and previous efforts to form such an organization have proven unsuccessful.

Jill Whittemore, owner of the Grooming Lounge Barber Spa and Boho Cottage Market, has firsthand experience with one of those efforts. She said the area isn’t lacking communal issues. In 2009, merchants began to try to solve some of those issues: a lack of signage, a need to clean up the area, a desire for enhanced landscape maintenance.

The businesses reached out to the county to get more information on how to advance those initiatives. The response was that things would be easier if they formed an association. The county could help that group find neighborhood grants and coordinate more closely with appointed leaders to discuss ongoing issues in the village.

“I heard clearly that the money’s there.” — Jill Whittemore

The timing of that effort turned out to be detrimental. Some of the leaders of the cause became overwhelmed with seasonal activity and said they couldn’t take on additional work. Other involved parties drifted away, too, until the plans were abandoned.

Despite the outcome, it was a still a learning experience.

“It can be done,” Whittemore said. “I was at all those meetings. I heard — clearly — that the money’s there.”

When Bill Santamaria decided to open his real estate office in Gulf Gate this year, he saw the area as the “next big thing in Sarasota.” With low home prices and rental rates, he thinks there’s ample room for increased interest.

He also saw room for improvement in the village, however. His interest in frequenting neighboring businesses led him to Whittemore, and he broached the idea of starting an association to address some of the issues he saw. Working together, there could be more frequent sidewalk cleaning, or trash cans installed or any number of other improvement projects.

The combined purchasing power of an association should be a big selling point for businesses in the area, he believes. So, too, is the prospect of increasing referral traffic within the village. One attendee at Monday’s meeting reported that there are 183 storefronts in the neighborhood — which means just attracting business from fellow merchants alone represents an opportunity for growth.

“If I get nothing from my participation in the association other than 182 potential clients, I’m jumping on that,” Santamaria said.

For Nicole Leffler, the owner of Wild Ginger, the meeting was a refreshing change of pace. She opened her business — which has evolved into a three-storefront complex — in 2014. Since then, she’s been disheartened by the lack of communication.

“If I get nothing other than 182 potential clients, I’m jumping on that.” — Bill Santamaria

She’s spearheaded a monthly First Friday event for the village, designed to generate foot traffic between businesses and familiarize customers with an area that often gets overlooked. And yet, when she approaches her fellow merchants to encourage their involvement in the event, the response has frequently been cold.

“People say, ‘It’s not worth it for me to stay open for another three hours,’” Leffler said. “I could be open and sell $5 worth of something to a customer — but if they come in next week with five of their friends, that’s worth it.”

These three are not alone. Among those in attendance Monday, there’s a belief that the time is finally right to make this collaboration a reality. A rise in new businesses presents an opportunity to overcome the obstacles and attitudes of the past.

Hearing customers — including those who live in the Gulf Gate area — say they were previously unaware of the village can be hard to stomach. It also illustrates the opportunity for growth, though, and that’s an opening on which the businesses hope to capitalize.

“It’s one of the most neighborhood-centric shopping areas in all of Sarasota,” Leffler said. “For us to not collaborate and work together — that’s pointless. We’re in arm’s reach of one another.”