Eateries sweeten Lorraine Corners

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Greenbrook residents Rich and Linda Hieger sat comfortably in patio chairs outside Memory Lane Ice Cream & Sweet Shop, where they indulged in a few scoops.

Although it was their first time visiting, they already planned to return.

“We get a lot of out-of-town company,” Linda Hieger said. “It’ll be fun to have a place close by to stop and get (something).”

Rich Hieger agreed.

“It’s new, so when people discover it, it’ll get busier,” he said.

Memory Lane and its sister restaurant, The Ranch Grill, opened April 30, at the corner of Lorraine Road and State Road 70, in the Lorraine Corners N.W. plaza.

Restaurant General Manager Terry Hansen said he is thrilled to introduce a sports-themed dining facility to the area, as well as to add some fun to the concept with an attached, yet separate, ice cream parlor.

“What excited me so much was this location,” said Hansen, who came to The Ranch Grill after managing Sam Snead’s American Grill in Sarasota for seven years. “It was too cool a concept to pass up.”

The new eateries join existing businesses such as Dunkin’ Donuts, the plaza’s first and only tenant for about two years, as well as a martial arts studio, Pizza Mia restaurant and others. Only one space remains for lease, said Julia DeCastro, director of leasing for Lakewood Ranch Commercial Realty.

The 18,000-square-foot Lorraine Corners N.W. plaza, in recent months, has begun bustling with activity, with the opening of several new stores and a wave of patrons from Premier Sports Campus less than a mile away.

DeCastro said the center has an ideal location, because it is easy to get to and is surrounded by schools and nearby residential development.

“It’s got great visibility,” DeCastro said. “It’s the first place, too, you (reach) coming from Panther Ridge. There’s nothing out there.”

Lakewood resident Peter Beauchamp, who took over ownership of the Pizza Mia restaurant in the plaza May 1, agreed.

“This has always been a good plaza, especially with the Dunkin’ Donuts,” he said. “I knew it would be a great draw for Lakewood Ranch and Myakka out east. The plaza would get busier and busier and it has. Parking is a premium.”

Dunkin’ Donuts’ Regional Director of Operations Greg O’Neil agreed said the location, as proposed by developers, eventually will be the center of Lakewood Ranch — a fact that led Dunkin’ Donuts to open there even before the Walgreens was built across State Road 70.

“It was a great location, but not at the time (we opened),” he said. “But, Lorraine Corners is going to be the future activity of Lakewood Ranch. (The sports campus) has been great with the events out there. We’ve seen a lot of new faces. We’ve seen return business from people who didn’t know we were at that location — and definitely a good increase in sales.”

The tenant mix offered at the plaza, he said, also has proven to be a draw.

“It’s kind of a hidden gem in Lakewood Ranch,” O’Neil said of the plaza. “Hopefully, everybody will have the opportunity to drive (to it) … and make it a new destination spot.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].