Applebee’s leaves downtown Sarasota

Applebee’s on Main Street closed its doors yesterday, leaving an empty restaurant space on the east end of downtown Sarasota.

"We’ve been marketing for a couple of weeks and we’ve had a terrific response to it,” said Stan Rutstein, a commercial Realtor with RE/MAX Alliance Group. “People want to be downtown, and there’s a limited amount of restaurants that are ready-to-go and equipped.”

The 5,835-square-foot space at 1991 Main Street was home to Applebee’s for nearly two decades. Ker’s WingHouse moved less than a black from to the now-vacant space at the beginning of 2014, and bar and music venue Old School opened in the same plaza in 2013.