L.L. Bean opens at UTC in Sarasota

As the new L.L. Bean store was about to open on Friday morning at 111 North Cattlemen Road in the UTC plaza, various guest speakers were sweating outside the store in the hot morning sun.

Not to worry, as everyone, including more than 100 customers waiting in line for the doors to open, were told that the store had plenty of hot weather apparel available.

Kenon Mitchell, L.L. Bean's District 4 manager (Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and now Florida) was excited to get started.

Photo by Jay Heater

"What people are going to find will be great, friendly smiles," Mitchell said just before the store opened. "And we're going to sell our socks off."

The first 100 people in line received a $50 gift certificate.

Sarasota County Commissioner Teresa Mast addressed the crowd and welcomed the business to the area. Corey Bouyea, the vice president of Retail for L.L. Bean, thanked all involved, including Benderson Development, for getting the store up and running.

Jennifer Molloy will be the new store's manager.

L.L. Bean, which was founded in 1912, is well known for its rugged outdoor wear, but the new store showcased swimwear, t-shirts, flip-flops, and sporting goods as well.

The Sarasota store is L.L. Bean's first south of Virginia Beach, Virginia.