Storm-weary businesses anticipate return to normal season

On a recent Saturday afternoon, downtown bars and restaurants were buzzing with activity, college football filling the screens as merchants stood by to serve the additional foot traffic. 

Into the evening, sidewalks at St. Armands Circle were crowded with shoppers toting bags containing purchases as street-side diners savored the first taste of fall weather. The scene repeated in Siesta Village on Siesta Key.

And it’s only the start of the busy season.

Across the Sarasota area, particularly on the barrier islands, storm-weary restaurateurs and merchants, many of whom lost an entire season of business, are eagerly anticipating a fall and winter of normalcy, optimistic that visitors are comfortable to return and seasonal residents are arriving this year not to clean up, but to resume their wintertime ritual of soaking up fun in the sun.

Although signs of the fury of the 2024 hurricane season remain in multiple city and county waterfront assets such as piers and parks, the streets are clear of sand and debris. At St. Armands Circle, the city has replaced dead grass and plants with lush landscaping in Circle Park, as have most commercial property owners along their sidewalks. 

All merchants are recovered and open in Siesta Village, according to Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce CEO Sarah Firstenberger, and approximately 70% of business spaces on St. Armands Circle are occupied, said Siesta Key Circle Association Executive Director Rachel Burns.

Photo by Carlin Gillen

All of them have reason for optimism going into season this year. According to Visit Sarasota County President and CEO Erin Duggan, for local hoteliers are expecting a busy fall.

“I did hear from two hoteliers (recently), one in the vacation rental space, one your traditional hotel,” Duggan said. “Both of them were saying September got off to a slow start, but they ended September well and October is looking great.”

Those planning vacations here still remain somewhat cautious as booking windows have shrunk, Duggan said, meaning they are reserving accommodations closer to their trip.

“That's not really that surprising,” she said. “People might be looking three months out and be a little concerned, but by the time they get closer to that date, they’re ready.”

In addition to marketing the area for tourism, Visit Sarasota County tracks monthly data of bookings across the county along with the associated room night cost, visitor spending and economic impact. Those numbers have been gradually settling back to normalcy since the mid-COVID crush of tourism here.

Then came hurricanes Helene and Milton, resulting in the shutdown of the primary tourism draw of beaches and, to an extent, cultural activities, including the first half of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall season. That caused an uncharacteristically deeper dip in the recent years' trend.

Visit Sarasota County, Duggan said, has been battling a perception that Sarasota may not quite yet be ready for tourism.

“I'd love to say we're not fighting that perception, but perception is reality,” Duggan said. “If you're talking about someone I haven't been able to get my marketing message in front of, I do think you have some people out there who are scared of storms. We don't ever want to say ‘we're open for business,’ because the savvy consumer is going to say, ‘Wait, when were you closed? Why were you closed?’ So we tend to not mention the negative.”

New life, renewed legacies

On St. Armands Circle, a handful of merchants did not return after the hurricane-driven flooding — some relocating, some owners retiring and others going out of business — and a few vacant spaces remain, among them the Tommy Bahama restaurant, which recently reopened in the former Shore restaurant and retail location. 

Otherwise, all appears normal, and perhaps somewhat improved, for shoppers and diners as the merchants, restaurants and other businesses prepare for the winter rush.

“It's almost like a tangible excitement. It's like something you can feel in the air,” said Burns. “It’s looking beautiful here with so many major improvements to the landscaping by the city and so many merchants and landowners have been updating the look of their sidewalk plantings.

“It's been a very slow summer, and I think that came from that recovery period and people wondering what was happening. Now we're seeing so much of that old feeling, and we are really anxious to welcome back all of our snowbirds.”

Cleon Dixon, who owns boutique shops Binjara Traders, Ivory Coast and Sahara said the turnover in merchants can be beneficial to the retail character of St. Armands Circle, and serves as a demonstration that the new business owners are confident in the future there.

“It feels like the momentum is really moving back to normalcy,” said Dixon, who has had a presence on St. Armands for 38 years. “Obviously it's taken us a little while, I think because there have been a lot of changes, but I also think change is good. It's been really encouraging to see these new young businesses coming out to really make their mark and to make sure that the Circle stays strong.”

Photo by Andrew Warfield

It is the combination of old favorites and new merchants and the blend of one-off boutiques and national chains, which are not present across the Ringling Bridge in downtown, that help drive visitors to the Circle.

“Having names like Tommy Bahama, Lily Pulitzer, White House Black Market, Spartina 449 — those are names that people know, and that's what draws people to all of the incredible small businesses,” Burns said.

Amid the latter stages of recovery from the considerable devastation impacting the entire length of Siesta Key, Firstenberger was named CEO of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce. Both Siesta Key Village and the South Village are fully recovered, she said, and all businesses are operating and are prepared to welcome back their visitors and seasonal residents.

“There is the sense of excitement and looking forward to this upcoming season,” Firstenberger said. “The lodging partners, our accommodation partners, they're all very excited and very ready to greet people back. We are such a resilient community, and what business owners both large and small overcame from just a year ago speaks volumes to the type of community that we are. 

“They're hopeful for some people that weren't able to come down to Florida in 2024 are able to come back and there's a just a genuine sense of true excitement as we go into this next upcoming season.”