- July 13, 2026
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The next time you attend a concert at Fogartyville Community Center in the Rosemary District, you’ll be able to belly up to a well-appointed bar and order a draft beer. That wasn’t possible until the listening room’s recent renovation. Beer and wine were sold from a cart without a tap to dispense beverages.
The addition of a dishwasher allows the bar to serve beverages in glasses instead of the plastic cups Fogartyville previously used.
The new bar is part of a renovation that opened to the public with the July 12 appearance of indie folk artist Remi Goode.
Fogartyville closed for the month of June to add the bar, increase the number of bathrooms and take delivery of stackable tables and chairs for the club’s interior, as well as new patio furniture.
In addition to providing a better experience for its patrons, Fogartyville is renting out its upgraded space for private parties and nonprofit mixers. It recently hired Susan Lojacono as its new event sales manager.
The new furniture allows Fogartyville to seat 120 patrons inside, up from 106 seats, and to clear the room entirely because the tables and chairs can be stacked on trolleys and stored in a shed outside.
Seating on the patio has been improved with the addition of brightly colored red and aqua chairs, but capacity remains the same at 90 seats.
Jesse Coleman, general manager of Fogartyville and its affiliated public radio station, WSLR 96.5, says Fogartyville’s facilities provide an alternative to some of “the bland meeting spaces available at local hotels.”
Nonprofits who now book the space will find improved tech capabilities for presentations, he says.
The recent Fogartyville upgrades are part of a $250,000 renovation project funded with assistance from Impact 100 SRQ, a group of women who collectively award what are termed “transformational” grants of at least $100,000, the Selby Foundation and individual benefactors, including those who donated a total of $74,822 during the Community Foundation of Sarasota’s Giving Challenge in April.
Fogartyville was founded in 2002 by Arlene Sweeting and Dave Beaton and operated for five years in Bradenton. In 2013, the community nightclub moved to 525 Kumquat Court and obtained a license for WSLR, a low-watt radio station at 96.5 on the FM dial.
In 2024, Sweeting and Beaton moved to Michigan and passed the reins to Coleman, and Ariel Aparicio-Jerro, director of Fogartyville, who handles booking at the nightclub, which bills itself as “Sarasota’s favorite listening room.”
“Our founders, Dave and Arlene, did an amazing job of building community, and we’ve been able to build on that,” Coleman notes. “Fogartyville/WSLR is a place where volunteers can get involved and feel a sense of ownership.”
Coleman says that WSLR/Fogartyville is remaining true to its mission of promoting community engagement and supporting social justice.
Although most Fogartyville patrons drive to concerts, art openings and other events, Coleman says the listening room is seeing a lot more pedestrian traffic in the Rosemary District due to new condos and apartments going up in the neighborhood.
Earlier this year, Fogartyville painted its exterior and added new signage. A mural painted by New Orleans street artist Brandan Odums in September 2014 was removed because it was in such poor condition. Coleman says a formal call for mural art by local artists will be issued later this year.
Further improvements to Fogartyville’s physical plant are on the way. The June upgrade was Phase One of a three-phase process, which will be completed in time for Fogartyville/WSLR’s annual fall open house, Coleman says.
