PelicanPRESS SIESTA KEY
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
FREE • THURSDAY, MAY 29, 2014
HURRICANE City, county warn residents to be prepared. PAGE 5A
OUR TOWN
DIVERSIONS
ON THE MOVE SCAT transfer station moves closer to new home. PAGE 6A
dramatic license
Paul Wolfe is proud to see his students become masters. INSIDE
by David Conway | News Editor
Residents wary of restaurant changes New owners of Tequila Cantina seek to rebrand the establishment, but downtown residents, worried about noise, hesitate to support the plan.
Courtesy
Michele Kissen, Cat Hickmon, Alan Gravley and Stan Writesel
+ Sew wonderful
Lisa Morreale has a vision that would transform Tequila Cantina. Her plan would change the restaurant’s décor, cuisine, clientele and even its name. Before she can make those changes, however, she has to overcome an unexpected
obstacle: residents who dislike the restaurant in its current form. Residents in downtown Sarasota have registered complaints about the noise coming from nearby establishments, with Tequila Cantina cited as one of the most fre-
quent offenders. The restaurant stays open until 2 a.m. daily, offering live music and attracting much of its business at the bar. Morreale, a member of an ownership group that purchased the restaurant March 6, wants to
change that. She’s hired a new chef, Ted Hastings, to offer fresh European food. She’s hired Del Vescovo Design Group, who contributed to projects such as Citrus Square, to reimagine the interior of the building for a more upscale look. She wants to change the music, offering lower-key jazz per-
SEE TEQUILA / 2A
Siesta Key resident Lynn Johns will travel Friday to Haiti to work with orphaned children. This trip will be different from her two previous missions because Johns will be bringing 40 hand-sewn dresses with her for girls at an orphanage in Jérémie. Stan Writesel and Alan Gravley, from Beginning to End Interiors in Sarasota, offered to make the dresses using their heavy-duty sewing and cutting equipment. “Just knowing that we made something that some little girl is going to wear is very gratifying and satisfying,” said Writesel.
WAVE OF PRIDE + Season of Sculpture comes to a close Last call for Season of Sculpture viewers! The 2014 exhibitions will come down Friday. This year’s Season VII exhibit, “Shared Ground: Eight Artists, Eighteen Installations,” has been on display since November and features 18 large-scale works by eight local, national and international artists.
+ Très bien Consul Général de France M. Philippe Létrilliart visited Selby Library May 15, to speak about the long-standing relationship between France and Florida. Following his speech, he presented the Palmes Académiques award to Barbara Frey, the president of the Alliance Française of Sarasota.
Harriet Sokmensuer
Reagan Bissette enjoys the marching band at the annual Memorial Day Parade Monday, along Main Street. For more photos, see page 1B.
STREET SWEEPING
by David Conway | News Editor
Merchants want action on vagrants Fed up with issues from the homeless downtown, merchants push the city to more aggressively find solutions for vagrancy problems. The city of Sarasota has recently endeavored to clear large gatherings of homeless people out of public parks in the wake of complaints from people nearby. Those efforts have largely been successful, but Main Street merchants say their storefronts have become the new hotspot for many vagrants — and their businesses
have been hurt as a result. Members of the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association say the 1300, 1400 and 1500 blocks of Main Street have seen a greater homeless presence in recent weeks, and that illegal activity has gone unchecked on the streets. Three downtown merchants appeared at the May 19 City Com-
mission meeting to ask the city to crack down on the issues. Wendy Getchell is the owner of Lotus Boutique, located at 1451 Main St. She said people on the street harass her customers — not necessarily panhandling, but seeking donations for their palm frond art. Garbage gathers on the sidewalk and in the bushes in front
of Patrick’s 1481. The issues, all together, have impacted her store. “I can’t tell you how many times a day I have my customers come in and say, ‘Can’t something be done about this?’” Getchell said. “‘What is wrong with our city that they allow this?’ You know, I don’t really have a good answer for that.” Ron Soto, president of the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Association and member of the
SEE MERCHANTS / 2A
INDEX Opinion.................8A Classifieds ........ 13B
Cops Corner....... 12A Crossword.......... 12B
Permits................ 9B Real Estate.......... 8B
Sports................ 13A Weather............. 12B
Vol. 44, No. 44 | Three sections YourObserver.com