Yet the rather plain-looking pavilion on Manatee Public Beach, with its casual restaurant and kitschy souvenir shop, may be Anna Maria Island’s most popular gathering spot. Locals and visitors love the laid-back ambience, the low-priced food, the free evening concerts that motivate many of them to dance, and especially the friendly staff.
“It’s the personal touch,” said Bradenton resident Frank Riecker. “When I fell in love with Cafe on the Beach, it was the simplicity, the heart-felt welcomes.”
As of July 20, however, the concession’s management, which has run the cafe since 2004, and its landlord, which has overseen the franchise since 1992 and now runs the gift shop, will be gone.
After hearing the emotional pleas of dozens of patrons and receiving petitions from hundreds more in favor of Cafe on the Beach LLC, the County Commission voted 4-3 Tuesday to award a five-year contract to a competitor.
The commissioners noted that they had received no complaints about the quality of service.
Yet in a tight budget year, most of them sided with a vendor who offered to pay more rent and spruce up the dated facility.
United Park Services, a Tampa-based company that operates the concession at Fort DeSoto Park for Pinellas County, made a presentation that even those who spoke against it praised as polished and professional.
“We want to become part of this close-knit beach community,” said Debra Enoch, a co-owner of United who intends to relocate to Anna Maria Island with her husband, Mark, to oversee the business.
“We will work hard to gain your trust,” Enoch told the crowd.
“I’m happy for them and I wish them luck,” said Tommy Vayias, the cafe manager who submitted a bid with partner Ioannis “John” Menihtas that county officials said had less to offer than United.
Yet Vayias resented that, in the contract presented to the commissioners, United was allowed to change terms that were in its bid.
“I don’t want to sound like a sore loser,” Vayias said. “But they had a chance to tweak their proposal.”
Yet assistant county attorney Robert Eschenfelder said the county administration can negotiate a contract in which the details differed from the bid that a staff committee ranked as its top choice.
“It’s not black and white, like buying widgets,” Eschenfelder said.
In its bid, United proposed $180,000 in annual rent and 15 percent of alcohol sales — plus 10 percent of other sales surpassing $1 million and 12 percent of sales above $2 million.
Similar Posts:
- Plenty of sand, and paths to it
- Manatee real estate falls by 13 percent
- North Port is spending while city is bleeding
- Evansville-based United Components Inc. posts 1Q results
- REAL ESTATE PEOPLE
