Business Observer •

Chicken sandwich-making sisters go from porch to nearly $1 million business

Key takeaway: A business plan wasn't the first step for The Barnyard, and it turned out to be the right move for the business which is now through its second year with $400,000 in revenue. Core challenge: Learning how to fry chicken and keep the breading on through the process. What's next: As the restaurant prepares to double in revenue next year, the owners, two sisters, are considering adding a food truck. On a whim in August 2019, Ciliana Pluviose and Gladys Jean started making chicken sand
Business Observer •

Chef returns home to Tampa with modern Chinese concept

Key takeaway: With 25 years of experience, Chef Richard Hales has returned home with what he believes is his best restaurant yet. What's next: The restaurant is going through a slow rollout eventually opening the outside picnic area and then expanding hours to include lunch and brunch. The last couple of years haven’t been the easiest for Chef Richard Hales. The list of uncertainties include COVID-19, a stint with cancer and now labor shortages. But with a new Hales Blackbrick location in Tamp
Business Observer •

Plan advances for long-neglected Wimauma, despite housing conflict

Key takeaway: The Wimauma Village Plan in Hillsborough County, after 15 years of stalls, is gaining some momentum. Core challenge: One local leader is concerned about gentrification as national homebuilders target buyers who don't live in the community. Getting developers to utilize incentives for affordable housing is another obstacle. What's next: After approving a community action plan in early March, Hillsborough County is focused on taking small steps like adding a public library and upgrad
Business Observer •

Bank executive brings lobster tails to the table

Executive: Gerri Moll. Southwest Florida market executive for Bank of America Private Bank, as well as bank president for the Southwest Florida region. Throughout her 36-year career at Bank of America, Moll, a Naples resident, has held several senior leadership roles and provided leadership for the transition team through two mergers. A licensed scuba diver, Moll been in and around water since she was a baby. But she married in to lobstering. “My husband and his brothers had been doing it for a
Business Observer •

Manatee County builder wows buyers with solar-powered community

Key takeaway: Hunters Point in Manatee County, from Pearl Homes, is a new LEED Zero community, meaning the homes generate more power than is consumed. Core challenge: Pearl Homes' Marshall Gobuty wasn't expecting residents to want to learn everything about how the homes work, so he had to find a biologist who could explain the science behind the concept. What's next: Affordable housing and sustainability should have no connection, Gobuty believes, which is why he's planning to build 720 single f
Business Observer •

Turned Tides: Employers feeling privileged that employees even glance their way

A few gasps erupted Feb. 28 at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC in Tampa when attorney Katie Molloy shared that employees can sue for twice what they’re owed if an employer doesn’t follow wage and hour laws properly — an issue plaguing the hospitality industry at the moment. “At the end of the day, you have to pay your employees, and you have to treat them fairly,” she says. With staffing shortages, Molloy says there’s a lot more overtime being worked and off the clock hours being logged. Not to me
Business Observer •

Top Marvel exec visits St. Pete, reveals secrets to blockbuster film success

Key takeaway: Marvel executive Mitchell Bell, in a recent visit to St. Pete, encourages people just starting out in their careers to take chances and go for any opportunity. Core challenge: Getting viewers to rewatch movies is the biggest hurdle the studio faces. What's next: Marvel is looking to incorporate new technology into filming, especially with AI and ChatGPT being more affordable. One of Marvel Studios' top executives recently visited St. Petersburg for a local film festival, during wh
Business Observer •

Sarasota dog bar announces open date

If you heard a collective howl on Friday, it was probably because Boo’s Ice House & Dog Bar finally has an opening date set for later this month. Contrary to the song “Who let the dogs out?” Boo’s will let the dogs in May 22. Not every dog will be invited in, though; just those who are up-to-date on their vaccinations. The dog bar, which was named after the owners’ rescue dog, Boo, is on 10th Street in the Rosemary District, just north of downtown Sarasota, in a building that used to play the
Business Observer •

Downtown Bradenton seeks to grow its arts scene

Key takeaway: The Bradenton arts scene seeks to catch up to its neighbors to the south, in Sarasota. Core challenge: Finding affordable spaces for artists while creating a cohesive art community in and around downtown Bradenton. What’s next: Island Gallery and Studios, a new art studio that just moved in, has plans to expand services and ArtCenter Manatee is currently doubling its space. For 33 years, Jody Goldman ran a co-op art gallery on Anna Maria Island. But as rent escalated and foot traf
Business Observer •

North Port turns attention to environment with development of new division

Key takeaway: The city of North Port is putting nearly $500,000 toward protecting the environment with the development of a new division. Core challenge: Finding a balance between development and environment preservation — something many other rapid growth cities and towns across Florida face. What's next: The planning department is developing new code requirements it hopes to have in effect by January 2024. The city of North Port is taking a serious look at protecting its natural resources. A
Business Observer •

New AeroVanti CEO lays out survival plan

Key takeaway: In a meeting for AeroVanti members, new CEO Scott Hopes laid out a plan to rescue the company. Core challenge: As the company faces several lawsuits and possible turbulence from the FAA, the new CEO is tasked with limiting fallout. What's next: Hopes is focused on adding people to the board, while also coming up with a new business model that will allow the company to thrive. In a virtual meeting Friday, July 28, the new CEO for AeroVanti, the beleaguered private air service based
Business Observer •

Restaurant family shares their secret: Failure is not an option |

Key Takeaway: The Caragiulo family business started as pipeline dream to own a quaint New York-style pizzeria in Sarasota with a couple of tables out front. More than three decades later, it's a full-service restaurant company representative of the Caragiulos' overall strategy: Go with it and learn along the way. Core Challenge: Dealing with staffing shortages while opening a new restaurant. What's Next: A second fish camp restaurant is coming in Lakewood Ranch, joining the original in Sarasota.
Business Observer •

Restaurants turn to automation to fill positions — and increase productivity |

Choosing a robot over a human has long been tough pill to swallow for many restaurant owners and operators. For good reason: it's a service-first, people-centric business. But several popular restaurant chains in the region, in addition to national fast-food chains, are jumping into the world of bots. If not to replace human employees, to lend a big (robotic) hand in the current labor crisis, and for some, maybe beyond. It helps, of course, that a comparison in salary and benefits between man a
Business Observer •

Solmart Media finds success by giving back to community |

The radio station industry, with podcasts coming in every direction and satellite and internet radio eating into terrestrial radio's market share, isn't for everyone. But a nimble entrepreneur who's had a diverse career in journalism and broadcasting is having a broadcast radio moment, finding success growing a radio station business on the west coast of Florida. That company is Sarasota-based Solmart Media, a partnership with Mercedes Soler and her husband, Tomás Martínez. Since founding the c
Business Observer •

Affordable housing crisis continues as many search for answers |

Emily Griffiths had been owning this whole adulting thing: Seeking to avoid big college debt, the recent University of Florida grad earned scholarships, worked a job and secured a good internship that has led to a full time job with engineering firm Kimley-Horn. She starts at the firm's Sarasota office in March. Now the 22-year-old has hit an adulting speedbump, a hiccup quickly reaching crisis level in the region, if not across most of Florida: the lack of housing — homes, condos or apartments
Business Observer •

Realtor turns New York City Marathon into an annual affair |

Executive: Connie Lyke-Brown started off her career as a teacher and cross country track coach in New York. When she and her husband moved to Sarasota in 1981, she couldn’t find a good teaching job without taking a major pay cut. At that time, a friend of hers was enjoying a career in real estate. So Lyke-Brown went back to school. She started her real estate career as a manager. In 1999, she became a real estate agent at Michael Saunders & Co., where she remains today. Diversion: A resident of
Business Observer •

Dream of making it on TV comes true for Naples-based architectural interior designer |

Growing up as a young child in Puerto Rico watching TV, Wilfredo Emanuel always dreamed of the spotlight. Now at 58-years-old, that dream finally came true. Before the pandemic paused the world, HGTV began looking for designers to compete on its new Table Wars series that features eight contestants as they design immersive event tables. Emanuel was one of those selected. “I never stopped dreaming,” the award-winning architectural interior designer tells Coffee Talk. Emanuel has been based in N
Business Observer •

Young and bold entrepreneur quickly builds beauty school brand |

What once began as a studio built for private one-on-one classes, has now manifested into a nationally-accredited esthetic and makeup artistry school on track to surpass a major sales milestone this year. Just as impressive: the school's founder, Dolly Monroe, has become a jobs-creating machine for hundreds of graduates. The Dolly Monroe Beauty Academy got its start in 2015, originally known as Dolly Monroe Beauty Studios. In its second year, the Tampa-based Black-owned academy posted revenue i
Business Observer •

Instead of pushing carts at Publix, an ambitious student starts a tutoring company |

At 16-years-old, Larissa Lippe proved she was more ambitious than most. A high school student in Sarasota, Larissa founded a private tutoring company that caters to students K-12 in a broad range of topics, from English to math to foreign languages. Her business, Smart Kids Tutor LLC, got its start in January, when Larissa tutored a student and noticed a difference after just one session. That’s when she came up with the company’s purpose: “It’s smart kids helping smart kids.” Currently, Smart
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