Lucky Dogs Among Bradenton Restaurants to Close

Three downtown Bradenton restaurants have closed their doors permanently. But downtown leaders are optimistic that there will be new businesses to replace them.

According to Bradenton.com, the shuttered restaurants are:

• Retro City Cafe, which had only been operating since 2011, in the SunTrust Bank Building.
• Lucky Dogs: The Old Town hot dog joint had plenty of fans but apparently not enough traffic to stay in business.
• Jennifer's Cafe, which operated in the Bradenton Financial Center still struggled to fill the restaurant after three years. Many people did not know the place existed, given its location.

David Gustafson, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, said that he has been in talks with restaurant owners from out of state who are looking at Bradenton and the improvements made to the downtown area.

Gustafson told Bradenton.com:

"The restaurateurs that we're talking to, they've got their numbers, they've done their analysis. They know what the Riverwalk is adding, they know what the hotel will bring," Gustafson said. "They are very well-financed with an incredible track record and have been doing this for well over 20 years."

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