Sawgrass Grove Issues
 

Went to Sawgrass Grove last night. There were a few things that were unexpected.

First I got change back at the bar. Do they charge a sales tax on a $3.99 beer? Different county I know but why couldn't they build the sales tax into the cost of the beer to make things easier? I got a drawer full of change that I never use and don't really want. We don't get change back in Spanish Springs. A minor complaint I know.

We went for the Happy Hour and were surprised that the Happy Hour ended not started at 5 PM! Wouldn't it make more sense to standardize the times at all "squares"? Wasn't that the excuse for shortening the two hour Happy Hour at Spanish Springs? The beers are one size only BTW (small). Semi-major complaint.

But biggest surprise of all was the simple orientation of the square. It was impossible to watch the entertainment without having the setting sun burn your eyes out. They built these enormous sun and rain sails to protect the audience but they do not. You pretty much look into the sun during the entire performance. The sails are too far back and there is a huge gap over the boxcar and the stage roof.

So my thoughts are if you have an absolutely blank sheet of paper to build your brand new entertainment venue you should be able to easily orient the structures to take advantage of the physical laws of nature. The Druids did it. Why can't the Villages? Have the stage on the NE side not the SW side. This is March. In the summer it is going to get really miserable.

A drawer full? Shoot me your address and I'll stop by later to pick it up.

:jester:

My advice would be, stay away from Sawgrass Grove.
Non of these changes will happen.

Sawgrass is not a Square. It is an outside venue with music, at 2 different times on some days, with a food court, like Edna’s, but they have food trucks.

Interesting observation.

Maybe it will get better as the sun sets later and further south.

Wow, talked about serious first world problems.

Why not go, grab a pizza and a drink, enjoy and smile?

I agree on the happy hour. At Spanish Springs, Lake Sumter, and Brownwood, the entertainment runs from 5-9 and Happy Hour is from 5-6 - so the first hour of entertainment is Happy Hour. At Sawgrass, the entertainment starts at 6 (5 on Saturday and Sunday) but Happy Hour ends at 5 PM. It would be nice if you had the first hour of music be Happy Hour at all of the venues.

And I agree that designing a stage so that people look almost directly into the sunset is a poor design.

I believe the original poster was talking about the outside entertainment area when he referred to the 'square'. Would you have preferred he called it a rectangle? Calling it 'an outside venue with music' would have been an awkward sentence construction. I think we all understood what he meant the way he wrote it.

From the developer.

It also has a restaurant and ProShop like a Villages "Country Club."

Plus regional recreation facilities.

The future appears to be more of these hybrid "Lifestyle" centers.

Has a good point particularly the sun and it's relationship to the stage.

They could have easily put the stage where the bar is and put the bar where the stage is. Would have been so much better. Hard to believe they didn't consider this.

- Could be oriented that way so the sun is not in the performer's eyes
- Could be oriented that way to give a view of the nice Florida sunsets
- Could be oriented that way so the sound travels into the parking lot rather than towards neighboring homes

Just leave the change on the bar, why even pick it up ? Especially when you really don't want to use drawer space for it. Do NOT mean this to be sarcastic, just seemed strange, don't see many people picking up a few coins from a liquor or coffee bar ! ?

Are the pizzas any good? Do they equal Marco's very high standards?
Are the tables and chairs comfortable?

If the answers to any of these questions is No, then I doubt people will "enjoy and smile".

We enjoy Sawgrass happy hour. Where else can you get a Miller Lite for $2? The pizza and the burgers are good.

Not everyone……

Not everyone……
Most were waiting for the whining to end.

stay at home in that lazy boy to be comfort@ble

Hey! You know what would be nice? Leave the change on the bar for the bartender. You could call it a gratuity or a "tip". A small "thank you" for simply being nice for performing his/her/it's job.

I'm not fond of the Sawgrass venue. I won't be going back. Much prefer the old fashioned squares.

Please stop quoting the op’s post, waste of scrolling. We know you want to complain

Agree. Seems like common sense.

Another example of nobody goes to Sawgrass, it’s too crowded.

Wife and I love Sawgrass much more than the squares

If they did those things, one would think a good designer would have come up with a sunscreen that keeps the sun out of the eyes of the Audience. Perhaps a slight change in orientation one way or another could have made a big difference.

For the record, it IS okay to critique some things in The Villages. Everything is not perfect - people are making suggestions that hopefully would improve things for us all if the ideas were ever considered/implemented.

Added open seating…….

Continuous change..........new generation of retirees......some old people don't like change.

If you would rather them keep your money vs giving it back then just tell them or leave it with your tip, or better yet pay with your card. The sails supply great shat over the seats and chairs that are set up. Makes for a great place to sit and enjoy lunch or a snack during the day. We never sit anywhere that we can see the bands, the important thing is to be able to hear the music.

Bostonrich.....I save my change. That is money no matter how you look at it and you would be surprised at how much it can add up. I have a separate savings account just for my change.....present balance $ 439 ( yes it took a while ). I will gladly take your change off your hands since it's a drawer full and you don't use it. Silly, silly boy

Simple solution. Don't go there. It's obvious you don't like it. The rest of us that do enjoy it need the extra space!

We all have fewer sunsets ahead of us than we do behind us. Let’s enjoy them and appreciate what we have here.

The sun will move. Well, the sun doesn’t move, we do. It’s called heliocentric motion. Be patient and enjoy the sunsets. There are more behind us than in front of us…

It is wonderful that both types of venues appeals to folks.

I love the continued innovation. Went with a family member to look at home's at Middleton. People are going to be flabbergasted when they see in person the schools, parks and town center.

Enough other complaints about Sawgrsss Grove have been posted here to lead one to the conclusion — just don’t go there. I know we don’t.

Movement is relative to your frame of reference. The sun is not fixed in space.

Happy hour at Brownwood stops at 4 at multiple places whereas it ends later at other establishments. Prima stops at 4, City Fire ends much later for example.
How much sun cover does Spanish springs and Sumter offer? Sawgrass is preferable over than those 2 squares. We were affected by the gap over the boxcar the day sawgrass opened.
All I would say is, if you don’t like sawgrass, then don’t go, I don’t think sawgrass vendors will go under if 1 couple stops attending

That is very good to hear.

not really issues and more like an opinion/observation. The place is packed each day/night so seems some like it. So many folks try to compare Sawgrass to the other "Squares" when Sawgrass is NOT a square. Apples and Oranges are both fruit but are different. A solution to all your statements is to stay away as some others mentioned.
Thats my $0.02 (maybe it can be added to your change... lol)

"Try to smile each day as it can provide some sunshine to someone's cloudy day"

1. Yes, as a touring musician
2. Yes, as a Villager
3. Possibly, as an acoustics engineer