Yet it was entirely accurate. So you're just upset because you don't like their response?

Some people misunderstand, it is not the music, or the style of dressing or dancing or even the type of food. It was the gentility of the times, where the customer’s enjoyment came first. And their needs were respected. It would be very easy to “modernize” the concept but not for so many people as we have here today. Money making is now the first priority. And from a business point of view, that makes sense.

"Living in the Past" was a decent song by Jethro Tull... Not their best, but decent... Cool flute solo...

He was not such a bad guy, online. I never met him in real life. He helped me chose my garburator and I’ve never had a problem with it since.

What is lovely about the past is that we know it, and can chose it’s best parts and use it. The present we only see, and the future for each human being is death. (I love Jethro Tull.)

It lives on...at Fort Wilderness WDW. It’s the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue

lol

Yes I agree
We were told this facility is yours.
The people of the Villages.
Like so many other restaurants
The have been taken away.
Remember the cool restaurant at Santiago .
Hacienda is another

Katie Belle's was a money loser subsidized by the developer for years.

that sounds pretty cool! :coolsmiley:

I moved here a few years after KB’s shut down. Even if it was still in business, does not sound like the kind of place I would patronize. With that said, I do feel bad for the older generation that misses this spot.

no, but there are a few of us who would like to keep 'tabloid' type comments to a minimum. many of us know each other, and are not comfortable 'dissing' a remark just because you feel like it. there are other outlets for rude, nasty behavior. thank you, & best wishes, Friend :beer3:

dittos TULL!!

For those of us who were never there, can someone describe Katie Belles?

Was it a restaurant, a bar, a nightclub? Was it open all day or just in the evening?
Was there entertainment every night like the squares? Did people go for the entertainment or the food or for the socialization? What were prices for drinks and food? Was it usually packed? And if they couldn't make it with a two drink minimum, would they have able to make it with a cover charge or a three drink minimum?

Don't be silly! Katy Belle's made lots of money, just not from selling drinks. A guy named Morse was bright enough to figure out that if he created a place like that in a place like Spanish Springs, he could convince 100,000 old folks to move to Podunk, Florida, and buy a house from him. Unfortunately, the kids didn't inherit the gene, so now they build houses 45 minutes from the amenities, and expect the amenities to pay for themselves.

Maybe someone should explain to the kids that people don't go to Disneyworld to buy tee-shirts. They go to ride Space Mountain for "free". Somebody should tell them that the moment people figure out "Disney for Old Folks" is really just a big housing development in the middle of nowhere, the Morse family money tree croaks and the party's over.

If you ask me, pulling the rug out from under the previous buyers on amenities like Katy Belles and the Old Mill Theater, that they thought came with the deal, is not only dumb -- it's pretty close to fraud. If you want to sell houses in the middle of nowhere, you're going to have to give people a reason to move 1000 miles from their family at the end of their life. Because if word gets out that the moment you sell them that house, you're done with them, you just made suckers out of your customers, and it's going to be hard to find new suckers in the future.

I moved here with no pre-conceived idea that any business is an “amenity” or “entitlement” that is guaranteed to always be here. Businesses come and go.

Sawgrass IS the new Katie Belle’s owned by the developer and those of us who built / bought near it are loving it. Also looking forward to the newest town square coming soon near us at Eastport !

YES YES Yes - Please bring it back
 

I'm voting a strong yes on this- Bring back Katie Belles. It was great and a real attraction for residents and their visitors.:agree: It had a significant impact on us buying here and for many others that we talk with. I think the advertising effect on house buying more than pays for any business loss (if thats true) and having a unique place where residents can dine and dance vs the squares that are overcrowded with a large percent of non-villagers and subject to the weather. Biggest mistake The Villages made- and I don't think they make many. :spoken:

Overcrowded? The gym floor in the movie Hoosiers had more space than KB. Yes it was indoors bit the squares...and the outdoors are where buyers since...want to be

Well, we're being forced to spend money subsidizing electric cars. Lol

[QUOTE=dhdallas;2323920]OMG, aren't you ancient people who are stuck in the past dead yet! If KB's was so "cool", then why didn't enough people go there to keep it financially afloat? The business was not profitable. That issue is long dead and buried. It is not ever coming back nor are the vacant theaters. Get over it![/QUOTE

Wow, what a hateful post

You are correct and Katie Belles was in the “older” section. And it was a developer “perk” perhaps to the residents. Yes, not strictly a money-maker. Those times are gone, now it is time for “the survival of the fittest” monetarily. It is sad for those who knew better and the “young uns” now are trying to justify what they don’t have to make themselves feel better.

Katie Belles
 

Katie Belles was Fabulous! The family closed it permanently when the pandemic started..The developer has sold ALL his restaurants & wants no part of that anymore...The Rialto theatre in Sp Springs is going to be the site of the new Genesis Health Club {under consruction now} Those were the days-Have dinner, great bands playing for 4 hours for dancing...Never be another Katie Belles!

I’m sure it was opened to make money and when it didn’t, it
closed, just like Sawgrass will if they don’t start policing people bringing in drinks from the outside.

(Smile) I guess you can’t even imagine the kind of times that once existed… I’m not saying that Mr Schwartz wasn’t an excellent business man, only that he was much more.

First of all, Katie Belles was always packed, especially on weekends. If they werem't making money it wasn't because people weren't come in the front door. As for the theater in Brownwood, the decent thing to do is to reopen that venue so people in the south can have a movie theater accessible to them in the evening hours.
''''''

(1)......IF true about weekends, you can't make money on two days per week. It does matter if "it's packed", if the people are not purchasing.

(2) Again, if it was profitable...........it would be open. The Family would love to lease the facility to you, it's "the decent thing" for you to do.

Sawgrass is a disappointment to me. Most of the folks listening to music bring their own drinks. The food there is overpriced and not very good. McGrady’s is never full. Will be interesting to see the future of that place . The concept was great on the drawing board.

Sawgrass keeps growing in popularity. During the month of March, the available tables were starting to fill up 2 1/2 hours before Boozey Bingo on Monday nights. The lines waiting for cards, stretched from the stage clear out to the parking lot, and they ran out of cards several weeks in a row. It’s been a challenge getting tickets to the Show Kitchen this spring, with several classes selling out within hours of going on sale. The Villages Grown Market seems to be doing brisk business, and I shop there weekly for better-than-organic greens and herbs.

Sawgrass has been a very popular venue, and it keeps getting more and more crowded, as evidenced by the full parking lot on many evenings.

Once again, it appears the developer knows what they are doing, and seldom missteps.

When any decent band is playing Sawgrass it's a fight to get a reasonably decent parking spot and also fairly crowded where you pretty much need to bring your own chairs (which I don't mind at all).

Who cares if some people bring in their own drinks? I honestly think it's better that they don't overpolice a venue like that. More than enough people are buying drinks and buying food. I usually buy drinks and sometimes food but sometimes I'm just stopping buy with a coffee or my water bottle to watch the band do a few songs.

The pizza is around $18 and is a decent lunch or light dinner for 2 people. I find the pizza to be definitely above average. What are you expecting to pay per person for something like that? At Five Guys in Brownwood a Cheesburger and Fries (no drink) is $19.

I agree that McGrady's is a missed opportunity. The theme is just a complete miss and doesn't match what anyone wants. Hopefully they'll figure out a better concept or go with something tried, true and popular like City Fire.

Sawgrass will go the same route as Katie Belles once Eastport opens.

I was in The Villages sales center, I heard 15 different people, in one hour, say they would buy a house in T/he Villages if “Katie Belle’s was still open, but since it closed, they are going to On Top of thr World

So they monitor outside alcohol at LSL, SS and Brownwood, but they don’t a Sawgrass. Totally makes sense.

Coincidence ? We must have been in the sales center at the same time. Did you exaggerate ? I counted 14.

They are definitely not looking for TV Life Style.

Does Top of the World have a "Katie Belles"?

....and if so, are The Carpenters on a continuous track

I don't buy that argument. Katie Belle's had many people who spent money. My belief is that the Developer had other plans. There is no other place like it in The Villages.

Katie Belles from beyond the grave just PM me....”I’m tired, leave me alone, move on. Also, no drink minimums up here!”

IF, IF, IF & IF.............It was making money and the Developer had other plans.............why close a profitable establishment and have it sit empty and have negative ROI for months and months and months while plans are approved and permits are obtained??? Why not run the profitable establishment until the wrecking ball shows up???

:icon_hungry: