Originally Posted by nn0wheremann (Post 2413171)

I have never been to Sawgrass, don’t know where it is at. Spent two days at the outdoor expo at Everglades, and I am ready to foreswear south of 44. The traffic is a train wreck. 20 minutes to get from Warm Springs to past the tollway at 3:00 pm on a Saturday? Lots has been written about Morse ans 44. You have to be nuts to live down there.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 2413279)

We think Koyame is good for Thai.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 2413302)

Leesburg also has good restaurants

Originally Posted by coconutmama (Post 2412939)

Actually the menu is similar to the previous McGrady’s Pub in Sawgrass, such as scotch eggs, etc. A nice change from the usual FMK fare.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2413122)

Several. Dunkin Donuts shut down for good last week. Ay Jalisco still has plenty of business, and for some reason I can't fathom, Ruby Tuesday's is always busy. That place is SO run down - wallpaper peeling off the walls, the carpeting is threadbare and horribly stained, the burgers are meat-flavored grease patties on gummy buns. Panera is busy at lunch time, not so much at dinner time. The only other restaurants in Spanish Springs are the fake Greek place which is MOSTLY drinkers, the Italian place which is great but VERY expensive, and the seafood place which is also great but expensive.

There used to be a wine-drinking place but they closed down a year or more ago. There's also Kilwin's ice cream which is - also very expensive (I think I had to pay something like $7 for a single SCOOP of ice cream).

In addition to the closed and still vacant restaurants there are also a few vacant stores, and I'll give J.Jill's 6 months of being open before they shut down as well.

Originally Posted by DaddyD (Post 2413345)

I actually think it's fairly good as well, or at least I did--if I'm not mistaken it was recently sold--last time I ordered the Mongolian Beef it wasn't near as spicy as it used to be. I always thought their Thai dishes were much better than their Chinese dishes. Def like their red & green curry dishes. Nice sized portions, too, I can usually get two full meals out of their dinner sized portion.

Originally Posted by Rzepecki (Post 2413174)

CFS Coffee is opening in place of Dunkin’. Whole list of new businesses opening in TV in today’s paper.

Originally Posted by rustyp (Post 2412844)

The developers built Blondies. Open several days a week for a couple hours. What more do you need ? We also got rid of the pink plywood in front of the movie theater after many years. Things are progressing.

Originally Posted by Ramone (Post 2413368)

How can they open a place with no restroom nearby? A 70-80 year old in a walker has a long way to go. Why didn't they hook into the Sharon water works connected to Blondies now?

Originally Posted by Ramone (Post 2413368)

How can they open a place with no restroom nearby? A 70-80 year old in a walker has a long way to go. Why didn't they hook into the Sharon water works connected to Blondies now?

Originally Posted by DaddyD (Post 2413346)

More details needed--names & descriptions.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 2413092)

Over time we have found that restaurants outside the bubble are better so rare do we eat at one of the squares.

Originally Posted by DaddyD (Post 2413149)

"Overage" is a common clause in lease clauses in indoor / outdoor malls. I've had approx a dozen retail stores in high end malls, and all of them had an overage clause, meaning if my gross sales were "over" a certain amount, I had to pay the mall owner a percentage of that overage sales, in addition to the monthly rent I was paying. And guess what? I was thrilled to pay it--that meant that my sales that month / year were WAY more than expected!

It's kind of like taxes--no one really likes paying them, but in reality having to pay a lot of taxes is somewhat of a blessing. No tax = no profits. Lots of tax owed means you enjoyed really high net profits.

But your last sentence--"Even one empty business in a center makes for a less inviting shopping, dining, or entertainment atmosphere"--is spot on, and it's a self perpetuating cycle--the more empty spaces means the less shoppers, which means more empty spaces so less and less shoppers, and on & on.

I checked out the Spanish Springs square for the first time in a long time just the other day...strolled around with extra money in my pocket wanting to get rid of some of it but couldn't find a damn thing I wanted to own or eat! Hell, even the Dunkin' Donuts went out of business! If a reasonably priced coffee & donut place is unable to stay make a profit in an area dominated by senior citizens...you know the place is in serious trouble.

There are two massive corner locations (anchor tenants) sitting forlorn & empty--the former World of Beer & the Margarita Republic, now Dunkin'...and more along the main drag that your drive down to get to the Square. The wine place went out of business...it's just sad.

What I really want to know is how the heck that lingerie store stays open--that's the biggest mystery in the world to me. I know TV has a reputation of lots of swingers (what color is the loofah on top of your car?!?!?) & wild sex, but seriously--how many 70+ year old women are really buying sexy lingerie, especially bras that cost something like $80 each!

I'm aware that Spanish Springs has a much older demographic than the newer areas of TV, but there are numerous restaurants in the immediate area that seem to be doing well--LongHorn Steak House, Texas Roadhouse, Miller's Ale House, Applebees, Darrell's Diner, Mission BBQ, & Francesco's--all have busy parking lots out front whenever I drive past, so the problem isn't lack of demand.

The Morse family are billionaires, so I doubt they're staying awake at night fretting about the sad-state of Spanish Springs, but it definitely sucks for those of us that live in the area. I do drive over to Lake Sumpter occasionally (I intentionally misspelled to irritate the spelling/punctuation police on this site!), but no way I'm going to drive all the way to Brownwood to eat or have a drink.

I lived in the Ft. Lauderdale area for nearly 20 years, and this sports bar /restaurant is WILDLY popular and has locations all over South Florida:

Flanigan's - Laid back Family-run Restaurants in South Florida

Really good, reasonably priced burgers, steaks, caesar salads, fish sandwiches, BBQ ribs (actually, everything on their menu is really good), a $6.99 lunch special, and a 50% OFF happy hour 9PM to close. As a bonus, many of their locations have an attached bottle liquor store right next door! And they stay open LATE!

I would kill to have a Flanigan's open in the Spanish Springs area...

Originally Posted by margaretmattson (Post 2413732)

Change has been occurring in the Villages for more than 25 yrs. Many, many businesses have come and gone in ALL THE SQUARES.
Only a few years since opening, change is now happening in Sawgrass Grove. It will happen in Eastport and Middleton.

I think Stu hit the nail on the head. Many residents prefer eating outside of the bubble. Many do not drink, many do not like crowds, many prefer the comfort of their home, some hate loud music... their reasons go on and on. How many of you visit, dine, and shop at the squares frequently? If your answer is SELDOM, then you understand why businesses come and go.