Fun with fake stores at new Mall at University Town Center

Mall at University Town Center's developer Taubman Centers is in the teasing business in their video renderings of the new mall.

Of course, the video animation folks had to be inventive so as not tospill all the secrets of what's coming. You will see Saks Fifth Avenue, Dillard's and Macy's in their appropriate places as the videos soars underneath the glass archway ceilings.

The video was released via Taubman on YouTube in May 2013, but somehow was buried among other renderings released by animation company Max Wave Media that featured a fly-over of the mall and Nathan Benderson Park last summer. Another rendering video previously released also showed something mighty close to a Bass Pro Shop, but that is more likely to be built on one of the Benderson-developed parcels east of the mall next to Interstate 75.

We only know of a few confirmed stores now including American Eagle Outfitters, Brooks Brothers, Oil & Vinegar and Smoothie King in addition to restaurants BRIO Tuscan Grille, Capital Grille, Cheesecake Factory, Kona Grill and Seasons 52.

Sure, it's likely that the Apple Store is coming, too, but we're not 100 percent on that yet.

In the meantime, check out the fake names of stores the animators decided to put in the video to give a flavor of the type of mall to open Oct. 16. You might recognize a funny knock-off name if you shopped on a sidewalk stand in New York or Miami.

I'll write down what my best guess for the actual retailers in parenthesis

Aux Bon Gourmet (Au Bon Pain though it would make sense for a Corner Bakery Cafe)
Design Studio
Mocha Cafe (Starbucks located underneath escalators)
Channel (Chanel)
Asagio
ALBO (ALDO)
Gantier (likely a perfume store)
The Bar
CASAbalance
Cap (Gap)
Porteous
Cartier
Fashion Street (Font looks like a Charlotte Ruse)
NHN
Guchi (Gucci)
Maxim
Figment
JJ Jewelers
Islands
Omar Viducci (Gianni Versace)

Colleagues in the newsroom remarked how much the mall looked like International Plaza, another Taubman-owned mall. To me, the cafe and table area by the glass elevators resembles Countryside Mall in Clearwater, without the ice rink, and feels a bit like the Mall in Columbia (Md.) that features similar stores on two levels. That mall is managed by the Howard Hughes Corp. and General Growth Properties.

It might be easier to watch the video and pair the names with the fonts on the signs if you're trying to guess what's coming. Keep in mind there are supposed to be more than 100 stores and half of them new to the Sarasota-Bradenton market. Many of the animated storefronts lacked names and some were duplicated.

What's your best guess to the stores inside the Mall at UTC? Share your guesses below.

Retro Restaurant Repository

(Bradenton Herald Archive Photo, Nov. 2, 1962)

Saddle up for the first installment of the Retro Restaurant Repository.

I'll be using this space for the next while to revisit some of the funny, cheesy, memorable and unmemorable restaurants that made the news in the Bradenton Herald over the years.

All of these photos are coming from the Herald's archives, and I'm taking request to find and post photos. If you have a photo to share, feel free to email me (my address is in the right column).

I'm kicking it off with Wagon Ho.

Here's what I wrote in today's column about what I know about the Ho:

According to a Nov. 2, 1969 Herald brief, Wagon Ho opened its fifth restaurant on the Florida Gulf in Bradenton . The restaurant’s service was speedy “due to an electronic over-broiler, developed and patented by Wagon Ho for rapid cooking,” according to the caption. The description reminds me a bit of the defunct chain Burger Chef, which was a childhood favorite. The local Wagon Ho was owned by Walter Hines and stood at 4723 S. Tamiami Trail near Cortez Plaza. Today, it’s a lot for Bob Boast Volkswagen.

One note about the address: In today's Tamiami Trail world, this address shows up as across the DeSoto Square Mall, but that end of Cortez Road/44th Avenue West/SR 684/SR 55 (you get the picture?) wasn't designated as US 41 then. Given the description from the 1962 caption citing the address as near Cortez Plaza, when using 14th Street West, which is also US 41, puts it right beside Cortez Plaza. I don't know if the South Trail is a typo from back then or if in 1962, it was considered South Tamiami Trail. Little help?

I'm partially intrigued by the pioneer fellow commanding this conestoga. And in another aspect, the wagon itself. When I was a kid, I always wanted the imagination of the restaurant's exterior to be pulled inside and be functional. I don't know what this looked like inside, but I'm guessing there wasn't this large curved ceiling meant to be a covered wagon, but closer to an opera hall. Instead, it was probably a flat drop ceiling. Sigh.

Enlighten me about what this restaurant looked like inside, the food, and its demise.

Welcome to Up In Your Business!

Hey Manatee County, welcome to the blog where I'm going to be all Up In Your Business.

This blog isn't meant to be an in-your-face take on business deals, but more of a place to be lighthearted, share tidbits and details that didn't make it into the paper edition of the Bradenton Herald's business pages or the online section.

The phrase "up in your business" is a take off from "all up in your business," a slang phrase that means to get involved in someone else's affairs. The take-off stops at the rest of the meaning, where getting involved means you want to defeat whatever that person is trying to succeed  at. By getting involved in your business, I want to know what's happening and share it with the world -- the good and the not so good  -- but mostly what's on the up-and-up.

I have a tendency to come up with ideas that I think would be cool as a tourist attraction or business in the area, and this space will be a place where I'll spitball and put it out there, and it's ok if everyone tells me how harebrained they really are. But if someone likes an idea or wants to build on it, I'd love to hear your comments.

I really can't be up in your business unless you tell me about your business. Do you have a unique story about how your business operates? Is your business new to Manatee County? Post a comment below or email cschelle@bradenton.com with story ideas and tips.