What's happening at the Crossings at Siesta Key in Sarasota?
When it took over the former Southgate mall at U.S. 41 and Siesta Drive earlier this year, O'Connor Capital Partners was pretty vague about what, exactly, it planned for the property. The investment company, which owned just 49% of Westfield Siesta Key mall uuntil it took over the remaining shares late last year, didn't provide many details about what it wanted to do with the highly visible retail center. All O'Connor said at the time was that it would rebrand the mall - which it did almost immediately, changing the name to the Crossings at Siesta Key - and add a mix of new merchants and restaurants to serve the "needs and requests" of the community. Six months in, even tenants are not 100% sure what O'Connor plans to add to the property. But some new things - both rumored and confirmed - have started to take shape. First there's the Players Centre for Performing Arts, which is temporarily taking over the former Banana Republic store. The theater group plans to use this space as a home while its new theater, in Lakewood Ranch's Waterside development, is constructed. In case you missed it:Players Centre will use Sarasota mall as temporary home for new shows  Then there's Palmer's Nutritious You, the plant-based restaurant that opened about a month ago in the former TooJay's restaurant space. The restaurant is an extension of Nutritious You cafe on Siesta Key. At the mall, they've basically kept the look of TooJay's - the dark booths, the deli counter and the high ceilings - and given it a new name and menu. Nutritious You serves things like spring rolls, plant-based nachos, quinoa salad bowls, smoothies, juices, acai bowls, buffalo cauliflower bites, avocado toast and Beyond Meat burgers. The restaurant is also planning to open a smaller offshoot of its bigger restaurant, focused on grab-and-go, in a separate wing of the shopping center. In a separately owned portion of the mall, the former Dillard's space, Benderson Development Co. opened an Aldi grocery store in early February. That space used to be a Lucky's Market until that grocer went bankrupt about a month before COVID-19 hit. Benderson also owns the adjoining Esporta Fitness space. But other than that, the rest of the mall is owned by O'Connor. There's also the question of what to do with all of the mall's outstanding restaurant space. Three years ago, there were six restaurants operating at Westfield Siesta Key - Connors Steak and Seafood, Bravo Coastal Bar and Kitchen, Metro Diner, TooJay's and Naples Flatbread Kitchen & Bar. Now just Connors is left and besides Nutritious You moving into TooJay's, there hasn't been much activity. One of the most prominent spaces is the restaurant area across the courtyard at Connor's, which until early 2020 was Bravo. The restaurant's parent company, FoodFirst Global Restaurants, tried changing the restaurant to a new, Amalfi Coast-inspired concept called Bravo Italian Mediterranean, but that only lasted a few months. It's unknown what restaurant could fill that Bravo space. But there is a rumor going around that it's Tacos & Tequila Cantina, a Tex-Mex restaurant with two locations in Naples and one in Fort Myers. I was unable to independently confirm this rumor, which, as far as I can tell, was first reported by the Restaurants in Sarasota Facebook page. I asked several mall tenants, the restaurant itself, local real estate agents and I even put in a request for an interview with O'Connor. Some tenants had heard about it too. Others had no idea what I was talking about. And there's nothing in public records to support the claim. But it would be pretty exciting to see yet another out-of-town restaurant group to take a chance on Sarasota - especially in a space that so desperately needs something cool. Laura Finaldi, the Herald-Tribunes retail and tourism reporter, can be reached at 941-361-4951 or lfinaldi@heraldtribune.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @lauraefinaldi. Join her Sarasota-Manatee Retail News page on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/sarasotamanateeretail/. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald Tribune.