Archive for August, 2009

The rumors are crashing into each other and we may just have some rumblings from the Beverage Underground that may effect the way the people party this coming season. Most of the openings are scheduled for September and take note…the hospitality industry will be hiring as other businesses continue to see layoffs and furloughs.

This just in…and we promise we’ll get more info for next weeks email blast. In Bonita, the night club formerly known as Aja will reopen as…

When the Blue Martini officially opened on Friday July 31, the Southwest Florida cocktail experience changed for good. There is an upscale crowd that has come out of their offices and homes and their focus has shifted to the Mercato in North Naples on US 41. The center is where Whole Foods is located just before reaching Vanderbilt Drive, and record numbers have been visiting the Blue Martini and enjoying this, and other great new party places.

Ryan Rodina is a partner, owner and manager of the the two local Planet Fitness locations but its not the first ‘club’ he’s owned or managed. Before moving to Florida’s West Coast, RyanRodina was the General manager and an owner of Flavour Lounge in the ever-cool Coconut Grove and then helped open and operate Amendment XXI in Miami’s design district for a year and a half. This all came after starting as a bartender at the Grillfish Restaurant on Miami Beach, and after visiting and joining Planet Fitness he wanted to own one, and now two. Ryan’s business partner is Mark Melancon…

Monster has become the monster brand with another rise in sales even though the energy drink market continues to slip. In actual dollar volume, the energy drink category sale decreased by a total of 21.2 million in the 13weeks through June 27, 2009.
Due to the strength of their wider distribution, sales of Monster increased by 3.2 million as compared to sales of Red Bull which decreased 9.4 million. Sales of Rockstar were decreased by 11.6 million and sales of Amp was decreased by 8.3 million. Full Throttle sales have also decreased by 6.9 million.

The Beverage Underground is Expanding and while some retailers look for doom and gloom we see a bright horizion as we look past the Dog Days of Summer. Planet Fitness, Majestic Wines, Benseron Technologies, Brinley’s Rums and Perky’s Pizza are just a few new sponsors and affiliates that know that that the Hospitality Industry Professionals are the core of Southwest Florida. Our Industry will be hiring in September, October and in months to come…

The Fort Myers News-Press reported what the Beverage Underground heard early last week. There is an agreement in place that would have the popular Big Al’s City Grill coming up the Tamiami Trail to the former ‘Smokey Bones’ location at Daniels and 41 next to the Macaroni Grill.

Big Al’s is a locally owned and regionally operated restaurant group that is connected with the popular Mel’s Diners. ‘The ‘Sport’s Capital of the World’ is how many know them…

It looks like rival Japanese beverage companies are going to agree to a merger that would create one of the world’s leading food and beverage conglomerates. Suntory is getting closer to a deal with its larger rival Kirin, and if all goes to plan, the combination would create a company that has higher sales volume than either Anheuser-Busch In Bev or even Coca-Cola.