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Highlands Today

Avon Park Bank Gives Downtown Hope Of Better Times

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: October 8, 2007

AVON PARK — Amid the dirt and the construction cones that dotted Main Street for some time, David Greenslade of the Avon Park Chamber of Commerce is expecting a bit of an uplift in downtown, with some new businesses expecting to pop up by early November.

The new Heartland National Bank branch previously told Greenslade it should be completed by the end of October, bringing the downtown area its first bank in more than a year, when the Wachovia branch closed its doors.

The way he saw it, Greenslade expected the bank to bring back confidence for businesses to enter downtown, a part of the city that has been cluttered with vacant office space and several near-vacant buildings.

"We're excited about the fact that they feel it's a great location for them," Greenslade said.

If the Heartland National Bank goes as planned and remains in business, it could be part of a reversal for the downtown area.

The second story above the Broken Spoke Flea Market looks like a construction site in the Brickel Building, which is up for sale. The Mason building, an "eyesore" for the past seven to nine years, has only recently undergone some renovations.

Heartland National Bank President Jim Clinard, along with Greenslade, thought it will get "spruced up" in the near future after the bank goes up. Clinard added that he saw a lot of downtowns elsewhere in the country on the comeback, thinking Avon Park would follow this apparent trend.

"As long as there's accessibility, then we feel good about going uptown, downtown whatever you want to call it."

Jeni's Sold

The old Jeni's On South Lake, which closed its doors earlier this year, was leased to an Avon Park couple last Tuesday and is expected to become a new "family" sports bar, according to several sources.

Sara Baldridge said Thursday that she and her husband, Jess Baldridge, will convert the old restaurant, which will be renamed "LJ's," and they hope to open it around Nov. 1.

"We want people to come in and watch NASCAR or a football game but still be able to bring their kids there," she said. "We do want to gear towards the high and middle school environment."

The name "LJ's," Sara said, was a joke referring to her husband "Little Jesse," who is actually 6 feet, 5 inches tall and more than 300 pounds.

In a setup that Remax agent Chip Boring described as a "mini Beef-O-Brady's," the South Lake Avenue restaurant would keep a local sports theme, three large-screen televisions and newspaper clips of local games placed under the glass tops on each table.

The lunches and dinners, from about $3 to $9 per dish, would include the usual sports bar fare, from chicken wings to cheese sticks.

They would also do a weekly barbecue, she said.

Boring, who leased the restaurant to the Baldridges, said the restaurant was listed for about 60 days.

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