It’s not that the name of the new hotdog establishment on Main Street is particularly innovative—surely every middle schooler or college-aged stoner for a thousand miles could have arrived at it quite easily. What’s impressive is that this restaurant had the audacity to put it on a giant sign on a busy street. “Doggystyle,” it reads in blue and red comic book script. 

Sandwiched between a real estate office and a bar, Doggystyle offers hot dogs both inventive and traditional, with a long list of regional styles from around the US to go along with a build-your-own option including any number of freshly prepared toppings and sauces. All of their hotdogs use Hummel Brothers’ product, a third-generation Connecticut-based meat company founded by German immigrants in the 1930s. The result is a textbook foundation for the franchise-looking restaurant to riff on. The Californian hotdog—depicted on a wall by a blonde cartoon hotdog on a surfboard—comes with bacon, lettuce, red onion, tomato and caraway mayo. The latter makes the hotdog fun and interesting with the caraway’s herbal, almost cooling effect on the flavor profile.

By the time you dig into a small side of perfectly crispy crinkle cut fries, the obvious joke in the name of the place is nearly forgotten. Nearly. 

Photo taken by Andrew Fabian

Doggystyle, 1544 Main St., Sarasota, 941-260-5835.

National food holidays really seem to offer a delightful distraction from the monotony of our daily routine. Restoring our sanity and uplifting our souls with a little excuse to celebrate this week is National Cheeseburger Day. This Saturday, September 18, what better way to take a break from the maddening mundanity and recharge than to bite into the cheesy, gooey, meaty goodness that is a classic American-made cheeseburger? 

Pizza N’ Brew, having recently opened its downtown location on Main Street last month (second to its original Siesta Key location). And, the newly hopping bar/restaurant has added burgers to its already popular pizza, calzone and wings menu. Find a juicy, ground sirloin patty, accompanied by bleu cheese, bacon, caramelized onion and tomato on the menu with the name The Bleu’s burger—one of Pizza N’ Brew’s new signature items. Take the same patty and caramelized onions, but substitute the bleu with swiss, add roasted mushrooms and steak sauce, and now you have the Shroom and Swiss burger. And for those who like to keep it simple, or create their preferred combo, Pizza N’ Brew also has the option for diners to build their own burger. 

And if Saturday is still too long to wait to satisfy your every-growing cheeseburger craving, pop into Pizza N’ Brew on Wednesday for the all-day Burger special, which runs every week and includes any burger and domestic draft beer for only $12. If you didn’t have a reason to celebrate before, now you definitely do. 

Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Pizza N' Brew, 1507 Main St., Sarasota, 941-259-3894, @pizza.n.brew.downtown.srq

Get ready to celebrate the newest sweet spot with tasty frozen treats at Jeremiah's Italian Ice of Bradenton. On Saturday, September, 18th and Sunday, the 19th, Jeremiah's new ice shop, located at the corner of 26th St and Manatee Ave W, will officially open its doors. To show their appreciation for the Bradenton community, they will be scooping up all small, medium and large treats for half-off. There will also be live music, a DJ, balloon artist, musician, and a few other items of entertainment that will be loads of fun. Lastly, they will be offering "free ice for a year" to one sweet guest who checks into their location during the celebration on their J-List Rewards app! Download the app before visiting to start earning all of the sweet perks of membership. 

Photo courtesy of the business

The Venice Symphony is pleased to announce that Barbara Jackson and Paul McCullough have joined The Symphony’s Board of Trustees. “We are honored and fortunate that Paul McCullough is returning to the Board after years of Board service and extraordinary leadership,” said Christine Kasten, President and CEO of The Venice Symphony. “His guidance as an advisor and Emeritus Trustee has been invaluable and we are thrilled to have him back as a trustee.” Kasten added, “Barbara Jackson is new to Venice and we are grateful to our former Board Chair Debbi Benedict for introducing her to The Symphony. Barbara is a dynamic and enthusiastic leader and she is the ideal trustee to chair our first Symphony Ball, taking place in March.” 

The number of passengers traveling through SRQ in the first eight months of 2021 totaled 2,034,538, breaking the all-time calendar year record of 2,010,304 set in 1990. In the month of August, passenger traffic at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) totaled 247,900. Compared to August 2020, passenger traffic was 327% higher than the COVID-19 impacted level of 58,115 passengers. “It is amazing to see us break our annual passenger record only eight months into the calendar year. While this incredible growth has resulted in added revenues that resulted in a continued decrease in costs for our airline partners, it has created the need for a number of significant capital improvements that the airport is moving on as quickly as possible," says Rick Piccolo, President and CEO of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. 

"As one of only a few debt-free airports in the US, the increased revenue collected will allow us to continue lowering our rates and charges for the airlines serving our airport. In our proposed FY 2022 Budget that will go to our Board this month, the average cost per enplaned passenger (CPE), a measurement used by airlines to determine the cost to operate at an airport, will drop by 53%." Providing lower operating costs for the airlines that serve SRQ will not only make tbe airport more competitive, but encourages both existing and new carriers to expand air service there. "From our ongoing discussion with airlines, we are confident that SRQ will continue to grow and add additional service over the next year," states Piccolo. 

The Sarasota Bradenton International Airport has no taxing power and operates solely on the revenue generated by its tenants and provides an annual economic impact of over $1.3 billion to the community.  SRQ currently has 10 airlines providing nonstop service to 50 destinations.   

Michael Biskie has been appointed to the State of Florida Credentials Review Committee. This brand-new committee will serve under the Reimagining Education and Career Help (REACH) Act—a Florida House Bill that was approved in the 2021 session.  Biskie joins a roster of 16 accomplished industry, education and workforce development leaders who will bring additional rigor and accountability to the state’s workforce and education systems.

As stated in the Florida State Legislature, the REACH Act was “created to address the evolving needs of Florida’s economy by increasing the level of collaboration and cooperation among state businesses and education communities while improving training within and equity and access to a more integrated workforce and education system for all Floridians.” The Credentials Review Committee will play a vital role in ensuring the alignment of education and skill training with the current and future demands of the industry. Mr. Biskie’s commitment and dedication to this effort will help support the goal of building a stronger and more competitive Florida workforce.

To learn more, call 239-332-4646 or visit bandiflorida.com.