It’s late Sunday afternoon at the Cleveland Street Market in downtown Clearwater, and about 10 couples are stepping, swaying, and turning to the infectious beat of salsa music played by a deejay. Angel and Wanda, who drive over from the Tampa area, are regulars.
“I’m a Latin guy from New York, and I guess it’s in my bones,’’ Angel says, explaining the lure of salsa.
“And it’s good exercise,’’ adds Wanda.
The couple follows a salsa circuit, and Cleveland Street Market, which offers salsa dancing on Saturday and Sunday evenings, is becoming very popular, Wanda says.
Indeed it is, says Dania Rosario, regional manager of NM Residential, the owner of the Nolen Apartments and builder of the Cleveland Street Market. The market, which houses three restaurants and a Topgolf Swing Suite, is one of nine new businesses that moved into downtown Clearwater in 2024.
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Cleveland Street Market's storefront got a new look in late 2024“We wanted to partner with the City of Clearwater to revitalize downtown Clearwater and bring in more people from the area,’’ Rosario says. “And we wanted to provide our residents with a completely different experience… offering everything from delicious meals to great amenities and space for them to come together and make the Nolen not just an apartment community but a home.’’
While events at Coachman Park and the Nancy and David Bilheimer Capitol Theatre help bring in customers, the salsa nights draw people from Dunedin, St. Petersburg, and other parts of the Bay Area, she says.
Drawing people downtown
Other businesses that have opened in Clearwater’s Downtown Community Redevelopment Area in 2024 are Olive & Thyme Mediterranean fusion restaurant; Waffle’s Dream; The Nash Keys Dueling Piano Bar; Los Amici Bakery & Pizza; 45 Sports Bar & Lounge LLC; Machi Boba Tea & More; Studio Twelve Eight event space; and Atlantis Art tattoo studio. Like Cleveland Street Market, they are the type of businesses that city officials hope will bring more people to downtown.
The point person in the effort is Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Jesus Nino.
“I have been the CRA Executive Director for a year now and during this time we have intensified our efforts to revitalize downtown,” Nino says. “These efforts include recruitment of new businesses and working with existing property owners to assist in expansion needs, providing and extending resources to support their growth.”
He says the CRA, which focuses on revitalizing and redeveloping downtown, also brings merchants and business owners together to create opportunities to collaborate and generate additional activity downtown.
With significant storefronts available, Nino says downtown “is the land of opportunity.’’
As an enticement, the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, which uses tax revenues generated by increased property values in a CRA district to fund revitalization efforts in that area, offers businesses moving into the downtown CRA commercial grants to help with construction and renovation costs.
Kevin and Summer Tatlici, who opened Olive & Thyme restaurant at 530 Cleveland
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Mediterranean fusion restaurant Olive & Thyme St. this year, were already downtown business owners, running a cafe in the Atrium Building that served American food.
“When we sold, the opportunity came up on Cleveland Street,’’ Kevin Tatlici says. “We evaluated everything and we wanted to be part of that.’’
So far business has been good, says Tatlici, a third-generation restaurateur.
“Mediterranean food is something that I specialize in and we wanted to add our twist and made it Mediterranean fusion with different presentations, similar to traditional food with a little twist basically,’’ he says.
Among the dishes are a Mediterranean omelette with spinach, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, and feta; a Hellenic crepe, filled with bananas, honey, and crushed walnuts and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon; a grilled beef kebab wrap with pickled onions, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and tzatziki or tahini sauce; and a falafel bowl, with tomato, cucumber onion salad, hummus, and black olives on white rice topped with tahini sauce.
At Waffle’s Dream, 1438 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd., you can choose how to top your waffle, have mini pancakes, avocado toast, sandwich crepes, a yogurt bowl with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwis and nuts, non-alcoholic pina coladas, and milkshakes, among other offerings.
The small restaurant is owned by Elena Acosta and Azeneth Martinez.
“This is the first business they have in the U.S. They’re from Mexico City and had other businesses over there,’’ says Camilo Ortiz, Acosta’s boyfriend, who helps out at the restaurant.
Ortiz explains that Acosta wanted to come up with a menu different from other restaurants in the downtown area and waffles popped into her head.
“It’s pretty much her favorite dish, favorite food – and crepes,’’ Ortiz says.
She chose to locate near downtown because she’s familiar with the area, having stayed nearby on visits, Ortiz says. He says the business is going well so far.
“A lot of families come and sit down, have brunch, have breakfast,” he says. “A lot of older folks come in for espresso. Church groups come and get coffee and talk.’’
At Cleveland Street Market, visitors can have a beer or glass of wine at Tap Haus, get wings, burgers, and sandwiches at Top Nosh Street Food, and sample Taiwanese drinks at Machi Boba Tea and More. Slow…Or On-The-Go Cafe and Lazy Jerk, offering Caribbean food, come in early 2025.
Visitors can also reserve a space at the Topgolf Swing Suite.
“Once you swing and hit the ball towards the screen, it does calculate the speed and distance that the ball would have traveled if you were on a golf course,” Rosario says. “It’s pretty cool. It does have other games on it, too. It has basketball, baseball, football.’’
Nino says it’s “all hands on deck’’ in the city’s effort to help businesses locate
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Clearwater CRA Executive Director Jesus Ninodowntown and thrive. All departments are on board, from public works to parks and recreation to economic development. The commercial grant process has been streamlined to make it easier, the city planning permitting processes are easier and the city itself is helping in the marketing effort, having started a Business Spotlight program this year.
New business owners are introduced at Community Redevelopment Agency meetings (the City Council serves as the CRA Board of Trustees) and featured in the Community Redevelopment Agency’s newsletter.
“We show them off to the world: ‘This is a business we have in downtown and we’re proud of them,’ and the businesses so far are loving that program,’’ Nino says.
He points out that Clearwater has world-class beaches and great amenities throughout the town.
“But downtown is the heart of the city,’’ he says. “So we do need to make sure that we do have a healthy heart.’’
For more information, go to Clearwater Redevelopment Agency, Cleveland Street Market, Waffle's Dream, Olive & Thyme