Anyone who has driven the stretch of Gulf Drive past Marina Drive over the last two years has watched a bank turn into rubble, then into a construction site, then into something with a rooftop deck taking shape above street level. For a long stretch, nobody outside city hall seemed to know exactly what was coming. Now the pieces are public, and the answer says something about how business actually gets done on this island.
The short version: the old Wells Fargo building at 5325 and 5327 Gulf Drive is becoming a family entertainment complex with a second Island Bazaar store, a fudge and candy shop, an ice cream counter, an arcade, a mini golf course, and a rooftop restaurant called Mingo's. The longer version, and the more interesting one, is that almost none of the names attached to this project are new to Holmes Beach. If you've bought a beach towel or a bag of saltwater taffy on this island, there's a decent chance you've already handed money to the people building this corner.
A Bank Building With a New Owner
The property sold for $4.75 million on June 10, 2023, to Jake Spooner, a former Bradenton Beach commissioner who already owns commercial ventures around the island. The parcel sits in Holmes Beach's Commercial 3 district, the city's most intensive commercial zone, which allows office, retail, service, and marine-related uses. That zoning is a big part of why a project this size could land on this specific corner rather than somewhere else on Gulf Drive, where residential and mixed-use rules are tighter.
The site itself covers 1.3 acres and was approved by the Holmes Beach city commission on December 17, 2024, after a public workshop that drew both praise and concern from neighbors. The Anna Maria Island Sun reported that a resident raised worries about traffic on Marina and Gulf drives during the review process, a concern that comes up often when a quiet corner turns into a destination. Commissioner Carol Soustek voted to approve the project but noted she had some reservations about the number of businesses packed into one site, saying she expected those issues to sort themselves out once construction got underway and the owners could see actual demand.
Three separate structures make up the plan. The former bank building holds Mingo's on the second floor, with retail below. A smaller building, where the drive-through lanes used to sit, is being converted into a two-story candy operation: a candy shop on the ground floor and The Fudge Factory above it. A third structure handles storage and the arcade. City staff also encouraged Spooner to add a mural along the Marina Drive side of the property, giving the whole corner a visual anchor for anyone walking or biking past.
The Names Aren't New
Here is the detail that makes this more than a construction update. Spooner isn't opening his first Island Bazaar with this project. He's opening his second. The original Island Bazaar has operated on East Bay Drive since 1987 as a family business, and Spooner also runs the Bridge Street Bazaar in Bradenton Beach. The retail concept going into the Gulf Drive corner isn't a new bet on an unfamiliar format. It's an operator extending a business he's run successfully for decades onto a new address a few miles up the island.
The restaurant tells a similar story. The Anna Maria Island Sun reported that Mingo's Rooftop Restaurant and Sports Bar is the work of brothers Ben and Jason Sato, and Ben didn't come to this project cold either. He opened gRub, a tropical barbecue restaurant in Anna Maria, back in 2022, and has spent the years since building a following there before taking on a second, larger concept a few blocks south.
Ben Sato told the Anna Maria Island Sun: "I've known Jake forever. We grew up on the Island together. It's a great location and being up top here will give us great visibility."
That comment captures something true about how development actually happens on Anna Maria Island. This isn't an outside group buying land and importing a concept from somewhere else. It's neighbors who've known each other for years, stacking a second and third business on top of ones they already run. Jason Sato put it plainly during the public review: all of the people involved in the project are island residents, and Spooner's goal, according to Jason, is to be a good neighbor, not just a landlord.
What's Actually Going In
The restaurant plans have some specific details worth knowing if you're wondering what to expect on that second floor. The space is designed to seat 125 people, with a covered and open deck overlooking the intersection below. An accordion-style door on the south end can open the whole interior to the outside air, and the deck itself includes a turf-covered play area built for cornhole and similar games. Ben Sato has described the menu and vibe as family-focused, built around the mini golf course downstairs rather than a late-night bar scene.
Early menu plans for Mingo's include:
- "Tachos," nachos made with tater tots instead of chips
- Traditional nachos, wings, and seafood tacos
- Flatbreads and salads
- A full liquor bar, a first for Sato, who has only served beer and wine at gRub
- Frozen tequila-based cocktails developed specifically for the new location
Planned hours run from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., timed to match the mini golf course's closing time rather than a typical bar's last call. That detail alone signals who the owners expect to be filling the seats most nights: families finishing a round of golf, not a crowd looking for a late scene.
Where Things Stand Right Now
In December 2024, city officials said there was no confirmed timeline for groundbreaking or completion. Just three months later, Ben Sato was giving tours of the framed-out space and telling reporters he expected Mingo's to open in late 2025 or early 2026. That's a fast turn for a project this size.
Whether the doors have officially opened by the time you're reading this, the shape of the project is set: retail, candy, ice cream, an arcade, mini golf, and a rooftop restaurant, all under one ownership group with deep local roots. If you want to check current hours or an opening date before making a trip, the Anna Maria Island Sun has covered this project closely and is worth a look for updates as they land.
What This Means If You're Nearby
If you live within walking distance of Gulf and Marina, expect this corner to get busier, especially in the evenings once Mingo's opens. Parking that's already tight near the city center may feel tighter on weekends. That's the tradeoff that comes with a corner going from a shuttered bank to a multi-use destination, and it's the same tradeoff residents weighed during the public review process.
The bigger takeaway isn't about traffic counts or square footage. It's that the people reshaping this stretch of Holmes Beach aren't strangers financed by outside capital. They're the same operators who've been running Island Bazaar since 1987, and the same brothers who built a following at gRub one plate of barbecue at a time. When you watch construction on this island, more often than not, you're watching people you already know build their next thing.
If you're curious about what a corner like this means for property values nearby, or you're weighing a move to Holmes Beach and want a neighbor's read on how the island actually works, I'd be glad to talk it through. You can reach out to Andrea Miller to book an appointment and get a straight answer about this stretch of Gulf Drive, or any other corner of the island you're watching.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
