A gameday block party designed to bring in the green for businesses near the Swamp will not happen this year.
In response to an objection from Designer Greens, UF Plaza pulled plans for its postgame tailgate, where fans often flocked to buy food and alcohol from plaza vendors at outdoor tents in previous years.
About three weeks ago, Fat Daddy’s owner J.D. Chester said, the plaza landlord informed tenants they couldn’t hold the outdoor event.
The Alligator was not able to reach the plaza’s landlord with Gainesville Real Estate Management Company for comment.
Chester said he was told Designer Greens wanted the space kept free for their customers to park.
“All that’s going to happen is people will park there and go to the game,” he said, “so nobody is going to get any business.”
Because the parking lot is a shared space and all tenants must agree to special activities, the only option in light of Designer Green’s dissent was to cancel the event.
“They’re just sticking to their guns,” Chester said. “For the last four or five years, every year, people can count on the closest parking lot to the stadium having a great party, and now, just because of one restaurant, it’s not being able to be done any more.”
Although neighboring tenants reacted negatively, the issue is simple for Steven Kay, Designer Greens owner.
Kay said even though his restaurant has participated in the tailgate in the past, indoor sales lagged because the entrance was obscured.
For outdoor events involving alcohol, a state regulation requires a barrier between the sidewalk and the drinking area, and he said the orange plastic fencing blocked the Designer Greens entrance at the north side of the plaza.
“It looks like we’re closed because it’s blocked by all these people,” he said. “I’ve become the victim over the last two years, and this year, I wasn’t going to go along with it.”
Kay said he originally requested that vendors simply keep alcohol indoors — which would eliminate the fencing — but tenants wouldn’t agree.
“I told the landlord I’m trying not to be the bad guy in the plaza,” Kay said. “It got twisted and turned around ... I’m not objecting to the whole thing”
For Libby Kesselring, manager at the Copper Monkey, losing the block party means losing a welcome source of revenue after lagging Summer months, and she said Designer Greens’ refusal to participate is confusing to her.
“It was so nice to have that extra little nest egg,” she said. “We struggle down there. We all do. [Designer Greens] should be in the same boat everybody is.”
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 8/29/2013 under the headline "UF Plaza blocks annual postgame party"
