Many of us remember the corner of Central Avenue and 10th Street for the playful, red, blue and yellow facade of the Circus City Architectural Salvage store, which sold a range of museum-like oddities for 10 years. But it's been vacant since its owner, Greg Pemberton, closed shop in 2020. 

Pemberton operated the store in 2010, offering a unique collection of Americana and circus memorabilia, including vintage furniture and posters, furniture, records and circus artifacts, before he ultimately relocated to Virginia. The property was purchased in 2020 by 1001 Central Avenue Holdings LLC for $850,000. 

Now Amber Bixby, a 27-year-old Sarasota native, will open Aleur Event Collective there this fall, with the help of her father, Michael Bixby and fiancé Joey Azar.

Although the 1954 building isn't locally historically designated, it looks like it should be. Inside, the space has a dusty, warm, warehouse feel, with original architectural features like a long exposed brick wall and high wood-beamed ceilings—elements Bixby plans to integrate into the design of Aleur Event Collective. The outdoor portion of the space will get a lush garden treatment, and inside will be polished concrete floors. Two of the three large industrial garage doors will be replaced with glass.

“Our goal is to incorporate lots of natural elements, earth tones and deep green color and velvet couches, with wood, brick, concrete and louvered wood," Bixby says. "We’ll use the garden for cocktail hour. Inside, we'll also have a lounge, where, in the case of weddings, the bride might get dressed and hang out with friends and family. It'll be earthy, upscale and industrial, with large chandeliers too."

Although Bixby and her family come from a wedding event venue background—they're the former owners of The Barn at Lone Oak Acres in Parrish, where they still consult with the new owners—the Aleur space is an urban pivot.

In addition to weddings, the space will host a variety of events, including corporate functions and public gatherings big and small, with a capacity for 250 seated guests or 300 in a cocktail-style layout—and there will be valet parking, too.

Bixby has created a range of event packages and pricing, including wedding options for 100 guests starting in the low $40,000s–a competitive rate considering other downtown Sarasota and close-to-downtown-Sarasota options like The Ritz-Carlton, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and the Ringling Museum. She also plans to host public events, including a Friendsgiving  meal in which clients could rent a 12-seat table and share a catered, family-style dinner with live music.

After almost five years of laying dormant, the transformation of the space will complement a number of other recent and upcoming commercial and residential projects nearby, like Boo's Ice House & Dog Bar, Bayside and Luxe on 10th. It's also located across from the Salvation Army, which provides shelter for unhoused people, but Bixby says she doesn't foresee any issues with any of her neighbors. "I live on Central Avenue and I love the neighborhood," she says.

And the location is super-convenient convenient. On the northern periphery of the bustling Rosemary District, it's just blocks from the waterfront, with easy access to downtown Sarasota while maintaining some distance from residential areas. 

"For weddings, you can have the ceremony at Bayfront Park, then take a wedding trolley to the reception here, but you can do it all here, too," Bixby says.

Aleur Event Collective is taking inquiries here.