'Dig Deeper'

REVIEW SUMMARY
Business. Benderson Development, Manatee County
Industry. Commercial real estate, development
Key. Company has seen an uptick in leasing in the first half of 2010 compared to the past two years.
By the Numbers. Click here.

Commercial real estate landlords with vacant retail properties on the Gulf Coast might want to clone Bill Ekasala.

After all, Ekasala is a rare breed: He just spent nearly $500,000 to open a bakery and sandwich shop in the Cooper Creek strip mall, a mile west of Interstate 75 in Manatee County. Not many other entrepreneurs are taking chances like that these days.