Fifth on first

What many consider the Main Street of Naples, Fifth Avenue South, is going against a retail industry trend this summer: It’s signing up new tenants.

The retail hotspot has signed up eight new businesses in the past two months — a significant coup given the struggles brick and mortar retailers have had fending off e-commerce competitors. Bruce Barone, executive director of the Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District, says the surge stems from a combination of factors, from an internal emphasis on sense-of-place marketing to experience-based retail concepts. “We are seeing a bit of a renaissance here on Fifth,” Barone tells Coffee Talk.