Clearwater manufacturer completes $2.2 million expansion

Florida Seating, a Pinellas County manufacturer of restaurant furniture, has expanded its Mears Court facility in Clearwater.

The expansion adds to 18,387 square feet to the company’s manufacturing and distribution operations and created 10 jobs.

The project, which officially opened at a ceremonial ribbon cutting Monday, cost $2.21 million, with $606,940 of that coming through Pinellas County’s Employment Sites Program.

The money from the county was used to offset the cost of stormwater improvements, site demolition and sidewalks. The county says in a statement that all were necessary for the pre-engineered building which will expand Florida Seating’s manufacturing operations.

With the addition, the company’s operations now take up five buildings across 6.9 acres and employs 83.

“To support our continued growth, we needed to expand and maximize our manufacturing, production, and inventory space,” says Maria Nikolova, the owner and president of Florida Seating.

“We own an almost 7-acre campus but could not build on it without upgrading the site — and the cost of that was unfeasible without help from Pinellas County.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Florida Seating is one of those companies you may never have heard of, but chances are high that you have partaken of its products.

The company manufactures commercial furniture to supply the restaurant, hospitality and design industries. Among its clients are Bloomin’ Brands, Bay Star Restaurant Group, Hooters, PDQ, Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille, World of Beer and Darden Restaurants.

Nikolova says the new space, which took about a year to complete, sits on what was once a parking lot.

To make it work, she says that the company had to integrate the new building with those that were already there. “It took a lot of architecture and design work.”