While we reported on dozens of buzzworthy Sarasota-area restaurant openings during 2024, perhaps the most exciting took place recently, right in the middle of the holiday season.
Unfortunately, December also included three major restaurant closings, bringing our year-end list of significant dining spots we lost to nearly 20.
Looking for more positive dining news? Two local restaurants were named among the best new dining spots to open in Florida during 2024.
In addition, we reported on the reopening of a St. Armands Circle dining legend that sustained major flooding damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as plans for a downtown Sarasota restaurant icon to relocate nearby.
Presented in no particular order, here are the biggest restaurant openings, closings, and honors we reported on during December in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Sorry, we’re closed: 18 Sarasota area restaurants we sadly lost in 2024
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Shore St. Armands restaurant permanently closed after ‘devastation caused by hurricanes’
Shore, a popular restaurant and clothing store on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, permanently closed on Dec. 1 after more than 15 years in business. The decision came after hurricanes Helene and Milton caused significant damage in late September and early October. Owner Tom Leonard attributed the closure in part to the city’s delayed infrastructure repairs, including malfunctioning pumps that left standing water in the store for days.
The city of Sarasota acknowledged the historic flooding caused by the storms and noted ongoing efforts to support St. Armands Circle’s recovery. Despite closing the original location, the Leonard family expressed their strong ties to the area, saying, “Sarasota will always be home to us.” Shore’s other locations, including its Longboat Key restaurant and clothing store at 800 Broadway St., remain open. — Wade Tatangelo
Popular Sarasota restaurant permanently closed after ‘devastation caused by hurricanes’
Ocean Prime opens waterfront Sarasota location
Ocean Prime is located at 501 Quay Commons, overlooking Sarasota Bay.
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, the nationally acclaimed, Ohio-based group behind the Ocean Prime brand, has opened its newest location in Sarasota. This restaurant is poised to play a key role in the new and improved Quay, a 14-acre downtown waterfront district along Sarasota Bay, promoted as eventually offering a mix of luxury residential and retail spaces, along with a boutique hotel and office space.
Named to OpenTable’s list of the Top 100 Most Beloved Restaurants in America, Ocean Prime officially opened to the public on Dec. 21. Spanning 9,513 square feet across two stories overlooking Sarasota Bay, the restaurant features outdoor terraces on each floor, more than 355 seats, two bars, and two private dining rooms. Ocean Prime is renowned for its fresh seafood, prime steaks, hand-rolled sushi, side dishes, and signature house-made desserts.
Ocean Prime, at 501 Quay Commons, Sarasota, is open daily at 4 p.m. For more information, call 941-404-1024 or visit ocean-prime.com. — WT
Luxurious waterfront restaurant opens in downtown Sarasota
A Sarasota and Bradenton restaurant named among Florida’s 12 best new dining destinations of 2024
Serving elevated American entrées and small plates, enRich Bistro at 5239 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, photographed on Nov. 30, 2024.
Sarasota’s Adeline and its sister lunch spot, Little A, operating in the same Southside Village location at 1920 Hillview St., were recently recognized as one of Florida’s top 12 new dining destinations for 2024 by the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Dining and Entertainment Team.
EnRich Bistro, located at 5239 Manatee Ave. W. in Bradenton, also made the list. Both restaurants serve lunch and dinner, offering creative takes on New American cuisine, and were among my picks for the six best restaurants in Sarasota and Manatee counties that opened in 2024, published earlier this month.
Sarasota-Manatee restaurants named among Florida’s 12 best new dining destinations of 2024
Sarasota restaurant Waffle Stop, where Elvis Presley ate in 1956, to permanently close
Jim “Elvis” Reese is seen here performing an Elvis Presley hit in 2014 at the Waffle Stop in Sarasota, where Presley famously dined in 1956. The Waffle Stop is permanently closing on Dec. 31, 2024.
Open since 1951, Sarasota diner Waffle Stop (initially known as Waffle Shop) revealed in late December that it would close by the end of the year. Waffle Stop posted on its Facebook page that it will open at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, and expects to close early, so don’t show up late if you want to visit one more time.
The restaurant, known for serving breakfast and lunch, became most famous for a 1956 visit by Elvis Presley, who was performing four shows at the nearby Sarasota Opera House, then called the Florida Theatre. During his visit, Presley ordered three eggs, three pieces of bacon, two orders of toast, pan-fried potatoes, and three glasses of milk. This event would become a key part of Waffle Stop’s identity, with the restaurant’s front windows featuring a stencil of Presley’s signature alongside the words “Elvis ate here!” and its walls adorned with Elvis memorabilia.— Jimmy Geurts
Sarasota restaurant where Elvis Presley ate in 1956 to permanently close
MADE Restaurant in downtown Sarasota unexpectedly closes for good
MADE, located at 1990 Main St. since its opening in 2013 and renowned for its creative comfort foods and craft cocktails, surprised its many longtime customers with a social media announcement on Sunday, Dec. 29, that it had permanently closed.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we must share a difficult decision,” the post begins. “After much consideration and evaluation, we regret to announce that after 12 years on Main Street, we will be closing the doors at MADE on 12/29/24.”
Chef and owner Mark Woodruff opened MADE, which stood for Modern American Delicious Eats, along with Michael Ripatranzone in 2013. Woodruff’s inspired take on upscale American comfort food made the restaurant a beloved destination for lunch and dinner on upper Main Street. — WT
One of the best restaurants in downtown Sarasota unexpectedly closes for good
Café L’Europe on St. Armands Circle to reopen with new name, concept after being closed by hurricane damage
St. Armands Circle icon Café L’Europe, which opened in 1973 and is photographed here in 2022, is “being reimagined as The Café on St. Armands, a Mediterranean-inspired dining destination,” said Taylor Escobar, marketing coordinator for Oysters Rock Hospitality, which owns Café L’Europe, via email.
The 51-year-old St. Armands Circle icon Café L’Europe, an upscale restaurant known for its indoor and sidewalk seating and classic Continental cuisine, including signature dishes like roast duck, is “being reimagined as The Café on St. Armands, a Mediterranean-inspired dining destination,” said Taylor Escobar, marketing coordinator for Oysters Rock Hospitality, which owns Café L’Europe, in an email earlier this month.
The decision follows what the owners described as the café sustaining “catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene” in late September and being temporarily closed for months. It also comes after Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurateurs Amanda and John Horne purchased Café L’Europe from Julie and Ron Milton in early 2022 and subsequently formed Oysters Rock Hospitality, which now oversees both concepts. Eleni Sokos, executive vice president at Oysters Rock Hospitality, posted on Monday, Dec. 30, that Café L’Europe “reopens in one week as an entirely new experience.”
Café L’Europe is at 431 St Armands Circle, Sarasota. For more information, visit cafeleurope.net. — WT
51-year-old Sarasota restaurant closed by hurricanes to reopen with new name, concept
Caragiulos in downtown Sarasota sets target opening date for move to new location
The Da Vinci pizza at Caragiulos in downtown Sarasota photographed April 3, 2022.
Looking forward even beyond 2025, to 2026, downtown Sarasota restaurant Caragiulos Italian American recently announced it has begun construction on its new location at 1833 Ringling Blvd., between Links and Osprey avenues. Construction is expected to take 12-14 months, with a target opening date of Jan. 15, 2026. The restaurant’s current location is at 69 S. Palm Ave. in the Mira Mar building, and it will remain open there until the end of 2025.
The original Caragiulos began construction in October 1987 and opened in February 1989 at the Mira Mar, where it has remained since. Seward Development purchased the Mira Mar in May 2023, with plans to redevelop the property. Caragiulos is owned by the Caragiulo family, who also own fellow downtown Sarasota restaurant Owen’s Fish Camp, which has been open since 2010 and opened a second location in Lakewood Ranch’s Center Point development in 2023, and Veronica Fish and Oyster in Southside Village. — JG
Downtown Sarasota restaurant icon sets target opening date for move to new location
Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 3 Sarasota restaurants close, 1 opens, 2 ranked among Florida’s best
