With tourist season winding down and the Florida heat cranking up, Sarasota-Manatee’s restaurant scene is staying just as hot — with a fresh wave of exciting new openings on the horizon.
From a celebrity-backed, members-only spot in a luxury high-rise to a whiskey-fueled fine dining destination under construction downtown — plus several new additions planned for the ever-expanding University Town Center area — these restaurants promise to bring everything from genuine Greek flavors and modern Italian to gourmet pub fare and superior steaks.
Some are aiming to debut by summer, while others are expected in the months that follow. Here are seven upcoming Sarasota-Manatee restaurants — presented in alphabetical order — we’re especially eager to see open soon, and why.
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1000 North
1000 North, a members-only restaurant from Palm Beach County serving dishes such as steaks and seafood with drinks including an extensive wine collection, plans to open a downtown Sarasota location in late 2025.
520 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941-777-1000; 1000northsarasota.com
One of the more attention-grabbing restaurant announcements so far this year came with the news of 1000 North, which features celebrity cofounders including basketball legend Michael Jordan and will be members-only. It will be located in downtown Sarasota’s BLVD condominium building at 520 N. Tamiami Trail — a space where former Beach Bistro owner Sean Murphy previously announced plans to open a new restaurant called BLVD Bistro, before declaring “the project is dead” and focusing his full attention on his craft cocktail bar/restaurant The Doctor’s Office instead.
1000 North’s original location opened in Jupiter, Florida in 2018, with founding partners including Jordan, golfer Ernie Els, former New York Giant Tucker Frederickson and Wine Spectator magazine publisher Marvin Shanken. The menu will feature prime steaks, fresh seafood, appetizers, salads, and desserts, incorporating seasonal, local ingredients. Drinks will include handcrafted cocktails, a selection of beers, and an extensive wine collection housed in a room stocked with rare and premier vintages.— Jimmy Geurts
Members-only restaurant with celebrity cofounders to open downtown Sarasota location
Allswell
Allswell hopes to open in June 2025 in Lakewood Ranch’s Waterside Place. Co-owner Tory Delaney described the restaurant and bar as “a pub setting that serves high-quality food and high-quality drinks, with the focus being on upscale comfort foods with a twist.”
7500 Island Cove Terrace, Suite 102; Lakewood Ranch; 941-233-5448; watersideplace.com/tenant/allswell
It’s been a long wait for Allswell — I first reported on the restaurant early last year, back when it hoped to open by September 2024, and it’s now aiming for a June 2025 opening, according to its Facebook page — but signs point to it being worth the wait. Allswell will join Lakewood Ranch’s busy Waterside Place development that also includes such recently opened restaurants as Agave Bandido and Osteria 500, and has owners who’ve operated restaurants in New York City, with Allswell’s Facebook page describing it as “bringing a New York vibe to Lakewood Ranch.”
The same description also claims Allswell will be “a chef-driven gastropub concept” with “amazing food and handcrafted cocktails with a purposefully elegant and laid-back atmosphere.” That seems to line up with what Allswell co-owner and Lakewood Ranch resident Tory Delany told me back in 2024, saying she envisioned a “pub setting that serves high-quality food and high-quality drinks, with the focus being on upscale comfort foods with a twist.” Potential menu items she mentioned included duck shepherd’s pie, bone-in beef rib with black garlic barbecue, cod fish and chips with English pea purée and malt vinegar aioli, and short rib grilled cheese. — JG
Blu Kouzina
Sarasota Greek restaurant Blu Kouzina plans to open a new University Town Center location.
The West District at University Town Center, Sarasota; utcsarasota.com/places/dine/blu-kouzina
While University Town Center has no shortage of national restaurant chains, or chains from elsewhere in Florida including Ford’s Garage or Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, it also features more than a few restaurants based right here in Sarasota-Manatee such as Anna Maria Oyster Bar, Origin Craft Beer & Pizza Cafe and most recently Florence and the Spice Boys. We’re hoping that roster of locals soon also includes Blu Kouzina, a popular Greek restaurant on St. Armands Circle that announced plans to open a second location in The West District at University Town Center, adjacent to Ford’s Garage.
Blu Kouzina’s University Town Center location is another restaurant long in the making, announced two years ago and still awaiting an opening date, with UTC’s website listing it as “coming soon.” Until then, you’ll just have to whet your appetite with the description of what to expect from the restaurant: “Served in a setting straight out of Santorini, the impressive lunch and dinner menu showcases Greek and Mediterranean favorites — all prepared fresh and made in-house daily — like spanakopita, mousaka, grilled whole fish, succulent lamb, kalamaki souvlaki (beef skewers) and kotopoulo fourno (roast lemon chicken).” — JG
Bulla Gastrobar
The West District at University Town Center, Sarasota; utcsarasota.com/places/dine/bulla-gastrobar
Another new addition to The West District at University Town Center’s dining and drinking scene will be this restaurant inspired by Spain’s tapas scene. Bulla Gastrobar plans to open next year, according to Julie Fanning, marketing director for the Benderson Development real estate company that operates University Town Center, with construction started on a new buildout along Cattlemen Road next to Ethan Allen.
The restaurant’s menu will feature a variety of shareable tapas, paellas, cheeses and cured meats, as well as a selection of sangrias and cocktails over lunch, dinner and brunch. Bulla Gastrobar has locations currently open throughout Florida, including Tampa, Miami, Winter Park, Coral Gables and Doral, as well as in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Plano, Texas, according to the restaurant’s website. — JG
Olivia and On Swann
Chef Chris Ponte, right, with Chris Arreola, his partner for On Swann. Olivia and On Swann, both acclaimed Tampa restaurants by award-winning chef Chris Ponte, will open side-by-side locations at Sarasota’s University Town Center.
The West District at University Town Center, Sarasota; https://utcsarasota.com/dine
Olivia and On Swann, both acclaimed Tampa dining destinations by award-winning restaurateur Chris Ponte, will open side-by-side locations in University Town Center’s West District, further bolstering the shopping, dining, and entertainment destination.
The restaurants will be located along North Cattlemen Road in a new ground-up development across from Ford’s Garage. Olivia will occupy about 6,500 square feet and remain a family affair, with Ponte partnering with his wife, Michelle, and sons JT and Andy Mahoney to operate the business, according to a press release from Benderson. Like its Tampa sister restaurant of the same name, On Swann will be a collaboration between Ponte and Chris Arreola — a Riverview High School grad, according to his social media profile — and is expected to take up to 5,000 square feet.
Olivia is a modern Italian restaurant known for traditional trattoria dishes delivered with an innovative touch. On Swann specializes in eclectic contemporary American cuisine made with seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, prepared in an open kitchen that adds to the restaurant’s relaxed, hip vibe.
Both restaurants are expected to open next year — the sooner, the better! — Wade Tatangelo
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Warren Sarasota
The Warren, a two-story restaurant currently under construction at 1400 Main St. in downtown Sarasota, in the former Fit2Run location, photographed May 8, 2025.
1400 Main St., Sarasota; damngoodhospitality.com
Every morning, I pass what looks like the skeletal frame of a spaceship parked in downtown Sarasota, overlooking Selby Five Points Park — a bold, two-story curve of metal and scaffolding that’s pure sci-fi meets speakeasy. But soon, that shell will transform into Warren Sarasota, a high-end whiskey bar and restaurant expected to open later this year — perhaps even this summer — at 1400 Main St.
The building, previously home to Fit2Run, is owned by Sarasota-based Baird, Inc., which acquired the property in January from Chris Brown, co-owner of Above the Bar Hospitality Group. Baird also purchased from Brown the nearby buildings that house Café Amici and El Melvin Cocina Mexicana, further expanding its growing downtown portfolio.
Warren already operates in Delray and Naples, where it’s known for its upscale, in-house-butchered steaks and modern American menu featuring fresh seafood. The Naples location boasts plush leather seating and dark, moody interiors — a look expected to carry over to Sarasota. “Our decision to open in the heart of downtown Sarasota aligns perfectly with our vision of blending local culture with our distinctive offering,” said Jeff John, CEO of Damn Good Hospitality, the group behind Warren. — WT
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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 wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 7 new Sarasota restaurants we’re most excited to see open soon
