Mar Vista could begin new story

The next chapter in Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub’s history will begin with a new story.

And that new story, which will be a second-floor, outdoor dining area, could begin as early as next month.

Construction documents are approximately 95% complete for the project, according to Mark Anderson, project manager of development/construction for the Chiles Restaurant Group, which owns Mar Vista, along with the Beach House Restaurant on Bradenton Beach and the Sandbar Restaurant on Anna Maria. The company hopes to secure building permits by next week, which could allow construction to begin by the end of August.

“We’re hoping we can get it pulled off,” said Ed Chiles, owner of the Chiles Restaurant Group.

According to Anderson, construction will likely last 90 to 120 days, so that work will be finished before winter peak season.

“It’s a very aggressive construction schedule,” he said.

The project will add new restrooms to the restaurant along with an elevator, Anderson said.

Mar Vista will remain open throughout the construction period.

Chiles confirmed plans for the second story of the historic restaurant last November. At the time, he told the Longboat Observer that the idea came to him a few months earlier, when he found himself struck by the expansive view of Sarasota Bay from the roof of Mar Vista, which was built in 1912 and is listed with the state as a Longboat Key historic structure.

The Longboat Key Town Commission approved a Mar Vista site-plan amendment and a special-exception request allowing for a second story in January.

Anderson said that plans for the renovated Mar Vista retain its historic charm.

“That area’s so pristine,” he said. “What we’ve done is maintain that simple, Longbeach, Mar Vista look.”

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].

The Fish Fry Factor
The Longboat Key Historical Society resurrected the old-time fish fry tradition in 2005, and since then, it’s taken place every year on the third Friday in October, at Mar Vista. But if construction goes as planned, the fish fry might not go on, at least in October.

“If construction is going on, that might be tough to pull off,” Ed Chiles said.

Chiles said that the fish fry could be rescheduled to a different date if necessary.