St. Armands gets taste of new restaurants

By Jessica Luck and Robin Hartill
| 4:00 a.m. September 22, 2010

Tokyo Steak House will open this winter where Cork restaurant formerly was located.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

This season, St. Armands Circle will have a new flavor: Actually, make that three. At least three new restaurants will open soon on the Circle. Here’s a taste of what’s in store for St. Armands Circle.

Daiquiri Deck
The Daiquiri Deck, which is currently located at 5250 Ocean Blvd. on Siesta Key, will be expanding to include a second location where the Hemingway’s restaurant was formerly located on the Circle.

Russell Matthes, co-owner of the Daiquiri Deck with Troy Syprett and Matt Grover, said they have plans to start working on the new space in September or October and will be open by the end of the year.

“We’ve looked to expand for a long time, and the opportunity came and we thought, ‘We’ll take it,’” Matthes said.

Matthes said the Daiquiri Deck, open on Siesta since 1993, will continue to serve familiar favorites such as oysters and, of course, daiquiris, in a casual atmosphere.

La Malinche
La Malinche will open on St. Armands Circle at 40 S. Blvd. of the Presidents, where Maus & Hoffman was located. Last November, Manuel Fontanot’s Fontanot LLC bought the future restaurant’s building, and Fontanot’s son, Azore, said that the family planned to open a Mexican restaurant. According to a banner outside of the building, the new restaurant will serve Mexican food and offer a full bar.

Tokyo Steak House
Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse will be opening this winter at 29 N. Blvd. of the Presidents, where Cork restaurant was formerly located. Restaurant co-owner Vivian Lu, originally from Arizona, said she loves the ocean and the beach and thought St. Armands Circle would be a great place to open a hibachi-style restaurant. The restaurant, slated to open in late November or early December, will feature hibachi-style dining, along with a sushi bar and regular bar.

BOX
Hemingway's Says Goodbye
After 24 years on St. Armands Circle, Hemingway’s Restaurant & Retreat, 325 John Ringling Blvd., closed Monday, Sept. 6. With the Key West-themed restaurant’s lease about to end, owners John Georgi and Perry Tennell did not choose to renew the lease. The landlord is John Meshad.
Tennell said they are currently hoping to open another restaurant either on St. Armands Circle or in downtown Sarasota.

“We feel good about both of them,” Tennell said of the possible locations.

Contact Jessica Luck at [email protected] or Robin Hartill at [email protected]