Shore begins hiring, aims to add parking

Owners of The Shore in Longbeach Village have begun staffing their restaurant with a goal of opening by the end of July.

John Mays, a partner in 800 Broadway LLC, the company building the restaurant along Sarasota Bay, said he expects about 80-90 employees to be hired by the end of June.

Training is expected to begin shortly after Independence Day, and operations could begin by late  July, he said.

He said the expectations of working at The Shore’s second location — the St. Armands Circle location has been open for seven years — means managers are looking for special people.

“It takes quite a bit to be part of the team,” Mays said, adding the emphasis on customer service will be high.

Since approval by the town in 2015, The Shore, built on the site of the former Moore’s Stone Crab, has plied a road pockmarked by legal and financial disputes with contractors, a fire, and engineering and construction issues. But the concept hasn’t changed: a 185-seat, 7,000-square-foot restaurant.

The original announced opening date was in 2017. Three lawsuits involving 800 Broadway LLC — two as defendant and one as a plaintiff — remain open.

As the Shore moves closer to opening, it also finds itself part of a parking dispute. Following the opening of a remodeled MarVista Dockside to the west, residents of Longboat Village complained to Town Hall about street parking and safety along Broadway Street and its side streets. In response, town leaders advanced a package of changes to town code, adding parking restrictions in the area, reducing speed limits and prohibiting use of public parking areas for valet services. Final approval from  commissioners is pending.

With an eye on doing “what’s right,” on May 3, 800 Broadway LLC filed a request with the town to vacate a portion of the Broadway Street right of way, essentially eliminating a sidewalk in front of the restaurant to allow for more on-site parking and a buffer.

“Our goal is to alleviate the parking stress in the neighborhood,” Mays said.

Mays said the 12-14 additional spaces made possible by the change will keep more cars off street parking. According to a diagram filed with the town as part of the right-of-way request, as many as 39 cars could be accommodated in outdoor parking spaces, along with 30 more in a garage under the building.

“We talked with the neighbors, we’re hearing what they’ve been saying,” Mays said.

As part of the application process with the town, six letters were sent to owners of adjoining or adjacent properties, including MarVista owner Ed Chiles, seeking a signature acknowledging the proposal and that owners “have no objection to the vacation of the above described portion of the right of way…”

One of those residents, Brian Feeney, lives across the street from the building site and said he had unanswered questions.

“We would need to see drawings with the building, parking and landscaping and our questions answered before we could consider this vacation,” he said. “We have no desire to have additional public parking on the street.”

A parallel sidewalk exists along the north side of Broadway, across the street from The Shore. Mays said his company built the sidewalk it plans to demolish.

Mays said The Shore will offer reservations, which can reduce the number of parked cars by reducing the number of waiting for tables. But he also sees people still preferring to park and walk.

“It’s a beautiful neighborhood,” he said. “If people are driving in and see a couple spots, they’re going take them. It’s a beautiful stroll down the street.”