New restaurant on the menu for Whitney Beach

A new restaurant is coming to Whitney Beach Plaza, but it will have a familiar flavor for longtime residents.

It will be located in the old Isabelle’s Eatery location at 6836 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Like Isabelle’s Eatery, it will serve breakfast and lunch and offer many of the same items on its menu. One of the partners, Colleen Collandra, is a former manager and part owner of Isabelle’s, which closed in 2007. She and her husband, Pete Collandra, met their partner in the restaurant, Jeff Daly, years ago at the old Isabelle’s.

But the restaurant will not be called Isabelle’s. It will be known as the Longbeach Café.

“People will remember it as Isabelle’s and call it what they want, but we’re going with a fresh start,” Daly said.
Pete Collandra came up with the name Longbeach Café — Longbeach being the historic name of the north end.

Daly and the Collandras hope to open during the first week of April. The opening will come at the tail end of season. It is later than they would have preferred to open — they initially wanted to open before Thanksgiving but had to hold off to wait for the restaurant’s ceiling to be replaced and obtain permits.

Since mid-January, the Collandras have worked 10- to 11-hour days to replace virtually everything in the restaurant — from counters and booths to kitchen equipment.

“I can honestly say everything in here is literally new,” Colleen Collandra said.

The menu includes omelets and other breakfast items, salads, sandwiches, soups, burgers and more. Nearly all items are under $10, and everything on the menu will be homemade.

All three partners have deep roots on the Key. Colleen Collandra, who currently works at the Lido Beach Resort, previously worked at the Market and Tiny’s of Longboat Key, in addition to Isabelle’s. Her husband, Pete Collandra, is a 28-year firefighter/paramedic with Longboat Key Fire Rescue.

Daly, who recently purchased a home on the Key, attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy before it became IMG Academy. He visited his parents on the Key for years and frequented Isabelle’s. Last year, when renovations at the mostly vacant plaza were underway, he called Colleen Collandra to ask if she would be interested in opening a restaurant at the old Isabelle’s location.

“There truly needs to be something here at the north end,” Daly said.

The shopping center remains largely vacant but is beginning to show signs of life.

Last month, plaza co-owner Ryan Snyder confirmed plans to open a liquor store in the space previously occupied by Longboat Key Liquors. In the fall, Engel & Volkers Florida, Linen Locker and attorney Christopher Caswell moved into the plaza. Longtime tenants Design 2000 and Bayou Tavern remain open in the plaza.

In addition to offering breakfast and lunch, the Longbeach Café will offer catering. It catered its first party over the weekend for a tennis group. After the restaurant begins operating, the next priority will be to open for outdoor dining in the back area, which overlooks a canal.

Daly believes that the community is hungry for a restaurant at the north end.

“People walk by every day,” he said. “They just can’t wait.”

 Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].