Longbeach Café will take dining outside

Add the Longbeach Café to a growing list of Longboat Key restaurants that offer outdoor dining.

The Planning and Zoning Board unanimously granted a special exception request from Longbeach Café owners Pete and Colleen Collandra for 24 outdoor dining seats at their Whitney Beach Plaza restaurant.

“Outdoor dining is one of the ambiances we want on Longboat Key,” said Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Jim Brown. “This is a no-brainer.”

Now that the request is approved, the Collandras plan to provide outdoor dining on a 600-square-foot paved area in the back of the restaurant that gives patrons an eating area adjacent to Bishops Bayou.

“We’re just trying to make the atmosphere more beautiful and pleasant for Whitney Beach Plaza,” said Pete Collandra.

Longbeach Café currently has 45 approved indoor dining seats. The approval gives the restaurant 24 additional seats outside, for a total of 69 seats.

“Outdoor dining is one of the ambiances we want on Longboat Key. This is a no- brainer.”

— Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Jim Brown

The existing parking lot at the plaza has enough parking to accommodate the additional seats, according to a town staff report.

The other restaurant that’s currently open at Whitney Beach Plaza, Bayou Tavern, has 50 outdoor seats.

The town has eight restaurants now with outdoor dining. It will add a ninth when The Shore Longboat Key is completed next year.