Shore seats: And then there were 185

Restaurant owners Tom Leonard and Mark Caragiulo are folding up plans for the 114 extra chairs they sought for a Shore restaurant concept in the Longbeach Village after hearing backlash from residents and town staff.

“Based on meetings with the town, Shore has decided to remove the proposed second floor of the building and reduce the seating plan to 185 dining seats,” a Sept. 2 Shore news release states.

A site plan and special exception application submitted July 28 sought a 299-seat restaurant as part of a plan “for a banquet suite for private parties located on the second floor.”

Although Sarasota land-use agent Peter Dailey and Leonard stressed the additional seats would only be used once or twice a month when special events were booked, town staff and Village residents took issue with both the additional seating request and a request for parking waivers.

A revised application submitted Sept. 4 nixes the second floor and reduces the seat count to the existing 185. The new application will also add a few parking spaces underneath the new restaurant, because the new building must be raised a floor to comply with Florida building code standards.

Lands End resident and District 5 Longboat Key Commissioner Pat Zunz was happy to hear seats for the restaurant won’t increase.

“I’m not quite sure why they asked for the seats,” Zunz said. “I suspect they thought if they pushed the envelope on seats, they could retreat and get something else by using a bait and switch tactic.”

The new application asks for some of the new one-story restaurant seating to be outdoor seating.

The former Moore’s Stone Crab Restaurant, where the restaurant will be located, never had any designated outdoor dining seats — which Leonard was surprised to learn at an Aug. 26 Development Review Committee meeting with town staff.

The application must explain why the restaurant needs outdoor dining seats and why the request is advantageous to the community and surrounding neighborhood. The fact that neighboring restaurant Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub has outdoor dining seats bodes well for the Shore’s request for outdoor seats.

Zunz doesn’t believe a request for some seats to be designated as outdoor dining will be an issue.

“I’m not opposed to outdoor seating as long as it’s screened sufficiently, and the number of seats isn’t rising,” she said. “It has to be done, though, in a way that’s considerate to the surrounding neighborhood.”

“We’ve listened to staff comments and recommendations and feel this plan, if approved, will appease and comply with locals and governing organizations,” Leonard said in the release. “We are excited to become a member of the Longboat Key community and intend to bring good synergy to the surrounding area.”

Planning, Zoning and Building Director Alaina Ray was pleased with changes to the application.

“I was shocked when I saw the original application,” Ray said. “We knew changes to the application were coming, and I feel much better about this application.”

In October, the application is likely to come before the Planning and Zoning Board, which  has the authority to approve or deny it.