Cuban restaurant slated for Southside Village

Visitors to Sarasota’s mid-city shopping district Southside Village can already give their palates a trip around the world. But thanks to an influx of new restaurants, their options are expanding.

The latest, Mojo’s Real Cuban, aims to open within the next three months in the space formerly occupied by Fleet Feet Sports Sarasota. Co-owner Adam Myara applied for a traffic study review from the city Friday, which was about a week after Myara and his family opened the first Mojo’s concept in Lakewood Ranch.

Myara said the roughly 80 parking spaces behind the future restaurant made the space enticing, as did the coming Veronica Fish & Oyster, which is a concept developed by prolific restaurateur Mark Caragiulo. And employee foot traffic from the nearby Sarasota Memorial Hospital is another perk.

The restaurant will employ 20 individuals and contain about 55 seats within a 1,800-square-foot unit, according to city permitting documents.

"I’ve always loved the Hillview area,” said Myara, who hopes the fast-casual Cuban restaurant receives a similarly warm reception as it did when it opened its other location on State Road 70. A soft opening yielded lines out the front door Feb. 11.

“You don’t usually get thanked for opening a restaurant,” Myara said at the time. “People really had the need for a place like this.”

The newest Mojo’s may offer beer on tap — a luxury the Lakewood Ranch location doesn’t have due to space restraints.

Filling in

The former Fleet Feet space — and future Mojo’s — is located in the Hillview Square building at the intersection of South Osprey Avenue and Orange Avenue. Two Bradenton investors bought the property for $4.1 million last year, a few months after longtime tenant Sam Snead’s American Grill closed.

Caragiulo announced plans to move into the former Sam Snead’s space in November.

“It’s kind of got the best of everything— bucolic store fronts and a great neighborhood to support it,” Caragiulo said during a previous interview with the Sarasota Observer. “And it’s exactly four miles from Siesta Village and Lido, so it’s only a 10-minute drive.”

On Hillview, another prominent building attracted a new restaurant this year, as well. Mercato Pizzeria and Bar opened Jan. 16, in the former live-music venue Ocean Blues, which later became Bodega Charley’s Grill & Cantina.

“I think this space never had the right concept, to be honest with you,” said Mercato owner Alessandro Settimi in a previous interview. “Now, I think it’s the right thing to bring new people here.”