- May 8, 2026
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A longtime Sarasota staple serving up pizzas is now in two locations on Main Street.
Il Panificio opened up in the spot where Bravo’s Pizza used to be, next to the Hollywood 11 movie theater near the busy intersection of Main Street and US 301. Bravo’s closed at the end of March, so its owner could retire.
Signage at 1995 Main St. now bears the Il Panificio name, while the interior remains largely the same as it was weeks before. Il Panificio opened there May 5, selling pizzas, sandwiches, appetizers, salads and cannolis.
“We’ll be doing some pasta dishes there, but not yet — it’s something to look forward to,” Il Panificio Operations Manager Ali Davidson says in a May 7 phone interview.
“We do make our own fresh dough daily, and it’s a family recipe that’s been handed down through generations,” she adds. The eatery also uses cannoli cream imported from Italy.
Il Panificio is currently hiring two employees, one to work the counter and another to handle pizza, for the new location. The business plans to operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily at 1995 Main St., which is about 0.3-mile from its longtime location at 1703 Main St.
“This draws from a different side of the street,” Davidson says, noting the new spot attracts pedestrians from the courthouse area who may not have walked to the other Il Panificio restaurant. “This has a lot of foot traffic.”
Not having a parking lot out front is challenging, she adds, and Il Panificio may pursue partnering with the movie theater on parking.
For now, the business will operate two eateries on Main Street as it awaits development at its original location.
For 19 years, Il Panificio — which means bakery or baker’s shop in Italian — has been making pizza and other dishes at 1703 Main St.
Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Tracy and Nicholas Melone own Il Panificio, which now has three locations, including one on Siesta Key.
The Melones sold their property at 1703 Main St. through an LLC for $5 million in 2022. Kentucky-based hospitality company Commonwealth Hotels purchased the site through an LLC that plans to develop a 16-story hotel there with 120 guest rooms and 35 condo units, according to a request it filed with the city of Sarasota in 2023. The hotel-condo development will be called Sota.
Opening a new Il Panificio restaurant at 1995 Main St. “makes sense,” Davidson says, because the longtime Main Street location will be torn down to make way for the project. In addition, Nick Melone is part of the group that owns the space at 1995 Main St., where Bravo’s used to be.
“When they do demo and get started, it’s going to be at least a couple years” for construction to be complete, Davidson says, so the new spot will allow Il Panificio to continue operating on Main Street.
While site work for Sota began in 2023 and sales have been underway for the condos, starting at $1.7 million, it remains unclear when Il Panificio will be torn down at 1703 Main St.
In the meantime, the owners of Il Panificio are still operating their original location. And the long-term goal is to continue its presence there for years to come; once it is built, Sota will contain a ground-floor restaurant space where Il Panificio will open.
“We should be moving back into our space there” once the project is complete, Davidson says. “That’s the plan.”
This article originally appeared on sister site BusinessObserverFL.com.
