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Longboat Key | Business

Cafe L'Europe is temporarily closed as they repair the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia.
    By
  • Petra Rivera
  • September 11, 2023
Cafe L'Europe closes temporarily for repairs after Hurricane Idalia damage

Phase 3 of the restaurant's renovation is postponed until next summer to focus on adding new menu items and maintaining their atmosphere.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Carol Hayes cleaning up the inside of Coastal HoBo
    By
  • Amanda Postma
  • September 2, 2023
Local businesses encouraged to take damage survey

The survey asks for both physical and economic damages caused by Hurricane Idalia.

  • Sarasota
  • Business
Jose Pavet of Cha Cha Coconuts on Aug. 31.
    By
  • Petra Rivera
  • August 31, 2023
Businesses on St. Armands Circle clean up after Hurricane Idalia flooding

Shops on the Circle received little water damage from the storm and plan to reopen Aug. 31 to Sept. 1.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Cafe L'Europe staff in the Late '70s.
    By
  • Petra Rivera
  • August 30, 2023
Cafe L'Europe builds on tradition for 50th anniversary

The St. Armands Circle restaurant has served the area for 50 years and trained many local restaurateurs.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Alex Fabrizo taking in signs and other outdoor items from the Publix parking lot.
    By
  • Petra Rivera
  • August 29, 2023
Business owners on St. Armands Circle, Longboat prep for Hurricane Idalia

Few businesses stay open as they make last-minute preparations and residents evacuate for the coming Category 3 hurricane.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
Alana Bjork and Chuck Wolfe
    By
  • Petra Rivera
  • August 8, 2023
Chiles Hospitality awards student scholarships to nine employees

Employees at Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub qualified for scholarships funded by Manatee Community Foundation.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
The Thieles at Tyler's Gourmet Ice Cream in Longboat Key
    By
  • Petra Rivera
  • July 26, 2023
Tyler's Gourmet Ice Cream brings sweetness of childhood to Longboat

The ice cream shop's partnership with Lazy Lobster has made it a family-friendly destination.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
Sharon Haas sets up tables at Ventura's about an hour before the doors open for dinner.
    By
  • Carter Weinhofer
  • July 26, 2023
Local businesses find ways to retain staff amid seasonal traffic issues

The town of Longboat Key and private businesses often need to find ways to encourage people to work on the island while some are drawn to work on the island.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Chamber ambassador Brian Wiffin, assistant manager of stores Janeane Diaz, Mayor Kyle Battie, Cariloha owner Jeff Snell and chamber ambassador Patti Bosco.
    By
  • Sidra Wali
  • May 15, 2023
Bamboo clothing, bedding retailer cuts ribbon on St. Armands

Cariloha Sarasota celebrated its reopening with the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce on May 4.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Dr. James Reed, board certified family medicine physician
    By
  • Sidra Wali
  • May 8, 2023
Reed Medical Group on Longboat expands

The medical group has added a variety of services on the island since it opened.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Jack Dean, Tryla Larson, Mayor Ken Schneier, Estella Villegas, Antonia Munos, Deanna Mesghali, and Scott Kuykendall.
    By
  • Sidra Wali
  • May 2, 2023
Ribbon-cutting marks opening of La Villa Café on Longboat

The new restaurant is officially open and serving coffee, healthy breakfast items and empanadas.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
The Michael Saunders & Co. south Longboat Key office.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • April 27, 2023
Michael Saunders & Co. to combine two Longboat Key sales offices

Longboat agents will work under one roof at the spacious south Key location.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Rendering of indoor dining area at proposed Lo'Key Island Grille.
    By
  • Lauren Tronstad
  • April 26, 2023
'Quaint' restaurant concept plans approved on Longboat Key

After Tiki bar plans were rejected in 2022, the Lo'Key Island Grille proposal earned approval by the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Michael Garey, Yesenia Retamozo, Kelly Breese, Mayor Ken Schneier and Kellie Spring celebrated the opening of Hearing Aids of Sarasota.
    By
  • Lauren Tronstad
  • March 14, 2023
Longboat businesses host ribbon-cuttings

Hearing Aids of Sarasota and LaVilla Mexican Grill officially celebrated their openings last week.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Rumble officially opened its new U.S. corporate headquarters Feb. 27.
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • March 7, 2023
YouTube competitor opens new Longboat Key headquarters

In a rare interview, Rumble CEO talks about tech companies, freedom of speech principles and the YouTube competitor’s growth track.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Sips owners Justina Condensa and Chris Carter celebrated their grand opening March 1.
    By
  • Lauren Tronstad
  • March 1, 2023
Sips celebrates grand opening on Longboat Key

The coffee shop in Whitney Plaza is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is closed Monday.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Justina Condensa and Chris Carter own and operate Sips in Whitney Plaza.
    By
  • Lauren Tronstad
  • February 20, 2023
Longboat welcomes new businesses to north end

Sips coffee shop and a mental health private practice have opened their doors on the barrier island.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Serge Gauthier, host and director of the show Mariloup Wolfe and Sonia Gauthier
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • February 15, 2023
Canadians make 'The Big Move' to St. Armands

A French Canadian television show filmed at the Gauthier Salon & Wellness Spa on Sunday.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
The St. Armands Business Improvement District will expire later this year unless it is renewed by Aug. 7
    By
  • Andrew Warfield
  • February 14, 2023
St. Armands property owners to make second bid to renew business district

Falling just short of a 10-year renewal of the St. Armands Business Improvement District, its board will begin the process for a second ballot for property owners on the Circle.

  • Sarasota
  • News
Amanda and John Horne will honor Café L’Europe’s favorite menu items, including the French onion soup served in an onion, but have revamped the interior and refreshed the menu.
    By
  • Abby Weingarten
  • February 6, 2023
Restaurateur brings his brand of hospitality to the iconic Café L'Europe

John Horne, one of the area’s most experienced restaurateurs, takes the helm of an iconic restaurant on St. Armands Circle.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Foxy Lady’s founder and owner Lorry Eible has been a local trendsetter for 50 years.
  • By Amy Bentley
  • January 28, 2023
St. Armands' Foxy Lady is still fabulous at 50

Foxy Lady founder Lorry Eible credits family, friends and generations of loyal customers for 50 years of success.

  • Sarasota
  • Business
Robert Jendelund is the new contract tennis pro at the Longboat Key Public Tennis Center.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • January 17, 2023
New tennis pro joins Longboat tennis center

The Longboat Key Public Tennis Center hired a new contract pro to handle the overflow of requests for tennis lessons.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
From the property's beach groin, the scale of the project is evident.
    By
  • Eric Garwood
  • December 31, 2022
Enough concrete poured at Longboat's St. Regis to build a 234-mile sidewalk

Heading into second year of construction, the condo and hotel buildings are coming together.

  • Longboat Key
  • News
The new DalMoros location in St. Armands Circle.
    By
  • Amanda Postma
  • November 29, 2022
Takeout pasta concept opens in St. Armands

Passersby will notice a mural created by local artists and watch the signature DalMoros pasta machine at work on St. Armands Circle.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
Estella Villegas front and center with Mariachi Contemporaneo. The band plays every other Wednesday for now, weekly during peak season.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • November 29, 2022
Mexican restaurant opens on Longboat Key

It took owners 16 months to open La Villa Mexican Grill. Now it's open and serving up authentic Mexican dishes, margaritas and mariachi.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
The bar at Ventura's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar at its November 2022 opening.
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • November 14, 2022
New Italian restaurant opens in Whitney Plaza

Ventura's Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar has replaced the Bayou Tavern, but you can still order the veal cannelloni.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Deep Lagoon gives every diner an up-close view of Little Sarasota Bay. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Su Byron
  • November 11, 2022
Must-try waterfront restaurants in Sarasota, Longboat Key, Osprey

Looking for a table by the water? For a close encounter with Florida’s natural splendor, enjoy one of these waterfront restaurants on a nearby key.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
When Judy Fryer is not working, she’s managing a 25-acre farm and participating in equestrian eventing. (Photo by Lori Sax)
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • November 10, 2022
Old Salty Dog owner dishes on origin story of its quirky menu, sustained success

This astute businesswoman and restaurateur shares her insights on hot dogs, horses, happy employees — and the secret sauce behind running one of the most popular restaurants on the keys.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
Rumble founder and CEO Chris Pavlovsk and prominent Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick on a screenshot from a Rumble video where they talked about the SPAC merger.
    By
  • Mark Gordon
  • September 22, 2022
Longboat Key video-sharing firm reels in $400M from merger

"We have only scratched the surface of what this business could be," Rumble officials say.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
(Photo courtesy of the Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, taken under the National Marine Fisheries Service Scientific Research Permit #20455)
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • September 8, 2022
Dolphin study changes focus from patterns to conservation

The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program was started in 1970 and tracks about 170 dolphins around Sarasota Bay.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
TPC offers a Zumba class every Thursday. (Photo by Lesley Dwyer)
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • September 2, 2022
The Paradise Center combats loneliness with connection

Loneliness is an epidemic among seniors. One-fourth of adults over 65 are socially isolated, reports have found.

  • Longboat Key
  • Neighbors
Tara's Bill Kaser (back) and Lakewood Ranch's Don Deibert do all the dispatching from their homes but eventually would like to get an office for the nonprofit. (Photo by Jay Heater)
    By
  • Jay Heater
  • August 31, 2022
Sarasota, Manatee seniors can tap into nonprofit ride service

Two Lakewood Ranch men started a senior ride service after nonprofit ride-provider ITN Suncoast closed.

  • East County
  • Business
    By
  • Lesley Dwyer
  • August 25, 2022
Candy shop moves in next door to Kilwins on St. Armands Circle

River Street Sweets Savannah's Candy Kitchen, which just opened on the Circle, is the largest praline manufacturer in the country.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Guests at Hugo II can choose between indoor and outdoor seating. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 25, 2022
New restaurants on Longboat Key focus on fresh ingredients

Hugo II has been serving guests since April. LaVilla Mexican Restaurant will open its doors on Saturday.

  • Arts + Entertainment
  • Eat + Drink
Longboat Key's Bank of America branch reopened for in-person banking on June 27. It's open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. (File)
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • July 18, 2022
Bank of America's Longboat Key location reopens

The initial closure was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing issues.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
Captain Ed Kolodzieski and two clients enjoy a sunny day on Sarasota Bay in a Duffy Sun Cruiser. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • June 22, 2022
Local business corners market on electric boats

Ed Kolodzieski won't just order an electric boat for you. You can visit his showroom and take one home the next week.

  • Longboat Key
  • Business
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Latest in Longboat Key

1
A car carrier operator unloads a Corvette on Bay Isles Road, the town of Longboat Key’s designated dropoff and pickup area for car carriers.
  • May 30, 2026
With fines locked in, Longboat leans on education for car-carrier scofflaws
2
Mark Akerman, Jay Plager and Past Commodore Michael Landis carry away the colors at the conclusion of Bird Key Yacht Club's Memorial Day ceremony on May 25.
  • May 28, 2026
Dedication to service celebrated at Bird Key's Memorial Day ceremony
3
An allegedly aggressive dog gets visit from Longboat police
  • May 26, 2026
An allegedly aggressive dog gets visit from Longboat police
4
Longboat Key’s most recent beach renourishment project occurred in 2021, with the next round of sand-placing scheduled in 2028.
  • May 26, 2026
Longboat’s five-year plan top-loaded with pricey projects
5
Andres and Liliana Mendez are continuing their family legacy of bronze sculpting, examples of which they shared at the St. Armands Fine Art Festival on May 23 and 24.
  • May 26, 2026
Bronze sculpture, 3D paintings and more impress at St. Armands art fest

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