7 new Sarasota restaurants we’re most excited to see open soon — from downtown to UTC

Fruit & Nut Salad from Publix Produce!

by: Wade Tatangelo and Jimmy Geurts via Sarasota Herald-Tribune

520 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; 941-777-1000; 1000northsarasota.com

One of the more attention-grabbing restaurant announcements so far this year came with the news of 1000 North, which features celebrity cofounders including basketball legend Michael Jordan and will be members-only. It will be located in downtown Sarasota’s BLVD condominium building at 520 N. Tamiami Trail — a space where former Beach Bistro owner Sean Murphy previously announced plans to open a new restaurant called BLVD Bistro, before declaring “the project is dead” and focusing his full attention on his craft cocktail bar/restaurant The Doctor’s Office instead. 1000 North’s original location opened in Jupiter, Florida in 2018, with founding partners including Jordan, golfer Ernie Els, former New York Giant Tucker Frederickson and Wine Spectator magazine publisher Marvin Shanken.

7500 Island Cove Terrace, Suite 102; Lakewood Ranch; 941-233-5448; watersideplace.com/tenant/allswell

It’s been a long wait for Allswell — I first reported on the restaurant early last year, back when it hoped to open by September 2024, and it’s now aiming for a June 2025 opening, according to its Facebook page — but signs point to it being worth the wait. Allswell will join Lakewood Ranch’s busy Waterside Place development that also includes such recently opened restaurants as Agave Bandido and Osteria 500, and has owners who’ve operated restaurants in New York City, with Allswell’s Facebook page describing it as “bringing a New York vibe to Lakewood Ranch.” The same description also claims Allswell will be “a chef-driven gastropub concept” with “amazing food and handcrafted cocktails with a purposefully elegant and laid-back atmosphere.”

Bulla Gastrobar

The West District at University Town Center, Sarasota; utcsarasota.com/places/dine/bulla-gastrobar

Another new addition to The West District at University Town Center’s dining and drinking options will be this restaurant inspired by Spain’s tapas scene. Bulla Gastrobar plans to open next year, according to Julie Fanning, marketing director for the Benderson Development real estate company that operates University Town Center, with construction started on a new buildout along Cattlemen Road next to Ethan Allen.

The restaurant’s menu will feature a variety of shareable tapas, paellas, cheeses and cured meats, as well as a selection of sangrias and cocktails over lunch, dinner and brunch. Bulla Gastrobar has locations currently open throughout Florida, including Tampa, Miami, Winter Park, Coral Gables and Doral, as well as in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Plano, Texas, according to the restaurant’s website. — JG

Blu Kouzina’s University Town Center location is another restaurant long in the making, announced two years ago and still awaiting an opening date, with UTC’s website listing it as “coming soon.” Until then, you’ll just have to whet your appetite with the description of what to expect from the restaurant: “Served in a setting straight out of Santorini, the impressive lunch and dinner menu showcases Greek and Mediterranean favorites — all prepared fresh and made in-house daily — like spanakopita, mousaka, grilled whole fish, succulent lamb, kalamaki souvlaki (beef skewers) and kotopoulo fourno (roast lemon chicken).” — JG

Olivia and On Swann

Chef Chris Ponte, right, with Chris Arreola, his partner for On Swann. Olivia and On Swann, both acclaimed Tampa restaurants by award-winning chef Chris Ponte, will open side-by-side locations at Sarasota’s University Town Center.

The West District at University Town Center, Sarasota; https://utcsarasota.com/dine

Olivia and On Swann, both acclaimed Tampa dining destinations by award-winning restaurateur Chris Ponte, will open side-by-side locations in University Town Center’s West District, further bolstering the shopping, dining, and entertainment destination.

Warren Sarasota

The Warren, a two-story restaurant currently under construction at 1400 Main St. in downtown Sarasota, in the former Fit2Run location, photographed May 8, 2025.

1400 Main St., Sarasota; damngoodhospitality.com

Every morning, I pass what looks like the skeletal frame of a spaceship parked in downtown Sarasota, overlooking Selby Five Points Park — a bold, two-story curve of metal and scaffolding that’s pure sci-fi meets speakeasy. But soon, that shell will transform into Warren Sarasota, a high-end whiskey bar and restaurant expected to open later this year — perhaps even this summer — at 1400 Main St.

The building, previously home to Fit2Run, is owned by Sarasota-based Baird, Inc., which acquired the property in January from Chris Brown, co-owner of Above the Bar Hospitality Group. Baird also purchased from Brown the nearby buildings that house Café Amici and El Melvin Cocina Mexicana, further expanding its growing downtown portfolio.

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