A new family-owned restaurant is coming to Sarasota’s Rosemary District this fall. The aptly-named Arts & Central, which will offer casual-upscale American cuisine at the intersection of Central Avenue and the Boulevard of the Arts, is about to begin construction and is expected to open its doors this September.
“We’re going to have a high quality—but casual—menu, with everything from salads, to handhelds, to steak, seafood, and lobster,” owner Daniel Henson told What Now on Monday.
Henson describes Arts & Central as a “bucket list project,” a longtime family dream held by Henson and his wife Lauren, son Dan, and daughter-in-law Angel. In fact, Dan and Angel have relocated from Houston for the project.
Arts & Central will seat 200 people, and Henson says sixty to seventy of those seats will be outdoors on covered patios. The restaurant will feature a full liquor bar at which guests can order food while enjoying a view of the kitchen. Also featuring a kitchen view is the restaurant’s private tasting room, which will be reservable for special events like wine and spirits tastings.
“The Rosemary District is undergoing a lot of development, and it has a lot of apartment and condo buildings, so it will be draw for both locals and tourists,” Henson said. “We can’t name them yet, but we do have our chef and our manager.”
Henson says Arts & Central is hoping to complete construction by Labor Day, with an opening before the end of September.
we’ll that’s rather disappointing. Sarasota is chock a bloc with run of the mill steak and seafood joints and this is certainly not anything novel. Initially this was to be a food hall concept where several unique cuisine vendors would be centered under the same roof. Food Halls have exploded in Europe and in many US cities. Anyone who has stepped into one knows how exciting a food destination that is What happened? As a resident living just down the street it’s unfortunate.