Demolition of Pattigeorge's delayed until Wednesday on Longboat Key

Update: The beginning of the demolition project at the site of the former Pattigeorge's restaurant has been delayed until Wednesday, the general contractor said. 

The two-week job at 4129 Gulf of Mexico Drive in Longboat Key was expected to begin Tuesday morning. 

Original story: The owners behind the planned Buccaneer Restaurant on Longboat Key will begin tearing down the former Pattigeorge’s building Tuesday morning, according to the company.

An announcement from Columbia Restaurant Group on Friday indicated the two-week job would likely begin around 10 a.m.  at 4129 Gulf of Mexico Drive. 

According to a permit issued by the town of Longboat Key, the demolition is valued at $24,000. The general contractor for the job is Jon F. Swift Construction with Forristall Enterprises of Bradenton as a subcontractor. 

The Buccaneer name is an homage to the popular restaurant opened on Longboat Key in 1957 by Herb Field. Until its closing in 2001 and eventual razing in 2005, the restaurant was a fixture on the island. An opening date for the new Buccaneer has not been set, but the company developing the project has said it is expected to be in 2019. 

Pattigeorge’s closed in 2016 after 43 years as an iconic island eatery.  Owner and chef Tommy Klauber and his father, Murf, purchased Pattigeorge’s from Patti and George Neofotis in 1997 and created the restaurant it was for nearly two decades.

“My parents’ favorite restaurant, besides the Columbia, was The Buccaneer Inn on Longboat Key,” said Richard Gonzmart, fourth generation “caretaker” of the family-owned restaurant group. “My goal and my dream is to make this new restaurant an architectural gem and to pay homage to some of that restaurant’s beloved menu items, such as oysters and char-grilled prime rib, as well as to add our own distinctive touches.”