Restaurant's reopening rescheduled for the fall

W. Howard Rooks now plans to open a restaurant in the building that formerly housed Mattison’s Steakhouse at the Plaza in October.

The local real estate investor, who owns the building at 555 Bay Isles Parkway, initially planned to complete renovations and open a restaurant by February.

But with renovations still underway, Rooks opted to push back opening because he realized he was missing peak season.

“I’m not anticipating opening full-scale until the fall, but we’ll have one hell of a restaurant come October,” he said.

Rooks has not yet hired an executive chef or general manager. He said the restaurant will offer fresh seafood and feature a casual menu as well as more upscale offerings.

Recently, he received permits from the town for $148,000 worth of alterations. The permit was for “Lobo Restaurant,” but that most likely won’t be the restaurant’s name. “Lobo” is a name Rooks devised temporarily by shortening “Longboat.” Rooks plans to decide on a new name when the restaurant’s opening gets closer.

Rooks paid $1.4 million for the 6,360-square-foot building that’s modeled after New York City’s Plaza Hotel, in May 2004.

The building has been vacant since late 2008, when restaurateur Paul Mattison closed Mattison’s Steakhouse at the Plaza to focus on his Sarasota restaurants. Lakeland-based Publix Supermarkets Inc. purchased the adjacent 1.52-acre Town Plaza II for $1.25 million from Rooks in 2012 and demolished it to add parking, but the chain wasn’t interested in the restaurant building.

In December, the Longboat Key Planning & Zoning Board granted Rooks a special exception that allows for 50 outdoor dining seats on an existing 1,600-square-foot patio. Combined with the vacant restaurant’s existing 210 indoor seats, the special exception allows for a 260-seat restaurant.

Rooks told the Longboat Observer at that time that he believes the renovations Publix has made will give the restaurant more exposure.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]