Ocean Prime's upscale dining will be alongside retail, condos at The Quay

Nearly a year after the Sarasota Planning Board approved an up to 10,000-square-foot restaurant space in The Quay, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants on Tuesday made it official that it will build its 18th Ocean Prime location there.

Sarasota will be the Columbus, Ohio-based group’s fourth Ocean Prime in Florida when it opens in late 2024. Ocean Prime currently has locations in Orlando, Tampa and Naples.

“Quay Sarasota has always been planned to include retail, restaurant and public access. We are excited about the Ocean Prime announcement and look forward to welcoming the community to experience the restaurant when it opens," GreenPointe President Grady Miars told the Observer. "Ocean Prime will be a wonderful addition to Sarasota’s flourishing arts, culture and downtown lifestyle.”

Located on Block 10 in The Quay, Ocean Prime is planned for more than 9,500 square feet of space across two levels of dining. It will have seating for more than 350, two bars and two private dining rooms. The second floor will feature sliding glass walls that open to the outdoors overlooking the Central Quay.

Block 10 in The Quay is located next to the historic Belle Haven building, whose preservation was central to the general development agreement between the city and Jacksonville-based GreenPointe Developers, which is developing The Quay under the entity Quay Venture.

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Cameron Mitchell, the founder, president and CEO of CMR, is no stranger to Sarasota. In addition to Mitchell being a frequent visitor, sister company Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern operates a Rusty Bucket location in University Town Center.

"We look forward to bringing our extraordinary Ocean Prime dining experience to Sarasota," Mitchell said in the news release. “Sarasota is close to my heart and where I have vacationed with my family for nearly 20 years.”

Founded in 1993, the CMR family of restaurants includes 24 brands operating in 14 states and Washington, D.C.

In addition to the restaurant space, last year the Planning Board approved 5,000 square feet of retail space on Block 10.

“We've shown the retail space split into four spaces. It could be one tenant, or it could be split into smaller tenants,” Chris Gallagher of Hoyt Architects told the Planning Board at the time. “The restaurant building is really designed for one tenant. We've got a specific restaurant in mind here, and its focus is very much on the water overlooking the water.”

Ocean Prime patrons will have a view of the marina and of a sliver of Sarasota Bay, especially from the second floor. The restaurant is nestled in the center of The Quay surrounded by built and planned condominium towers on three sides and by Lennar Multifamily Communities’  240-unit luxury multifamily development with 13,000 square feet of ground floor retail space along Tamiami Trail.

Although not within The Quay, Ocean Prime joins Jack Dusty, a 9,500-square-foot restaurant at the nearby Ritz-Carlton Hotel that fronts the marina bookended to the north by the Hyatt Regency hotel, which is slated for redevelopment.

Per the general development agreement, The Quay is entitled to up to 695 residential units, 175 hotel rooms, 38,922 square feet of office space and 189,050 square feet of commercial space.