Landmark Siesta Key property is under new ownership

A prominent property off of Siesta Key is in the hands of new owners and could be ripe for some significant changes.

The property, The Boatyard at 1538 Stickney Point Road, Sarasota, sold Jan. 31 for $8.9 million. The new owner is Siesta Key entrepreneur Chris Brown, a prolific property owner, who is also one of the founders of Sarasota’s Above the Bar Hospitality Group. Above the Bar’s holdings include Summer House, The Cottage, The Hub Baja Grill and The Beach Club — all on Siesta Key. 

Shortly after buying the 2.03-acre waterfront property, Brown was quiet about the future redevelopment of the site. “There’s not much I can tell you about The Boatyard without jeopardizing the businesses that are there,” he said in a voicemail. “And that’s the last thing that I want to do.”

Photo by Lori Sax

The Boatyard has been around since the mid-1980s. Its tenants include several businesses, chief among them The Boatyard Waterfront Bar and Grill. While it’s on the mainland side of the bridge, it has boat access from Sarasota Bay, Little Sarasota Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway. And for those who prefer to travel by land, it’s about a half-mile walk to Siesta Key’s Crescent Beach.

Ann Frescura, executive director of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, calls the property “landmark” and says it is “a very favorable and desirable location.”

“I’m anxious to see what they’ll do,” she says. “I feel that Chris Brown and his group have done a good job with other properties that they’ve purchased and maintained and redeveloped.”

There is little doubt that The Boatyard property — which a few years back was on the market for $14.5 million — is a prime piece of real estate, not simply because of its access to the water and its views but because of its potential. In the right hands it is “a generational asset for someone to own and develop,” says Kevin Robbins with the Sarasota commercial real estate firm Harry E. Robbins Associates, which helped broker the deal.

As such, Robbins, in the announcement of the sale, said the property had plenty of suitors when it first went up for sale and in the three weeks that followed. The firm says The Boatyard was “obviously a very, very sought-after location” and that it received hundreds of requests for more information, was shown to multiple interested parties and received multiple offers. 

Having Above the Bar as owner may be the best scenario for those who shop, eat or rent space at The Boatyard. 

While the details were not publicly known as of deadline, it’s a foregone conclusion that some changes — possibly significant ones — are coming to the well-known and highly visible property.

In the news release announcing the sale, Robbins says Brown’s group was “finalizing plans to upgrade the complex and promote a more customer-friendly environment to benefit new and existing tenants, including the waterfront restaurant, boat rental, watersports facilitators and shopping boutiques.”

The Boatyard more closely resembles the faux-fishing village look of Tin City in Naples and John’s Pass Village on Madeira Beach than a traditional Florida center. All three share that same aesthetic, with waterfront restaurants and shops that attract both locals and tourists.

Image courtesy of Harry E. Robbins Associates

Brown, who lives on Siesta Key, founded Above the Bar in 2006 with Sarasota entrepreneur Mike Granthon. In addition to the Siesta Key holdings, it also owns Mad Moe’s Sports Pub & Grill in Osprey and Joe’s on Main in downtown Sarasota. And if history is a guide, whatever its plans are for The Boatyard, Above the Bar will look to bring something unique to the property.

“We like the idea of the multiple locations being different,” Granthon told the Observer last year.

“It’s like being on a cruise ship with different style restaurants you can visit in one week. It’s perfect for tourists. We offer one-stop shopping within walking distance.”