Restaurant News: New Owners For Café L’Europe, Beach Bistro

Tiffany Razzano
Updated ·4 min read

SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL — Here’s the latest restaurant and bar news in Sarasota and Manatee counties:

New Ownership for Café L’Europe

Ron and Julie Milton, the longtime owners of Café L’Europe in St. Armands Circle, have sold the restaurant to John and Amanda Horne, according to the Sarasota restaurant’s Facebook page.

The Hornes own Anna Maria Oyster Bar, which has four locations throughout Manatee County. John Horne also serves as president.

They take over operations of Café L’Europe Tuesday and say they’ll retain the staff and menu, according to the Observer.

“John and Amanda have a reputation in this town that’s second to none,” Ron Milton said. “They give a lot back to this community. I know where his heart is.”

Mademoiselle Paris Expands to Beach to Open Third Location

French restaurant Mademoiselle Paris will open its third location in the Sarasota-Bradenton region on Anna Maria Island. It will take over the location that was previously occupied by My AMI at 9906 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria and could open by early March, the Herald-Tribune reported.

The restaurant, owned by Jean and Myriam Dandonneau, launched the original Mademoiselle Paris in University Park in 2016. They expanded into downtown Sarasota in the fall, opening a café in the Wells Fargo Advisors building at 1605 Main Street.

The couple had hoped to open a location on the beach. They were made aware of their new space in Anna Maria because of their friendship with the owners of My AMI, according to reports.

“When we visited the restaurant, we fell in love because the terrace in the back, you have sand and palm trees," Jean Dandonneau said. "It was already a French restaurant, so the remodeling would be very fast. We wanted to be not too close to the other two locations. So it was that that brought us to buy out this restaurant.”

Beach Bistro Sold to New Owners

Sean Murphy and Susan Timmins, the husband-and-wife team that founded Beach Bistro in Holmes Beach more than 36 years ago, announced the sale of their waterfront restaurant in their Jan. 27 newsletter.

“We have a long history, a great tradition, of incredibly talented culinarians. We feel strongly that the great team running the Bistro now is one of our finest,” the couple wrote. “Which is why we feel it is the right time for us to step aside, and to take pleasure in watching this special little place continue to soar without us.”

The new owners are developer Shawn Kaleta and attorney Louis Najmy, according to the Anna Maria Islander.

Murphy said the reason for stepping away from the restaurant “was a combination of age — it’s time for Susan and I to lighten up a little bit. The second part was probably the continuing COVID environment, which was creating extra stress.”

Beach Bistro made headlines during the pandemic when it implemented a vaccine policy asking diners to show their COVID-19 vaccination status before making a reservation.

In their newsletter, the couple said they will focus on running the Doctor’s Office, a craft cocktail bar in Holmes Beach, and the Doctor’s Garden, an event space.

Hooters Partners with Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida on Cookie Sales

For the second year in a row, seven Hooters locations are partnering with the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida to help with their annual fundraising efforts.

The Girl Scouts will have cookie booths at seven local Hooters locations to support their goal of providing 50,000 boxes of cookies for the region’s “brave hometown heroes,” the restaurant chain said in a news release.

Hooters will match every box sold (up to $15,000) by the Girl Scouts at each of their South Florida Hooters restaurant locations this Friday through Sunday.

Proceeds from the cookie sales stay local. The additional boxes purchased by Hooters will be donated to the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida’s Hometown Hero’s program. In 2021, South Florida Hooters donated $15,000 to the Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida and $15,000 to the Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida.

“Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida is so grateful for the ongoing partnership with the South Florida Hooters restaurants. As we say in Girl Scouts, ‘When women support women great things happen,’” Mary Anne Servian, CEO of Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida Council, said.

The following Hooters locations will host Girl Scouts cookie sales Friday through Sunday:

  • 4908 14th Street W., Bradenton

  • 3120 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral

  • 4411 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers

  • 1600 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach

  • 3625 Gateway Lane, Naples

  • 1360 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte

  • 6507 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota

This article originally appeared on the Bradenton Patch