Good Tides of Change The Crow’s Nest

Change can come as either bane or boon, and it’s almost always another B-word unfit for polite print. After four decades of building a beer-and-sandwich shack into a stellar waterfront dining destination, complete with one of the biggest wine cellars to be found from Tampa to Miami, proprietor Steve Harner sold The Crow’s Nest at the end of last June. The Venice restaurant became the fourth sister in a now six-strong family of establishments owned by Alain Tallard and Philippe Roux, a dynamic duo of restaurateurs with 30 years’ experience running restaurants in both France and the United States.

Crow’s Nest regulars are a loyal but discerning bunch. If they enjoyed the Grouper Key Largo last year but come back to find it’s now the Grouper Key West, rest assured that General Manager Redd Wilx will hear about it for months. But amid a shift as dramatic as an ownership change, Wilx is living in what he calls his “work nirvana.”

“First and foremost, they’ve not changed any of the personnel. They’re not ‘that new owner,’” Wilx says of Tallard and Roux. “Change is not always easy. At this restaurant, we completely embraced Alain and Philippe. … They trust us to do our job. They have great eyes; they bring very different things to the table.”

Enter The Crow’s Nest’s upper-deck dining room or the cozy tavern below and you’ll see the major difference in a new light shed on the place, literally. After moving around some furniture and installing eco-friendly LED fixtures throughout, the dining room’s view of the Venice Inlet is more expansive and gorgeous than ever, while the tavern feels like a scene straight out of “Cheers.” It truly is the little things, and the new owners’ attention to detail makes it clear they respect the patronage that The Crow’s Nest has built up among longtime, even multiple generations of guests.

“I would like to hope that every restaurateur in every small town is exactly the same way: Guests are the most important thing, and you do absolutely anything that’s not illegal, immoral, or unethical to make sure that your guests have what they need,” Wilx says. “That’s what we do.”

It was those guests who buoyed The Crow’s Nest up during the worst of the red tide outbreak in September when some days staff couldn’t venture out onto the deck without incurring stinging eyes or raspy coughs.

“We had locals come in saying, ‘We don’t usually come in this time of year, but we’re here to support you,’” Wilx says. “We’re blessed in so many ways!”

A wizard with fresh seafood, Chef Jonathan DeRue’s joyous approach to his work in The Crow’s Nest kitchen could be dampened only by the plight of the ocean and all that dwell therein. Proving that The Crow’s Nest is a restaurant with heart, Chef DeRue created “Save the Ocean” prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner through September. The restaurant donated $2 from each meal to Mote Marine Laboratory, supporting ongoing research into solutions to combat red tide blooms.

Suffice it to say that, at The Crow’s Nest, change is not to be feared. In year 42 on Venice’s South Jetty, it’s still the place to seek out a famous fish sandwich, an indulgent spread on the half-shell, an incredible glass of wine, a captivating vista, and the height of hospitality.

“We’re the very best version of ourselves that we’ve ever been,” Wilx avers. “We could not be any happier with the direction that we’re going.”

Crows Nest: 1968 Tarpon Center Dr, Venice, 941-484-9551; crowsnest-venice.com