Passing the Torch
The sign outside Café Baci on Tamiami Trail is usually loaded up with a pithy, witty statement, something playful such as: “I was addicted to the Hokey Pokey, but I turned myself around” or “The dodo bird never ate here and now they’re extinct” or the prophetic— and, in hindsight, bittersweet—“I just don’t want to look back and think I could have eaten that.”
I’ve driven past that sign since high school, and I always look forward to the message. I’ve also always looked forward to Roberto Mei’s cuisine: The lasagna! The Flounder Francese! The Pasta E Fagioli! Café Baci has been a favorite in Sarasota since the early ‘90s—one of the iconic restaurants in a town filled with fantastic food experiences. Café Baci closed its doors permanently this May. The sign has yet to be taken down but there’s a final message from the Café Baci team: “Thank You, Sarasota For 31 Wonderful Years Arrivederci Amici”
Other (30+ year) bastions of the Sarasota food scene offering farewell messages in recent years include Beach Bistro, Euphemia Haye, Café L’Europe, and Bijou Café. It’s a game of icon dominoes, each one selling or closing in quick succession. I spoke to some of these legendary restaurant leaders and their successors in an effort, perhaps, to discern a pattern or elicit a reason for this unexpected upheaval in a time when change hits a little differently than it used to for all of us. As it turns out, rather than feeling melancholy, I found myself savoring their stories, delighted by their delight, and ready for a fresh start. Hopefully you will too.
“Good Bones” — Bijou Garden Café
The partnership between Sharon Carole and Chef Christopher Covelli has a stellar track record in downtown Sarasota: This is the team behind Sage SRQ, one of the most exciting dining options in town, located in one of the most beautiful buildings in town. Sharon is a shrewd business leader, real estate investor, and major restaurateur, and Chef Chris is a luminary in both the local and the national food scene. During our conversation, I discover that his first kitchen job was at none other than Café L’Europe. The decision to open Sage in the beautiful Mediterranean Revival building that formerly housed the Sarasota Times was as deliberate as the decision to purchase and reinvigorate Bijou Café— Chef Chris likes a place with “good bones.”
“I’ve always loved this building,” he says as he glances around the light-filled dining room at what is now known as Bijou Garden Café. “It’s precious; it reminds me of buildings that I’ve loved in the California hills or a chateau in the south of France.” In keeping with these evocative references, he has designed a menu and an interior that harmonize with his vision: more fish, more salads, a spacious new bar, and the removal of the ivy that previously covered the outside walls. “We wanted to showcase the building in a different light.”
The transition has not been an easy one. Unlike Beach Bistro— which by all accounts has continued operation without an iota of discernible difference (other than the absence of Sean Murphy and Susan Timmins, which is a big deal for those of us who are fans of his acerbic wit and her effortless charm)—Bijou Café’s transformation into Bijou Garden Café has been a labor of love, albeit with more than a little acrimony.
“In the beginning I took a verbal beating at almost every table.” Chef Chris smiles a little at the memory. “A lady threatened to punch me in the dining room because she was unhappy with the changes. People are resistant to change, but change is inevitable.” He knew that there would be some pushback, so he endeavored to answer each question and complaint personally. He refused to allow any vitriol to be directed to the staff, most of whom were kept on from Bijou Café. “JP trusted that we would take care of his people, and we have.”
JP Knaggs, previous chef/owner of Bijou Café, concurs with this assessment. He chose to sell to Sharon and Chef Chris rather than to one of the many developers that came a-courting for a reason: “Some of my core team had been with us for 20 years. I hoped that they would have the opportunity to stay if they wanted to and most of them have.” JP, and his lovely wife, Shay, founded Bijou Café in 1986, and they were both ready to step back from the daily grind of running a restaurant to relax into retirement, especially after suffering through the year of the pandemic.
Developers approached before and after COVID because the restaurant’s location is prime real estate—ripe for yet another condo. JP didn’t feel right about any of the offers until Sharon Cole’s realtor heard through the grapevine that Bijou Café might be on the market. “We met the next day. They were interested and motivated and it happened very quickly. It all went very smoothly; there was no haggling. The best part was that they were buying it to keep it going, preserving and honoring this piece of Sarasota history. It was a win-win situation.”
Anyone who is skeptical about the reality of this lovefest need look no further than JP’s son, Jeffrey, who is one of the team members who has chosen to stay on as part of the management team—there’s a lot to be said for “institutional memory.” I ask JP about the seemingly strange coincidence of five or six iconic restaurants closing or changing hands at the same time.
“We’re all around the same age,” he says. “I often wondered which one of us would stop first and which would follow.” Chef Chris adds, “When it’s my turn, the next generation will take over.” In the meantime, he’s making a home for as many people as he can, including team members from places like Café Baci that have closed without new owners taking their places. I’ve been going to Bijou Café for 26 of the 36 years that it has been open and I’m a huge fan of both JP and Shay but I’m here to tell any remaining holdouts that Bijou Garden Café is in good hands with Sharon and Chris, so I urge you to keep any pugilistic aversion to change out of the beautifully reimagined dining room. As JP himself says, “You won’t believe what they’ve done with the space. You’re in for a real treat— they saw things that I never saw.”
> Bijou Garden Café: 1287 1st St, Sarasota; 941-366-8111; bijougardencafe.com
“The Changing of the Guard” — Euphemia Haye
Amy Whitt began working at Euphemia Haye 15 years ago. Amy had never worked in a restaurant before—her background was in retail—but she quickly fell in love with the business as a whole and with this restaurant in particular. Four years later Amy flew home to Illinois for a visit and informed her family that one day she intended to buy the restaurant from owners Chef Ray Arpke and his wife, D’Arcy.
This was more of a fantasy than a solid business plan but 11 years later Amy was asked to join Ray and D’Arcy at their lawyer’s office. “I thought that I was in trouble. I kept trying to imagine what I could have done wrong.” Amy wasn’t in trouble; she was being offered the opportunity that she had always wanted: to own Euphemia Haye Restaurant & The Haye Loft. Of course she accepted, and right now Amy has no intention of making any substantive changes to her favorite place, beyond what she refers to as “a few little Amy touches.”
When we spoke, the biggest “Amy touch” was the addition of a bowl of mints to the host stand but Amy is looking to add more seasonal specials to the menu as well as expanding the options to include more vegetarian and vegan items. But, in the case of Euphemia Haye’s culture, vibe, and menu mainstays, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Most team members at Euphemia Haye have been there for more than five years, many of them—like Amy—for closer to 15 years. This kind of longevity, unusual in an industry rife with turnover and ravaged by COVID, can be placed squarely at the feet of Ray and D’Arcy Arpke, and Amy intends to continue the tradition of inclusivity and teamwork that makes every day at work feel like a great day.
I ask D’Arcy what she attributes this success to, and her answer is almost revolutionary in its simplicity: “We wanted to build an environment where people wanted to work—because we had to work there too.” She continues, “It’s a terrific restaurant, if I do say so myself, and I think it’s impressive in this post-pandemic world that we continue to do a great job with quality, preparation, and execution.” That word we shows up a lot in speaking with both Amy and D’Arcy, as does the word family and I feel confident that Euphemia Haye devotees won’t feel any seismic shifts in their favorite restaurant anytime soon—Chef Ray’s famous duck isn’t going anywhere! Amy’s still basking in the glow of her new role: “I’m still taking it in, it hasn’t quite sunk in yet that I am the owner of this place that I love. I owe it to the Arpkes for seasoning me into this role and I’m going to continue what they’ve built.”
> Euphemia Haye: 5540 Gulf of Mexico Dr, Longboat Key; 941-383-3633; .euphemiahaye.com
“The Renaissance Period” — Café L’Europe
Ron Milton of Café L’Europe knew that he was calling the right person when he told his friend John Horne that he and his wife, Julie, were interested in retiring. John and Amanda Horne are the owners of all four Anna Maria Oyster Bar locations and in 2021 they shared the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Award. Who better to offer the “grand dame” of Sarasota restaurants a rejuvenating facelift?
John and Amanda are joined by General Manager Patrick Bucko, the Sarasota restaurant and bar scene’s go-to guy for a “ritzy” revamp (remember when Vernona became Jack Dusty?). Patrick is excited for this new challenge. “Change can be scary, but it’s what keeps a place alive.” New owner John Horne says, “We’re looking to do such a great refresh here. We don’t want to be a special-occasion relic; we want you to come here because it’s a day that ends in ‘Y’. We’re calling it Five-Star Fun.” John says that Ron and Julie happily gave their blessing for a new direction as they had been planning to change things up themselves before they decided to pass the baton.
The new team at Café L’Europe also includes award-winning Chef Jose Cuarta and local marketing guru Eleni Sokos of Sokos Solutions. Chef Jose is already having a big impact in the kitchen, declaring it a scratch kitchen and procuring fresh local ingredients for use in both the food and the cocktails.
“Trust is the most important thing that we’re asking for,” explains Eleni. “We want you to trust that we are the right team to be the stewards of the future of this iconic spot. We want to preserve what people love while modernizing and making it accessible to more people.” John laughs when I ask him if they’re planning to finally get rid of the carpet in the dining room. He wonders aloud if all the restaurants at a certain time were designed by the same people who designed bordellos.
“The food and service have always been outstanding, and we want to build on that foundation. It’s important to keep the spirit of the place but keep it up to date.” Patrick talks about catering to the environment, meaning St. Armands Circle. To his mind that means bringing in light and opening it up and expanding and relocating the bar. Eleni talks about looking at the update of Café L’Europe as a renaissance period and that feels like the right description for a project of this scope. I mention to John that I learned that Chef Chris Covelli started at Café L’Europe and he informs me that Chef Ray Arpke also worked there many years ago—so, in fact, did Patrick Bucko.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of Café L’Europe and John and Amanda plan to embrace the history of the space by inviting back some of its own living legends. “We’d love to do a wine dinner with Chef Covelli and one with Chef Ray. We’d love to invite back so many of the people that are still part of the Sarasota restaurant scene.” This is something that we love about Sarasota’s creative, collaborative culinary scene: Once you’re a part of the family you’re always a part of the family.
> Café L’Europe: 431 St Armands Cir, Sarasota; 941-388-4415; cafeleurope.net
