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KEYLIFE

STYLE

THE BARRIER ISLANDS’ COMMUNITY, NATURE, PEOPLE

DESIGN DRAMA

A Lido Shores home pairs a modern aesthetic with splashes of personality.

Nowhere but here.

From awe-inspiring beaches and captivating sunsets to vibrant world-class arts and abundant recreational activities, a luxurious lifestyle awaits on the picturesque Suncoast. For nearly 50 years, independently owned Michael Saunders & Company has been dedicated to the local real estate market, connecting with customers around the world to consistently deliver exceptional results. We are proud to be the name trusted by buyers and sellers from near and far.

Siesta Key | A4679384 | $13,950,000

Jennifer Linehan | 941-266-7555

Siesta Key | A4679384 | $13,950,000 Jennifer Linehan | 941-266-7555

Siesta Key | A4682930 | $12,900,000 Nora Johnson | 941-809-1700

Siesta Key | A4673215 | $8,395,000 Fred Sassen | 404-408-5956

Longboat Key | A4627997 | $5,995,000 The Walter Group | 941-809-0907

Longboat Key | A4681304 | $13,750,000 Michael Moulton | 941-928-3559

Sarasota | A4680096 | $10,995,000 Barbara May | 404-822-9264

| A4682309 | $8,250,000 Kim Ogilvie | 941-376-1717

Sarasota | A4672971 | $13,250,000 Kim Ogilvie | 941-376-1717

| A4672971 | $13,250,000

| 941-376-1717

Key | A4666887 | $9,250,000 Robert Delaney | 941-315-3185

| A4679647 | $6,875,300 Adam Cuffaro | 941-812-0791 Sarasota | A4682309 | $8,250,000 Kim Ogilvie | 941-376-1717

Bradenton | A4679647 | $6,875,300 Adam Cuffaro | 941-812-0791

Sarasota | A4662263 | $5,995,000 Kim Ogilvie | 941-376-1717

Sarasota | A4676921 | $5,995,000 Steven Moore | 401-767-7180

Longboat

Sarasota

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TRADEMARK TASTES

One-of-a-kind dishes that have delighted for decades.

FEATURES

NEXT PLAY

Hall of fame coach Urban Meyer gets back to work in his new community.

LOCAL LANDMARK

After 50 years of change, the best things stay the same at this stalwart shop.

DEPARTMENTS

20 FROM THE EDITOR

HOT TOPICS

An architectural landmark receives recognition, the details behind Sarasota County’s Stickney Point land deal and St. Boniface’s new leader starts on a high note.

42 KEY PEOPLE

After a youth spent on Siesta Key, Judy Johnson helps others embrace their inner beach babe.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

The Longboat Key Garden Club is about more than plants. Its efforts help beautify and nurture a community.

50 CALENDAR

From artist markets to Fourth of July celebrations, stay busy in the coming months with these hot events.

56 STYLE

Enjoy a day out on the water with gear that’s as fashionable as it is functional.

OASIS

Structure meets warmth in this Lido Shores home packed with possibilities.

92 ART AND ABOUT

Season is still in sizzling — make sure to take in some shows before summer arrives.

BEHIND THE MENU

A staple of Longboat Key for more than 40 years, Harry’s Continental Kitchens keeps it fresh.

KEY ENCOUNTERS

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KEYLIFE

President and Publisher Emily Walsh

EDITORIAL

Executive Editor and COO — Kat Wingert

Managing Editor — Su Byron

Departments Editor — Mark Gordon

Design — Melissa Leduc and Nicole Thompson

Contributors

Marty Fugate, Nancy Guth, Mark Gordon, Elizabeth King, Heidi Kurpiela, Louis Llovio, Robert Plunket, Lori Sax, Eric Snider and Mark Wemple

ADVERTISING

Chief Revenue Officer — Jill Raleigh Advertising Managers — Kathleen O’Hara, Penny Nowicki and Lori Ruth

Advertising Executives — Jennifer Kane, Honesty Mantkowski, Richeal McGuinness, Toni Perren, Marcus Ponce, Anna Reich and Brenda White

CREATIVE SERVICES

Director of Creative Services — Caleb Stanton

Creative Services Administrator — Marjorie Holloway

Graphic Designers — Luis Trujillo, Taylor Poe, Louise Martin and Shawna Polana

CONTACT KEY LIFE

To submit story ideas or calendar listings, contact Kat Wingert at KWingert@YourObserver.com. For advertising inquiries, call 941-366-3468.

TIMELESS TREASURES

Working in the news industry, we’re always focused on what’s the latest, the newest, the hottest, the thing everyone is talking about. It is called “news” for a reason, after all.

But in a world that can at times seem obsessed with the new: new fashions, new services, new products, new shows, new technology, sometimes it’s nice to go in the opposite direction.

What’s old? What’s been around so long it’s a tradition, a landmark, an icon?

New is fresh and fun, but that doesn’t necessarily make it good. But if something’s been around for decades — or more — chances are it has something special that has made it withstand the test of time.

This issue is full of examples of timeless local treasures.

One of those things is an institution familiar to many of our water-lovers: CB’s Saltwater Outfitters (Page 74). For 50 years, the Tush family has made it the place to go on Siesta Key for everything from bait and boat rentals to T-shirts and sun hats.

It started with one generation and is now going into its second as Mason Tush succeeds his mother, Aledia, in running the business. The bait and tackle shop has evolved over the years — now including more adventurous offerings like

Jet Ski and golf cart rentals and parasailing and Tiki-boat tours — but at its heart remain the people and the welcoming service that made it successful. Nothing new.

Another take on the not-so-new theme is our food feature on signature dishes from some of the keys most established restaurants (Page 68). Things like Columbia Restaurant’s Paella a la Valenciana or Café Gabbiano’s lobster ravioli. They’ve been on the menu forever. Know why? Because they’re delicious, that’s why.

And, to top off our not-newness, we threw in a few more Key Originals: a look at what the Longboat Key Garden Club has been up to lately (Page 46), wise words from Swim City owner and longtime Siesta Key resident Judy Johnson (Page 42) and an update on the music program at St. Boniface Episcopal Church (Page 36).

However, on the last one, you will have to excuse us. Although the church’s acclaimed music program has been around for decades, its music director has not.

He’s new.

Kat Wingert Executive Editor

Lori Sax

Aledia Tush, co-owner of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, has worked for nearly 50 years to give the bait and tackle shop its welcoming, family feel.

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HOT TOPICS

TIMELY PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS

The sounds of a higher calling. PAGE 36

Safe Keeping

The World Monuments Fund honored Anne and Bob Essner with its inaugural Stewardship Award for Modernist Homes, recognizing a restoration that helped preserve a Sarasota icon.

BY MARTY FUGATE | CONTRIBUTOR

In 1953, Paul Rudolph’s new Umbrella House was the jewel of Lido Shores, Philip Hiss’ mid-century modernist residential enclave on north Lido Key. Major architectural magazines featured it as cover stories. Rudolph’s residence enjoyed 15 minutes of national fame — followed by five decades of local neglect.

The Umbrella House had once been called “the house of the future.”

But by the dawn of the 21st century,

demolition was its probable future.

Improbably, the house that Rudolph built still stands.

Credit for that goes to Anne and Bob Essner, whose painstaking restoration made it possible.

The restoration has now drawn international recognition. The World Monuments Fund considers it a “model” restoration. This global nonprofit works to preserve culturally significant sites, like the Umbrella House.

The award, introduced this year, recognizes exemplary stewardship of modernist residences whose preservation protects architectural history while keeping these homes viable for contemporary living. The WMF recently recognized the Essners’ restoration with its inaugural Stewardship Award for modernist homes.

Continued on Page 30

The Umbrella House was built in 1953.

Photo by Mark Wemple

Continued from Page 28

THE RESTORATION BEGINS

The Essners, who both worked in the pharmaceutical industry — Bob retired as chairman and CEO of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 2006 — purchased the Umbrella House in January 2015. They bought it from Vincent and Julie Ciulla for $1.6 million. For Anne and Bob, it was not a difficult decision.

“Buying the Umbrella House was a no-brainer for us,” Anne says. “It was a stone’s throw away from our home; we both loved Rudolph’s work; we both felt responsible to complete the Ciullas’ restoration for future generations. To do that, we had to make the house our own.”

Where does this sense of responsibility come from?

Love, actually.

The Essners share a passion for Lido Shores’ architectural legacy — Paul Rudolph’s work especially. In 2012, the couple fell in love with the architect’s Harkavy House — and made it their home. Rudolph’s Umbrella House was right across the street. Naturally, they fell in love with it, too.

And with great love comes great responsibility.

After buying the Umbrella House, the Essners saw how great it was.

But while Rudolph’s modernist masterpiece wasn’t a ruin when the Essners took possession, it was a work in progress. The previous owners had restored the interior, installed a new HVAC system and replaced part of its sunshade. It was an important first step. The Essners knew how much challenging work remained. They needed a project leader and immediately called Greg Hall, a preservation architect.

Hall shared their love of Sarasota School architecture. He’d impressed the Essners with his work on the Harkavy House. Did he want to work with them on the Umbrella House? Hall didn’t hesitate. The answer was yes.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK

After doing his research, Hall assembled a dream team of specialized contractors. They were ready to get to work.

Where to start?

The “umbrella” that gave the house its name — the iconic wooden sunshade above the pool. Hurricane Alma had savaged it in 1966. It was long gone by 2015. As Bob Essner put it, “An Umbrella House without an umbrella is just not interesting.” Replacing it would be the first priority. Not an easy job.

Hall had the plans for Rudolph’s original wooden sunshade. Making an exact copy wasn’t an option. Oldgrowth cypress lumber wasn’t on the shelf at Home Depot anymore. Building codes had also gotten tougher. Any new “umbrella” had to stand 150-mph winds. A wooden sunshade would get blown away; Hurricane Alma had proven it. Aluminum uprights solved the problem, a different material but visually faithful to Rudolph’s design.

By October 2015, the Umbrella House had a new umbrella. The biggest job was done. But a long list of small jobs remained. Most were in the interior.

Hall’s team repaired walls, updated the electrical system, fine-tuned structural elements but performed no major surgery. Why not think big?

“Because it’s a very small house,” Anne explains. “You can only change so much before you turn it into something else.”

The restoration team stayed true to Rudolph’s vision. From start to finish, its meticulous work took only nine months. The Umbrella House was reborn in late fall 2015. From start to finish, the work took less than a year. The Essners unveiled the reincarnated structure at the 2015 Sarasota MOD Weekend. The architectural tourgoers who saw it for the first time couldn’t believe their eyes.

The Essners had successfully turned back the clock.

That never comes cheap.

STEWARDSHIP IN PRACTICE

In addition to the purchase price, the Essners invested between $350,000 to $400,000 to reconstruct the “umbrella,” landscape the property and stabilize the structure.

Was it worth it?

On a human level, absolutely. The

Umbrella House isn’t the Essners’ primary residence. Although they don’t live there, it’s essential to their lives. They use it for lectures, receptions, tours, family gatherings and Thanksgiving dinners. “This isn’t a fragile historical artifact to us,” Anne says. “It’s an amazing resource for the here and now.”

Financially, the restoration increased the home’s equity. But resale value was never the Essners’ motive. Anne makes that clear.

“We’re not going to sell the Umbrella House,” she says. “We take good care of it because we love it. Nobody else is going to do that. Because nobody loves it like we do.”

Morris “Marty” Hylton, the president of Architecture Sarasota, works side by side with Anne. He shares her sense of stewardship — and knows what a difference it makes.

“Our region’s extraordinary modernist architecture survives because of individual owners like Anne and Bob Essner,” Hylton says. “They see themselves as stewards, not just occupants. They understand that when you own a significant home, you’re holding a piece of Sarasota’s story in trust for the next generation. That kind of vision keeps our architectural legacy alive.”

For more information, visit ArchitectureSarasota.org.

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In the 1950s, the Umbrella House was called the house of the future.

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Sticky Situation

Sarasota County leaders, looking to add park space and water access for residents, have zeroed in on a site just off Siesta Key. The $21 million project, to some, is a gem-like opportunity. For others, it’s ripe with questions.

BY MARK GORDON | DEPARTMENTS EDITOR & ELIZABETH KING | CONTRIBUTOR

Sarasota County officials made a big splash in early February with an approval of a major acquisition: a 2.04-acre commercial site on the mainland side of the Stickney Point Bridge to Siesta Key. Known as the Boatyard, for a restaurant under that name on the property, the site is a colorful and quirky commingling of concerns. There’s a financial planning firm and an insurance agency. There’s a Jet Ski rental business and a boat

club. There was an ice cream shop. For a time, there was even a storefront that was home to a place called Soma Doma: The Sexual Wellness Studio. The purchase, which could close by summer, is for $18.1 million — and could rise to $21.36 million with other costs, including redeveloping it into a park with increased water access for residents. The acquisition would be the largest purchase ever made in the 21-year history of the county’s

Neighborhood Parkland Acquisition Program, a county spokesperson says. The purchase has also generated a flood of questions. For one, how did the deal come together? What will happen to the array of tenants — and who and what will replace the tax base those entities generate? Two more: Why this property? Why now?

Questions stem not only from some

Continued on Page 34

Tenants at the Stickney Point property range from a wealth planning firm to a boat club.

Photo by Mark Gordon

Continued from Page 32

residents, but from one county commissioner, Tom Knight, who opposed the purchase in a 4-1 vote Feb. 10. “I have heard from many people through email, social media and phone calls that they see this as an excessive purchase and irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars,” Knight says in an email response to questions a few weeks after the purchase. “This includes people from every part of our community, including many business leaders who can’t puzzle this out.”

GEM OF A SPOT

From the standpoint of the four commissioners who voted for it, and the seller, the answers to why, and why now, are both obvious and an on-the-button real estate cliché: location, location, location.

The word “gem” comes up regularly when describing the property. Sarasota County Commissioner Teresa Mast, in the meeting on the sale, and Sarasota County Commission Chair Ron Cutsinger, in an interview two weeks after the meeting, both call it just that.

“I can think of a few times I didn’t take an opportunity to buy something like this, and I regretted it for a long time,” Cutsinger says. “I’m excited this will not be one of those times.”

Cutsinger says staff was previously instructed to look for sites that can increase the county’s water access and park space. Finding it at the foot of one of the most popular beaches in the world, says Cutsinger, was a nearly priceless bonus.

Cutsinger recognizes concerns about the high cost. He responds that concessions “will absolutely be a part of this” in the form of a restaurant and other components and the project “will pay for itself over time.”

“There will be a lengthy debate and design process to figure out the best and highest use,” Cutsinger adds.

The seller, Sarasota property and restaurant owner Chris Brown, bought the property himself in January 2024 for some of the same location reasons.

Brown, in an interview, says when he bought it, the idea was to enhance, not redevelop, per se. “My intention was to clean the facility up,” he says. “There was a lot of deferred maintenance.”

Brown says he spent into the seven

Some or all of the commercial condominiums at the

demolished, according to Sarasota County’s plans.

figures on new siding, docking, plumbing, HVAC, electric and more. He also says he spent into the six figures on architects and designers to reimagine the property. But he laments the bureaucratic permitting process from the county “took the fun” out of it, and, at 60 years old, he wanted to focus on his other holdings. “I had a plan I thought would work,” he says, “but being in permits for over a year, it’s just really tough. It wasn’t meant to be.”

Brown, through an LLC he controls, Big Main Street, bought the property for $8.9 million, Sarasota County property records show. He says he’s spent close to $15 million on the project overall, including the purchase.

Brown says multiple developers have inquired about buying the property from him to turn it into a hotel or mixed-use project. A resident of the area for 35 years, Brown says he didn’t want that to happen. “If I ever was going to sell it, this was the best possible scenario,” he says. “It really is a gem of an asset, and now it’s going to

be in county hands, in taxpayer hands, forever, and that’s really unique.”

CRITICAL THINKING

Knight, in voting against the purchase, doesn’t dispute how good the site is. He instead calls out the costs and what he calls a lack of concrete information on the project after the purchase closes.

“Where is the money coming from for ongoing operations and maintenance when we can’t make ends meet with our General Fund? I would like to have a nice house on the water, but it would be irresponsible of me to spend every last penny of my savings and take out a huge loan, too,” Knight says in the email. “To me, this is the same principle. Government sometimes has no alternative but to bond certain projects, but I believe it should be limited to absolute necessities like water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure that affects health and safety.”

MOVE ON Sarasota County’s purchase of the property at 1500 Stickney Point Road will be the beginning of what could be a long process to turn the 2.04-acre site into a park. Amenities could include a kayak launch, fishing pier, docks, picnic shelters, restrooms and parking, say county officials.

But buying the property, in an $18.1 million deal county commissioners approved Feb. 10, requires a big caveat: there must be a clean title, with no tenants. That means a handful of businesses spent February and March searching for new homes.

The list includes:

n A&M Insurance Agency

n The Scharf Group

n Siesta Key E-bikes

n Siesta Key Watersports

n Siesta Wealth

n Waves Boat & Social Club

Photo by Elizabeth King

Boatyard on Stickney Point Road will be

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A New Voice at St. Boniface

Organist and educator Steven Ball takes the helm of one of Southwest Florida’s most respected church music programs.

BY EMILY LEINFUSS | CONTRIBUTOR

Steven Ball might say he has landed exactly where he is meant to be. The newly named music director and organist at St. Boniface Episcopal Church on Siesta Key arrives with a career that reads like a divinely led score: organist, carillonneur, improviser, composer, conductor, consultant and silent film accompanist — and now steward of one of Southwest Florida’s most distinguished church music programs.

Ball grew up on a farm in rural Michigan, where his fascination with the pipe organ began before he could even talk.

“Whenever we went to church, that was all I was interested in,” he recalls. His parents recognized and nurtured that spark. His father, a farmer with an engineer’s mind, checked out books on organ building from the library and helped 6-year-old Ball construct a small pipe organ in their basement. His mother’s support gave him time to practice, while farm work instilled a deep respect for nature and the environment.

As a teenager, Ball attended a recital by renowned American concert organist Marilyn Mason, who later championed his education at the University of Michigan, where he eventually earned a Doctorate of Musical Arts in 2007. A Fulbright scholarship in 2002 took him to the Netherlands to study campanology, the science of bells, “a whole sepa-

Continued on Page 38

Photos by Lori Sax

Steven Ball in front of the organ at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, where he directs organ and choral music for the parish’s principal services.

Continued from Page 36

rate but related discipline,” he notes.

Over the years, Ball has enjoyed a wide and varied career that includes serving as organist and director of outreach (now emeritus) for the world’s largest pipe organ located in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, organist for the Miss America pageant in 2014-15 while also playing for Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica and director of sacred music at The Oratory of St. Francis de Sales in St. Louis. He also taught at his alma mater in Michigan and teaches now at the University of Tampa.

In 2021, Ball’s love of theater organs led him to Tampa Theatre, where he met Rosa Rio, one of the country’s premier theater organists and his predecessor there. She was 101 when they met and died just shy of her 108th birthday. “I interviewed Rosa quite extensively to gain a better understanding of her work,” Ball says, particularly her role in shaping theater music on the East Coast and in New York City beginning in the 1920s.

Although Ball served as St. Boniface’s interim music director for three months before applying for the permanent role, Rev. Nikki Seger, the church’s rector, says he underwent the same vetting process as every other candidate. He rose to the top of 17 applicants and three finalists, meeting the demands of a job description with more than a dozen major responsibilities.

“His résumé is spectacular,” says Seger. “Beyond his skills and talents, the winning combination was my ability to work with him; he is a generous, gifted and fun colleague.”

Seger underscores the rarity of Ball’s expertise. “Being a church’s music director is challenging,” she says, adding especially at a place like St. Boniface, “which has a long tradition of exceptional music.”

In addition to directing organ and choral music for all principal services, Ball is responsible for planning, recruiting, managing and rehearsing the parish choir, parish musicians, the Young Artists Showcase and the handbell choir. He also oversees the care of the church’s instruments, including the pipe organ and grand piano. Collaboration is essential. Beyond

technique, the music program at St. Boniface emphasizes joy and spiritual formation. “There is a way of experiencing God here through beauty, history and the process of making music together,” says Ball.

Ball’s mission includes expanding St. Boniface’s sacred repertoire — Anglican chant, spirituals, classical and contemporary works — while also giving the parish’s many musical offerings a cohesive identity. “One of the things the church would like to see in the future is to gain more cohesiveness and show that these are expressions of music as the gift of God,” says Ball.

Looking ahead, Ball plans to develop music programs for the church’s outdoor venue. “We have a wonderful outdoor space here that is underutilized,” he says. He also hopes to introduce early music of the Americas, illuminating Florida’s role as one of the original cultural crossroads in what became the United States.

For Ball, whose experience of Southwest Florida was previously limited to the mainland, Siesta Key has felt

heaven-sent.

“I’ve known that Sarasota was a world-class arts and culture capital,” he says. “But I wasn’t aware of Siesta Key until I first came to St. Boniface. I can only say this place is magical.”

The church, designed by Paul Rudolph and set on 4.5 acres across from the Gulf, glows with stained-glass windows depicting the story of creation. One wall is formed by the pipe organ, which is more than 25 feet tall and 50 feet wide. “The winds of inspiration blow through the entire building, elevating the beauty of the space and the music,” Seger says.

To Ball, the campus feels like a “secret garden.”

“There is a silence here that enhances the music,” he says. “When we experience music, we are hearing sound and when it comes from a quiet place, it is very impactful.”

IF YOU GO

5615 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota; 349-5616; BonifaceChurch.org.

There is a way of experiencing God here through beauty, history and the process of making music together.

STEVEN BALL

Steven Ball with Rev. Nikki Seger, framed by the church’s vibrant stained-glass windows that depict the story of creation.

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HIGH TIDES

THE HEART OF COMMUNITY ON THE KEYS

‘Next Level’

Siesta Key resident Judy Johnson has the perfect antidote to a busy day: Putting her feet in the water. ‘I see sharks and dolphins on a regular basis. And a million sunsets.’

BY ERIC SNIDER | CONTRIBUTOR

Just about every day in high school, Judy Hutchinson would don her string bikini, meet up with friends and ride her bike over the bridge to Siesta Key. She and her classmates would hang out, sunbathe and just engulf themselves in the beach life.

Some five decades later, Judy — now Judy Johnson — owns Swim City, where roughly 20,000 bikinis are on display in three local stores. But that’s not all. Swim City also stocks men’s swimwear, hats, cover-ups, sunglasses, footwear — pretty much

anything beachy.

In 1989, Johnson and her husband, TJ, were working in local radio when they pounced on the opportunity to buy Swim Mart in Sarasota from a man looking to leave the business.

The following year, they opened their second location at the Bay Area Outlet Mall in Clearwater. Their timing was impeccable. The couple got into the outlet mall category just as it was taking off. At one point, they owned eight Swim Mart outlets in Central Florida.

TJ died in 2003, but Judy continued in the business. In 2006, she bought Swim City, which had been on Stickney Point Road since 1968, a half mile from

the bridge to Siesta Key. Johnson developed Swim City into a more upmarket brand than Swim Mart. In another example of impeccable timing, her outlet mall leases phased out just as that shopping concept began to wane.

Currently, the flagship on Stickney Point has sister stores on Longboat Key and in downtown Sarasota. One Swim Mart remains in Englewood, and Johnson said she’s in the process of turning it into a Swim City.

At 67, Johnson still works full time. Her son Nick, 31, is the company’s vice president; her other son Tom, 34, is a

Continued on Page 44

Photos by Mark Wemple

Judy Johnson has lived on Siesta Key since 2010, but grew up hanging out on the Key.

Continued from Page 42

consultant. Nick was instrumental in developing Swim City’s online business, but Johnson estimates 80% of sales still take place in the brick-andmortar stores.

Johnson has lived on Siesta Key since 2010. Here are some of her key thoughts and recollections.

Bikinis might seem expensive, but it has a lot to do with the fabrics and the printing. The suit has to have that fourway stretch. Believe it or not, there’s quite a bit of construction that goes into the garment.

I’m in each of the stores on a daily basis, checking on things. I’m on the floor most of the time when I’m there. I like to work with customers.

I’ve had customers tell me that they live on Lido Beach and hit all the three [Swim City] stores in the same day. Can you believe this?

I didn’t actually grow up on Siesta Key, but it feels like I did because my grandparents lived there and babysat me while my parents worked. There were no houses on the west side of Beach Road, so we had direct access. We used to go there and play while my great-grandfather would swim laps in the Gulf.

When I was young, Siesta Key beach was wide open. There were no houses on it. We’d ride our bikes right on the beach.

I grew up a shopper. I was in the malls a lot.

I remember the first house built right on Siesta Key Beach. It was yellow. I remember thinking, “When I go to college, I’m gonna come back and rent that house for the summer.” It was, like, my dream. I never ended up doing it.

TJ and I, our dream was to own a radio station, but the prices were really escalating and it wasn’t attainable. Fortunately, the opportunity to buy Swim Mart came up.

When we first opened Swim Mart, I stayed in radio [sales] at WDUV (105.5 FM, “the Dove”), the elevator-music station. We needed the paycheck. TJ mostly ran the store. I worked there on weekends.

The outlet mall business was really good, so for my 35th birthday, TJ bought me an acre right on the Siesta Key beachfront. That was 1994. We had the plans to build a beautiful home. Unfortunately, TJ passed away, so we never built the house. I sold the property in 2004 and we tripled our money.

I’m on the floor most of the time when I’m there. I like to work with customers.” “

My sons have the necessary tools and education to take us to the next level. I’m very, very proud of that, and it gives me a lot of comfort and assurance.

I live on Hanson Bayou, and every night I walk down to Shell Beach. It clears my head after a busy day. I always put my feet in the water. I see sharks and dolphins on a regular basis. And a million sunsets. It’s a public beach, and I’d really like them to make sure to protect it. I think [privatizing it] would be very shortsighted for the economy and the health of the community.

Judy Johnson has been in the swimming attire business for more than 35 years.

• Monthly fees - what’s covered and what’s not?

• Financial stability - how healthy is the association?

• Pet policies- will your furry friend be welcome?

• Rental rules - can you rent it out when you’re away?

• Amenities & lifestyle- poolside chic or private retreat?

• Price ranges - what’s available for your budget right now?

Sarasota’s condo market is growing fast, and it pays to have someone who knows the buildings, the developers, and the best opportunities before they hit everyone’s radar.

Silverberg | Broker associate

The Butterfly Effect

The Longboat Key Garden Club has spent decades transforming public spaces, supporting local causes and proving that gardening can be both glamorous and hands-on.

BY ERIC SNIDER | CONTRIBUTOR

Last Fourth of July, the Longboat Key Garden Club was all set for its annual butterfly release as part of the town’s Freedom Fest. The group had raised money and worked countless hours to help bring hurricane-ravaged Bicentennial Park back to life. The night before, President Melanie Dale had picked up 150 of the magical insects from Flutterby Gardens and kept them on ice, each in a little parchment envelope. She had everything timed up. It would take 10 minutes to thaw the butterflies, members would distribute them to kids, count it down and — just like that — enchantment.

Then came the rains. On July 4 it poured and poured — so much so that the event was canceled. Dale took the butterflies back to her home in Sarasota. “Every six hours, I was checking on them and changing the ice to keep them alive for one extra day,” she recalls. The weather improved on July 5, and the club held a butterfly release with about 30 people on hand, Dale recalls. A dream only slightly deferred.

The ceremony honored Lisa Walsh, the former executive editor and coowner of the Longboat Observer and co-founder of Freedom Fest, who died in September 2023 at age 69.

The butterfly release is just a sliver of the Garden Club’s purview. Founded in 1969 by Patricia Kroh, the nonprofit has grown to 270 members, with a 20-person board of directors and several committees. The ratio of women to men is about 60-40. “We’re a philanthropic, social, eco-friendly community organization,” Dale declares. The all-volunteer nonprofit maintains an operating budget, she adds, and

Continued on Page 48

A monarch butterfly pauses on vibrant

weed

in a Longboat Key Garden Club butterfly garden, part of the group’s ongoing effort to create pollinator-friendly spaces.

Lori Sax

Melanie Dale, president of the Longboat Key Garden Club, helps lead the organization’s efforts to beautify and support the Longboat Key community.

Photos courtesy of Longboat Key Garden Club

A butterfly visits flowering plants cultivated to support pollinators, reflecting the Longboat Key Garden Club’s focus on sustainable, Florida-friendly landscapes.

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Continued from Page 46

its goal is to give out all the money it raises. Last year, the club brought in about $80,000, Dale estimates.

The group issues grants and scholarships (ranging from $1,500 to $15,000), presents classes, conducts tours, promotes environmental awareness and produces a slate of annual fundraising events. They include Taste of the Keys, a tasting event that held its 15th edition in February; Dinner and a Movie at Bayfront Park (tentatively April 24) and the J. McLaughlin Trunk Sale (scheduled for April 8-11).

And yes, there’s gardening, too. Members work diligently to help keep Longboat Key beautiful. “We have projects that we do where we are covered in dirt,” Dale says, “but we have our events where everybody is dressed to the nines.”

In fact, the Longboat Key Garden Club’s first major endeavor, which kicked off in 1970, was partnering with the Arvida Corp. — a prominent Longboat Key developer — to create Bicentennial Park. The club has maintained and beautified the pastoral 12-acre site ever since. “It’s essentially an ongoing effort,” Dale says. Then came the hurricanes of 2024. “The entire park was wiped out,” she says. “We started with a clean slate.”

Community support was swift, mostly in the form of donations. Past President Susan Phillips led a committee to restore the park. She established a plan. “We weren’t going to plant willy-nilly, whatever looked pretty,” Dale says. “The plants had to be sustainable, salt-tolerant and pollinators,” Dale says. “But more important, they had to be Florida natives.”

Club members weren’t able to break out their shovels and trowels until April 2025 because they had to wait for repair work to be completed and for several rainstorms to wash the saline out of the soil. Once given the green light, Phillips and her crew of volunteers knew they’d need to work fast to have the park ready for the July 4 butterfly release. They got down and dirty, toiled hour upon hour and were able to keep a precious community event alive, albeit a day late.

“We’re not your mother’s garden club,” Dale says with pride. Growing up

on a farm in western New York State, “We were gardening for different reasons,” she says. “I’ve pretty much had my hands in the dirt my entire life.”

Dale and her husband, Tim, moved to Sarasota in 2014 because of his job transfer. She became manager of the J. McLaughlin store on Longboat Key and, in 2017, conceived and opened the trunk show to benefit the Garden Club. For that effort, she was gifted a membership. Dale was first elected president in 2023 and this year began her second three-year term.

Her involvement has played a key role in developing a network of likeminded friends. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she says, then pauses. “Well, actually, the second best thing. My husband is the best thing.”

The 2025 hurricane season spared the Suncoast, and thus no rebuilding of Bicentennial Park was necessary. But the beautification continues, as does the butterfly release. Barring unlikely disasters or an all-day rainstorm, it will happen during Freedom Fest.

“

We’re not your mother’s garden club. We have projects where we’re covered in dirt, and events where everybody is dressed to the nines.”

And Dale is going to need more butterflies. Because it’s the country’s semiquincentennial, she plans to have the kids set free 250 of them.

The club president can’t wait to see the looks on their faces as they open the envelopes and out fly the beguiling creatures.

For more information about the Longboat Key Garden Club, visit LBKGardenClub.org.

Photo by Lori Sax

Garden Club members and volunteers stand near the butterfly garden in Bicentennial Park, a space the group has helped restore and maintain as a community gathering place.

SPRING 2026

APRIL

1

COQUINA BEACH MARKET

The Coquina Beach Market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at South Coquina Beach, 1800 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. It continues Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays through June.

Visit CoquinaBeachMarket.org.

EASTER EGG HUNT

Children are invited to the annual Siesta Key Easter Egg Hunt at Siesta Key Chapel, 4615 Gleason Ave., Siesta Key. There will be five heats with 40 children each; ages 7-8 may only participate in the 10:40 a.m. heat. Doors open at 9 a.m. The Easter Bunny will be available for photos, and all registered children will receive a goody bag. Registration is $15 per child.

Visit SiestaKeyChamber.com.

FOOL’S RUN 5K

Don’t take yourself too seriously at the “world’s okayest run.” Fool’s Run begins at 8 a.m. at Maxine Barritt Park, 1800 S. Harbor Drive, Venice. Registration is $40. Visit AdventureSignUp.com.

4-5COQUINA BEACH SPRING ART & CRAFT SHOW

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at Coquina Beach, 2651 Gulf Drive, Bradenton Beach, browse jewelry, ceramics, mixed media, bath and body products and other work from artisan vendors. Visit BlueRibbonEvent.com.

SIESTA KEY FARMERS MARKET

From 9 a.m. to noon at Siesta Key Village, 5104 Ocean Blvd., the Siesta Key Farmers Market features a variety of vendors selling produce,

rum, bread, wellness products, artwork, natural candles and more. Continues every Sunday. Visit Instagram.com/SiestaKeyFarmersMarket.

BRIDGE STREET MARKET

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday through April, the Bridge Street Market, at 105 Bridge St., Bradenton Beach, browse food, jewelry, art and more from local vendors. Visit AnnaMariaIsland.com.

SIESTA KEY DRUM CIRCLE

Siesta Beach closes out the weekends with a friendly and lively drum circle right outside the main parking area, at 948 Beach Road, Siesta Key. Peace and solace are good, but when you’ve had your fill, head over for a communal music space that has recurred weekly since about 1996. Bring a drum and join, or stand outside of the circle and enjoy the growing beat as the sun sets. Starts an hour before sunset every Sunday. Visit SiestaKey.com.

11 RUN FOR THE TURTLES

Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium hosts its annual

5K and 1-mile races to support sea turtles at Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road, Siesta Key. The 1-mile fun run begins at 7:30 a.m.; the 5K begins at 8 a.m. An award ceremony will follow the 5K. Registration is $40 for the 1-mile and virtual and $45 for the 5K. Visit Mote.org.

MEET, GREET, EAT

The Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce invites community members to connect with local business owners over complimentary hors d’oeuvres by the Longboat Key Club. Visitors can also enjoy live entertainment, a cash bar and raffle drawings. The event is from 4-6 p.m. at the Longboat Key Club Ballroom, 3000 Harbourside Drive. Visit LongboatKeyChamber.com.

LUNCHEON: SARASOTA ORCHESTRA

Arts Advocates presents a luncheon talk with Sarasota Orchestra, which is planning its new music center on Fruitville Road near I-75. The luncheon begins at 11 a.m. at Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John

Continued on Page 52

Photo by Dana Kampa

Brigette Kubin, owner of the newly opened Three Island Monkeys, shows off the new sweaters the boutique is carrying during the 2025 “Meet, Greet, Eat.”

urdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20-$30. Visit TheIslandPlayers.org.

JAZZ ON THE WATER

Board the Marina Jack II for an afternoon cruise to hear live jazz featuring the Eddie Kinder Quartet perform throughout Sarasota Bay. The cruise leaves at 3 p.m. from Marina Plaza, 2 Marina Plaza, Sarasota. Tickets are $40; jazz club members $35.

Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

23

SRQ VETS 5K MEMORIAL HIKE

Continued from Page 50

Ringling Blvd. Tickets are $45 for Arts Advocates members and $50 for nonmembers.

Visit ArtsAdvocates.org.

COMEDY NIGHT

Longboat Key Garden Club brings back its Comedy Night, which debuted last year as part of the “Arts in April” campaign. Details to come. Visit LBKGardenClub.org.

17-19SUNCOAST BOAT SHOW

Boat enthusiasts will assemble for the annual boat show in Sarasota Bay to admire cruisers, motor yachts and other types of watercraft on display. The show will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Marina Jack, 2 Marina Plaza, Sarasota.

Visit SuncoastBoatShow.com

24DINNER AND A MOVIE

Join the Longboat Key Garden Club for its fundraiser movie night 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Bayfront Park, 4052 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Enjoy dinner and watch “Knives Out,” all on the picturesque bayfront. Tickets $85.

Visit LBKGardenClub.org.

30 SAXOPHONE SPLENDOR

Artist Series Concerts presents saxophonist Valentin Kovalev, with Joseph Holt on piano, for its Lunch and Listen Series at Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Blvd. Kovalev developed his unique style after studying in Russia, France and the U.S. The performance, which begins at 11 a.m., will include music by Bach, Rachmaninoff, Bizet and Piazzolla. Tickets are $75. Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.

MAY

2 CORVETTES ON THE CIRCLE

View more than 100 classic American cars at Skyway Corvette Club’s annual Corvettes on the Circle. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Armands Circle Park. Registration is $50 in advance or $60 day of to show a car. Admission to view is free. Visit StArmandsCircleAssoc.com.

7-17

‘THE OUTSIDER’

The Island Players, at 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, presents “The Outsider,” a political satire about a candidate in the gubernatorial election who seems destined to fail. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sat-

SRQ Vets returns for its annual Memorial Day hike, in which veterans and civilians will honor those fallen with a 5K through Sarasota. The hike starts at 8 a.m. from J.D. Hamel Park, 199 Bayfront Drive, Sarasota. Adult tickets are $40 and include an event T-shirt, a food ticket and a drink ticket; a child ticket (13 and under) with a paid adult is free. Visit SRQVets.us.

23-24

ST. ARMANDS FINE ART FESTIVAL

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at St. Armands Circle, browse jewelry, paintings, mixed-media, photography and more from artisans from across the U.S. Admission is free. Visit ParagonFestivals.com.

JUNE

2

KIDS’ SUMMER BEACH RUNS

Kids exercise on the beach with the summer favorite 1-mile run at Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road, Siesta Key. Participants receive a ribbon after each run and a T-shirt after their fourth run. The beach runs are free. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and the race at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday through July 28. There is no beach run the week of July 4. Visit SarasotaCountyParks.com.

Continued on Page 54

Photo by Ian Swaby

Timothy Gregory holds one of his “unzipped” rocks at the 2025 St. Armands Art Festival & Craft Marketplace.

Continued from Page 52

6 TURTLE WALK

Longboat Key Turtle Watch invites members of the public to learn all about sea turtles and their nesting activities. Volunteers trained by Mote Marine Laboratory will lead the morning walks along the shore for free, pointing out signs of turtle activity. They will also share information about their life cycle and the surrounding environment. The walks begin at 6:45 a.m. every Saturday through July. Participants meet at the public beach access point at 4795 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Visit LBKTurtleWatch.org.

6-7

ST. ARMANDS CIRCLE CRAFT FESTIVAL

The annual Craft Festival returns to St. Armands Circle from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Browse jewelry, pottery and more crafts from artists from across the U.S. Admission is free. Visit ArtFestival.com.

20-21

DOWNTOWN VENICE CRAFT FESTIVAL

The annual Craft Festival returns to downtown Venice from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Browse photography, stained glass and more crafts from artists from across the U.S. Admission is free. Visit ArtFestival.com.

JULY

4 FOURTH OF JULY FREEDOM FEST

Celebrate the Fourth of July with the “shortest parade in America.” The parade along Bay Isles Road begins at 9 a.m. at Bicentennial Park, 2730 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. Afterward, head into the park for games, food and the famous “Hot Diggity Dog” pet costume contest. The event is free. Visit LongboatKeyChamber.com.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND PRIVATEERS FOURTH OF JULY PARADE

The Anna Maria Island Privateers will again bring swashbuckling fun to the Fourth of July with the annual public parade. The event is free and open to all interested parties, including local businesses, families and other salty sea dogs who are looking to live the pirate life. The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. at Coquina Beach, 2650 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach, and goes to City Pier Park, Anna Maria. Visit AMIPrivateers.org.

VENICE FIREWORKS

There are few better ideas than traveling down Tamiami Trail to catch the impressive fireworks show launch from the south jetty at Venice Beach around 9 p.m. The free 20- to 25-minute show can be checked out at several area beaches from Caspersen to Nokomis. The south jetty and Jetty Jack’s Refreshment Deck will be closed to the public. Visit VeniceGov.com.

SIESTA KEY COMMUNITY FIREWORKS

The Siesta Key Community Fireworks show draws families and friends to Siesta Key’s white-sand beaches for an evening of fun. The Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce hosts the community event on Siesta Beach.

The fireworks are free, but the event has sponsorships available that provide free parking, free beverages and snacks, as well as preferred seating. The event is 8-9:30 p.m.; fireworks will launch at dusk. Visit SiestaKeyChamber.com.

5 LIBERTY LITTER CLEANUP

If you’re wanting some civic engagement to follow your Fourth of July festivities, try the Keep Sarasota County Beautiful’s annual cleanup event. Liberty Litter Cleanup has hundreds of volunteers picking up trash and refuse at locations including Lido Beach, Siesta Beach, North Jetty Park and Ted Sperling. The cleanup starts at 7 a.m. sharp and wraps by 9 a.m. Registration is required and will open in May. Visit SCGov.net.

11 RUN MANATEE

Manatee County hosts a three-part 5K series at Bennett Park on April 11, Coquina Beach on July 11 and Rye Preserve on Nov. 21. The Coquina Beach 5K begins at 5:30 p.m. at 1495 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach. Awards are at 7 p.m., and a yoga cooldown begins at 7:15 p.m. Registration is $35 for one race or $90 for all three; the price increases April 12.

Visit RunSignUp.com.

Jennifer and Stephen Schlabach watch the grand finale of the Siesta Key Fourth of July fireworks.

Photo by Ian Swaby

Gear for the Gulf

Smart, durable picks for casting, cruising and staying cool outdoors.

BY EMILY LEINFUSS | CONTRIBUTOR

Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel 5125 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key, 363-6877, TunaSkin.co Sleek, technical and sun-smart, Tunaskin’s Ahi-One shirts offer lightweight stretch and comfort for long hours outdoors. And the Tunaskin board bag keeps essentials dry; it’s a waterproof, floatable and easy-towear crossbody. This is gear built for long days on the water, from first cast to last light.

Tunaskin board bags:

Ahi-One long-sleeve shirt: $85

Ace Hardware Longboat Key

4030 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key, 383-1313, LongboatAce.com

For long days on the water, the YETI Hopper M30 soft cooler keeps drinks cold and close at hand. The hands-free design holds up to 42 drinks or 32 pounds of ice and carries easily from dock to boat.

For fresh or salt water, CB’s sleek spinning combos deliver power, polish and performance. The latest Quantum Cabo offers a lighter feel, upgraded sealing and serious saltready durability. The Daiwa D-Shock II keeps things versatile and approachable; it’s reliable, budgetsmart and ready for water.

Quantum Cabo: $249.99–$299.99

Daiwa D-Shock II: $69.99 and up

YETI Hopper M30 soft cooler: $350

New Pass Grill & Bait Shop

1505 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, 388-1618, NewPassGrill. com

New Pass Grill & Bait Shop has outfitted and fed anglers since 1929 — and its gear reflects that legacy. Lightweight, breathable hoodies offer all-day comfort and UPF 50+ protection, while staff hand-assemble precision lures tuned to what’s biting onshore or offshore.

Beach Bazaar

5211 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key, 346-2995, Beach-Bazaar.com

Beach Bazaar keeps fishing feet covered, rain or shine. The Sanuk Ziggy x Ben Gravy sandal features a playful pineapple print with soft, water-friendly comfort. When decks turn slick, OluKai’s Ahi high-performance marine shoe grips securely, drains quickly and moves with you. Lightweight and functional, both are built for hours on deck.

Sanuk Ziggy x Ben Gravy sandal: $45

OluKai’s Ahi highperformance marine shoe: $150

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Jill Morris, DMD

• Accredited Member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (only 550 accredited dentists worldwide)

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• Practicing dentistry for 33 years

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• Member of North American Association of Facial Orthotropics

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• RG Recognized Dental Laboratory Technician

URBAN

RENEWAL

College football coaching star Urban Meyer has traded the gridiron for the Gulf. His waterfront life is busy, yet with lots of time for boating, fishing and even golf with some powerful people.

BY MARK GORDON | DEPARTMENTS EDITOR

College football coach Urban Meyer’s Hall of Fame career nearly ended before it began. It was the summer of 2001.

Meyer was an assistant at the University of Notre Dame, hired by legendary head coach Lou Holtz. That’s when Bowling Green University — in Meyer’s native Ohio — offered him the top job.

Meyer, then 35, initially rejected the offer. “I wasn’t all in on it,” he says, reflecting on that time some 25 years later and how the Bowling Green Falcons were coming off a 2-9 season in 2000. “I didn’t think it was a good school or a good opportunity.”

Meyer had to call two of his mentors — Holtz and former Ohio State and Colorado State coach Earle Bruce, another icon of the sport — and tell

them he wasn't going to take the job. Both Bruce and Holtz had pushed for Bowling Green to make him an offer, touting Meyer as a rising coaching star.

“Earle was the first to MF me out,” Meyer says, recalling the cursing he got upon turning down the gig. Then Meyer told Holtz Bowling Green wasn’t for him, reasoning, “I just don’t think it’s a very good job.”

Meyer has Holtz’s response crystallized in his mind: “Of course it’s not a very good job,” an angry Holtz yelled at Meyer. “If it was a good job, they wouldn’t be calling your sorry ass for it!”

A scolded Meyer relented and took the Bowling Green job. That kicked off a storied coaching career, where his teams won three national championships in 17 seasons, among dozens of other accolades and titles. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2025. And Meyer’s first year at Bowling Green? It was one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of college football, and he went 17-6 in two seasons at the school.

Meyer, who later was the head coach

Continued on Page 64

Photo by Mark Wemple

Right: Urban and Shelley Meyer have been coming to Siesta Key for more than a decade.

at the University of Utah, University of Florida and Ohio State, is now a Siesta Key resident, where he enjoys the Florida life: lots of tennis, golf and fishing. An avid boater, his favorite trip on the water is north to The Vinoy in St. Petersburg. His go-to place to get a burger is New Pass Grill & Bait Shop on Ken Thompson Parkway.

Meyer first discovered the Sarasota-Bradenton area through family; his wife Shelley’s parents had a winter home in town. Meyer also spent some time in Bradenton as far back as 1982, at Pirate City when he was a scuffling young shortstop for the visiting Atlanta Braves. The Braves drafted Meyer in 1982 in the 13th round. His baseball career was short: The Braves cut him a year later.

Not much solace at the time for Meyer, whom many describe as ultracompetitive, but the letter he received from the Braves telling him he was out of a job has a historical footnote: It was signed by the Braves head of player development in 1982, Hank Aaron. “At

least you have something signed by Hank Aaron,” Meyer’s dad quipped. Urban and Shelley Meyer started coming to the area regularly and Siesta specifically around 2014. They bought a house in 2022, rented it out first, renovated it and now it’s home. “We just fell in love with Siesta Key,” he says one recent morning over a plate of huevos rancheros at The Oasis Cafe & Bakery on Osprey Avenue, on the mainland side of the Siesta Key north bridge.

BUSY, BUSY

While Meyer, 61, is enjoying the Florida life, it’s not necessarily a retired life.

There's golf, tennis and fishing. There are also six grandkids spread between Florida, Ohio and Las Vegas. And there’s his other work, including:

THE URBAN EDGE: This dates back to when Meyer did something less formal at Ohio State and Florida, called Real Life Wednesdays. The crux: teach young male athletes the skills to live a productive life after sports. Topics include financial literacy, leadership,

While at Florida, Urban Meyer helped the Gators claim the 2006 and 2008 BCS National Championships — and coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow. Courtesy photo

Urban Meyer takes in the Cardinal Mooney High/Booker High preseason football game in 2024.

REFINED CRAFTSMANSHIP • TIMELESS DESIGN

MODERN PERSPECTIVE

Above:

Right:

Photo by Ryan Kohn

communication, conflict resolution and

Meyer partnered with the Sarasota Police Department on a pilot program in March 2025, in a five-day mentorship course for local sophomore and juniors who play sports. The program is now hosted by New College of Florida in Sarasota, working with 100 sophomore and junior football players from Booker, Cardinal Mooney, IMG Academy, Riverview and Sarasota high schools.

Meyer’s interest in doing this stems from the hundreds of high school students he met deemed one-dimensional heading to college because they were stars on the football field. “I’ve been to thousands of high schools,” Meyer says. “It always bothered me when people would label a kid as a bad kid without really knowing what their potential is or knowing their story.”

Meyer calls labels “the great lie” we tell young people because of GPAs, or preconceptions. “There are people who will tell you you can’t do something because of the color of your skin or where you grew up or some -

thing else. That’s nonsense,” he says. “There’s nothing you can’t do in this country if you put in the hard work and put in the time.”

NEW COLLEGE BOARD: Meyer initially got connected to New College through his Siesta neighbor, Mitchel Ruzek, an associate vice president at the school. That led to the expansion of Urban Edge. It also led to Meyer being named to the New College board of trustees late last year. Talking about the board role in early February, Meyer says he was intrigued by the school after meeting New College President Richard Corcoran and reading his 2024 book, “Storming the Ivory Tower: How a Florida College Became Ground Zero in the Struggle to Take Back Our Campuses.”

SPORTS BROADCASTING: Meyer is a studio analyst for FOX Sports, featured on the network’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show. He also co-hosts a weekly podcast, “The Triple Option.”

Continued on Page 66

PHILANTHROPY: The Meyers, says Urban, support the Tebow Foundation, run by the family of Heisman Trophywinner Tim Tebow. The couple also supports Sarasota anti-human trafficking nonprofit Selah Freedom. The son of military veterans, Meyer speaks often at veteran groups. “I can’t do enough for our veterans,” he says.

SETBACKS

Meyer’s players, from quarterbacks like Tebow at UF and Alex Smith at the University of Utah and defensive stars like Joey Bosa and Chase Young at Ohio State, were often in the spotlight. Dozens of his players went on to the NFL, and his coaching tree of assistants who went on to get head coaching jobs is long.

Meyer’s career also hit some hiccups. One major issue happened in 2018, when Ohio State suspended Meyer for the first three games of the season after a school investigation found he mishandled domestic assault allegations made against a former Buckeyes assistant coach, Zach Smith, according to ESPN. The school said Meyer misrepresented what he knew about the allegations in public statements. At a press conference on the suspension, Meyer said loyalty to his mentor Earl Bruce — Zach Smith’s grandfather — clouded his judgment, ESPN reported. “I followed my heart and not my head,” Meyer said at the news conference. “... I gave Zach Smith the benefit of the doubt.”

Meyer’s University of Florida tenure, meanwhile, was marked by extreme highs — national championships in 2006 and 2008 — and a low point when he left the school after the 2010 season, citing physical and mental health issues. Asked what would be a career mulligan, Meyer says it was the way he left UF. He would have left, and the health issues were real, he says. But, in response to criticism over issues from roster management amid his departure to taking the Ohio State job less than a year later, Meyer says he would have done it differently.

From a win-loss standpoint, the biggest blemish in Meyer’s career was a short stint in the NFL, when he was the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach for 13 games in 2021. Looking back, Meyer

says the team’s ownership didn’t come through with promises to improve facilities and make other investments in the team — which had lost 15 straight games before he was hired. He also internalizes his failures there. “It was a miserable time for me and a big mistake,” he says. “I didn’t get the job done.”

He adds: “I can’t stand losing.”

CHASING GREATNESS

Most people who know or are friends with Meyer have seen that “can’t stand losing” side.

“Urban talks a lot about greatness,” Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche says. “You see his passion, and you see he’s got a lot of empathy, a lot of heart.”

Meyer and Troche met through mutual friends. Meyer gave Troche a card and said the chief should call if he ever needs anything. A few weeks later, Troche called and soon after they launched the Urban Edge program.

Troche has been on Urban Edge Zoom planning calls with Meyer and the ex-coach “is very personable, but then he could flip the script very quickly and get down to business and has this intensity where you just automatically sit up in your chair,” he says. “Just watching him speak, you don’t want to

disappoint him.”

Corcoran at New College is motivated by Meyer’s intensity, too. Watching Meyer speak to a group of high school students at an Urban Edge presentation, Corcoran says he leaned over to a New College provost and, marking the enthusiasm, whispered, “can you imagine if this guy was on your couch recruiting you to play for him? You’d be saying, ‘Where do I sign? Where do I sign?’”

“Urban is a passionate, brilliant, high-energy person,” Corcoran adds, “and you can’t be around him for five seconds without seeing all that come out.”

THE COACHES AND THE POLITICIANS

Urban Meyer’s golf outing on Feb. 15, in West Palm Beach was notable not because of the score but because of the people in his foursome, all known by last names: Trump, DeSantis and Saban.

Meyer talked briefly about the round he played with the president, Florida’s governor and the college football legend on his podcast, “The Triple Option.” He said the group talked about the positives and negatives of the current college football landscape. There were some jokes, too, and it was “a bipartisan” conversation. “It was an awesome day,” Meyer said. “Awesome.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Urban and Shelley Meyer bought a house on Siesta Key in 2022.

SIGNATURE DISHES

Lobster Ravioli at Café Gabbiano

For years, the lobster ravioli at Café Gabbiano has been more than a menu staple; it’s part of the restaurant’s daily rhythm. Each morning, fresh pasta is rolled by hand and filled with sweet cold-water lobster, then sautéed with shallots in a vodka cream sauce and finished with a touch of marinara for brightness and balance.

“It’s one of the freshest ravioli dishes most guests will ever experience,” says co-owner and master sommelier Marc Grimaud. That from-scratch commitment defines his kitchen approach. Pair it with a selection from the restaurant’s wine list and settle into the warm, candlelit dining room for a plate that feels unmistakably Italian — and unmistakably Gabbiano.

If You Go: 5104 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key; 349-1423; CafeGabbiano.com.

THE RIGHT POUR

With more than 180 wines and two in-house sommeliers, Café Gabbiano is as serious about the glass as the plate. Marc Grimaud often steers guests toward lesser-known standouts like Italy’s bold Taurasi or the Florida-exclusive Porter Family Vineyards cabernet — ideal companions to the richness of the lobster ravioli.

It’s one of the freshest ravioli dishes most guests will ever experience.

SWEET FINISHES

Save room. Café Gabbiano’s decadent chocolate lava cake delivers a warm, molten finale to an elegant Italian meal, especially when paired with a well-chosen dessert wine. (Ask for a scoop of gelato next to it.)

Photo by Abbi Henigman

Café Gabbiano’s lobster ravioli is made from scratch each morning, with hand-rolled pasta folded around cold-water lobster and finished in a silky vodka cream sauce brightened with marinara.

OF THE KEYS

The plates locals return for, visitors remember and kitchens have perfected for decades.

BY SU BYRON | MANAGING EDITOR

It’s one of those signature experiences that keeps guests coming back over the years.

WHEN DINNER BECOMES A PERFORMANCE

Before open kitchens and chef counters became the norm, tableside service brought the drama to the dining room. Flames leapt from pans, sauces were finished in view of guests and the meal unfolded like a small act of theater. At Euphemia Haye, the prime pepper steak keeps that tradition alive — a rare chance to watch the final moments of a dish come together as you wait, fork in hand.

Prime Pepper Steak at Euphemia Haye

The search for the perfect steak is a universal pursuit. At Euphemia Haye, that quest has found its Holy Grail — the prime pepper steak, a dish that has anchored the menu since 1975 and still arrives with a touch of theater.

Created by original chef-owner Leslie Buntin, the steak reflects the influence of New York’s restaurant scene in the early 1970s, when dinner was as much performance as it was cuisine. A thick prime sirloin is coated in freshly cracked pepper, seared to order and brought to the table still sizzling in a cast-iron skillet. Then comes the ritual: brandy ignited into flame, fresh orange juice adding brightness, house steak sauce reduced to a glossy finish and butter folded in at the end. The aroma drifts through the dining room, turning heads and drawing quiet admiration from nearby tables.

“The dish captures our long tradition of classic technique and tableside presentation,” says owner Rachel Ghormley. “It’s one of those signature experiences that keeps guests coming back over the years.”

Nearly five decades on, the prime pepper steak remains more than a meal — a reminder that dining can still hold a little anticipation, a little drama and the timeless pleasure of something done beautifully, right in front of you.

If You Go: 5540 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key; 383-3633; EuphemiaHaye.com.

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Photo by Lori Sax

Euphemia Haye’s prime pepper steak arrives coated in freshly cracked pepper and finished with a rich steak sauce, reflecting nearly five decades of classic technique and tableside tradition.

Baked Gulf Grouper at Harry’s Continental Kitchens

A taste of Old Florida, the baked Gulf grouper Matecumbe-style has anchored Harry’s menu since the 1980s. The dish traces its roots to Matecumbe Key near Islamorada. A thick fillet of grouper is topped with seasoned breadcrumbs and a generous wash of sherry-shallot butter, then baked until tender. Wild rice and roasted asparagus complete the plate.

“Grouper is the fish everyone knows,” says manager Hal Christensen, “but this preparation is uniquely ours.” The secret? Locally sourced fish and, as Christensen puts it with a grin, “lots of love — I mean butter.” It’s a dish that has lived on the menu as a special and even in staff home kitchens for decades.

If You Go: 525 St. Judes Drive, Longboat Key; 383-0777; HarrysKitchen.com.

Lots of love — I mean butter.

BOURBON, MEET CAKE

Harry’s Heaven’s Door bourbon cake doesn’t whisper dessert, it announces it. Soaked, glazed and layered with pistachio cream, this sweet, boozy slice is a finale that earns its own round of applause.

Photos by Abbi Henigman

Right: Harry’s Heaven’s Door bourbon cake layers rich pistachio cream between tender cake, then finishes with a sweet glaze for a bold finale.

Harry’s Continental Kitchens’ baked Gulf grouper Matecumbe-style pairs local grouper with seasoned breadcrumbs and sherry-shallot butter, served with wild rice and roasted asparagus. The dish has been a guest favorite since the 1980s.

Paella a la Valenciana at Columbia Restaurant

Born in the Spanish countryside over open flames, paella began as a one-pan meal of rice, meats and whatever the land provided. At this St. Armands Circle landmark, that rustic tradition has been part of the Columbia story since the 1930s. Prepared in a traditional paella pan with imported Spanish rice, extra-virgin olive oil, seafood, chicken, pork and garden vegetables, the dish arrives with ceremony. Servers present and plate it tableside, filling the air with aroma and turning dinner into an experience. For fifth-generation caretaker Andrea Gonzmart Williams, the defining element is the rice — sourced from Spain to achieve the ideal texture as flavors mingle and develop. It’s a dish that reflects the restaurant’s deep Spanish roots and the family’s long commitment to doing things the old way: no shortcuts, carefully sourced ingredients and recipes passed down for generations.

If You Go: 411 St. Armands Circle, Sarasota; 388-3987; ColumbiaRestaurant.com.

A FAMILY RECIPE, A LIVING HISTORY

The Columbia has been family-owned since 1905, with recipes brought from Spain and Cuba by the Gonzmart family’s earliest generations. Some ingredients still come from longtime suppliers, including the Tampa bakery that has provided the restaurant’s bread for more than a century. That attention to continuity — honoring tradition while embracing Florida’s fresh seafood, citrus and produce — is what keeps generations of diners returning to the table.

Below: Paella a la Valenciana at Columbia Restaurant is prepared in a traditional pan with Spanish rice, seafood, chicken, pork and vegetables.

Courtesy photo

Fresh Catch with Tropical Salsa at Pop’s Sunset Grill

At Pop’s, the fresh catch with tropical salsa says “Florida” in every bite. Depending on the day’s haul, your server might present black grouper, swordfish or another local fave, simply seasoned and cooked to perfection. The sunshiny topping — pineapple, citrus, tomato, onion and cilantro — adds radiance to pristine seafood, while coconut rice and seasonal vegetables complete the scene. And the setting here is inseparable from the entrée. Boats idle past. Pelicans line the dock like regulars waiting for a handout. The late-day light turns the water gold as the bar crowd swells and the air fills with that unmistakable blend of salt, music and laughter. “It’s fresh, flavorful and very Florida,” says general manager Stephanie Brown.

If You Go: 112 Circuit Road, Nokomis; 488-3177; PopsSunsetGrill.com.

Right: The fresh catch with tropical salsa at Pop’s Sunset Grill pairs locally sourced seafood with pineapple, citrus and herbs, served alongside coconut rice and seasonal vegetables.

photo

Courtesy

DOCKSIDE THEATER

One of the quiet pleasures of dining at Pop’s happens off the plate. Watch pelicans swoop and posture along the dock. Wave to passing boaters. Linger as the sky shifts from blue to coral to indigo. Few restaurants deliver dinner with a better view or a better sense that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.

SIP THESE

Pop’s Punch is a longtime island favorite blending white rum, Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, grenadine and a float of Bacardi 151.

Blood Orange Aperol Spritz is a bright twist on the classic, made with Aperol, prosecco, club soda and a splash of Shark Tooth Blood Orange Vodka.

Photos by Lori Sax

Start your feast at Pop’s Sunset Grill with a platter of fresh oysters on the half shell, served chilled with classic accompaniments and a picture-perfect view.

Pop’s Punch blends white rum, Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, pineapple and orange juices, grenadine and a float of Bacardi 151, served dockside with a view of the water.

A Key Original

A Siesta Key fixture for five decades, CB’s Saltwater Outfitters continues to thrive under the steady leadership of Aledia and Mason Tush.

BY ERIC SNIDER | CONTRIBUTOR

In the mid-’70s, Alvis Hunt wanted out of coal country. With his mind set on Florida, he persuaded his family to relocate from a middleof-nowhere burg in western Virginia to sunny Sarasota. The migration included his daughter Aledia, and her husband, Lee Tush, both in their early 20s. Alvis had been a serial entrepreneur in and around the town of Grundy, Virginia, and he wanted to set up Aledia and Lee with their own business. He homed in on Mr. CB’s Bait & Tackle, which first opened in 1959 on Stickney Point Road, and presented it to the kids as an opportunity. “He pulled me off the beach to go see it,” Aledia (pronounced “Aleeda”) Tush says.

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Photos by Lori Sax

Aledia Tush, co-owner of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, has spent nearly five decades helping shape the business into a Siesta Key institution known for its welcoming spirit and family-first approach.

The young couple was perplexed at first. Given their small-town Appalachian roots, neither had an affinity for bait, tackle or boats, let alone boat rentals and repairs. When they expressed their doubts to the paterfamilias, Alvis responded, “You’ll be fine.”

He bought the property and fronted the seed money to his daughter and son-in-law.

Aledia Tush (rhymes with brush) recounts this bit of family lore while eating Chick-fil-A in the cluttered upstairs office of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters. Also on hand is her son and business partner, Mason Tush. “Daddy was a man of few words,” she says of her late father. “And you’d better be listening when he talked.”

Alvis Hunt turned out to be right — and then some. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Tush family’s ownership. (Lee Tush, while no longer involved in the day-to-day operations, remains active in bookkeeping and strategic decisions.) The company has

grown over the years to include a vast selection of clothing and beach products, a rental fleet of 18 boats, fishing charters, Jet Ski and golf cart rentals, and parasailing and Tiki-boat tours. In addition, CB’s has expanded from its original footprint to include the nextdoor Fin Island Co. boutique. In 2011, at Mason’s behest, the company bought an adjacent BP gas station, tore it down and put up a new building. They lease the top floor to the Daiquiri Deck.

Over the decades, CB’s Saltwater Outfitters has entrenched itself as a Siesta Key institution. And sitting at the head of the table is Aledia, the matriarch, still keeping full-time hours. “She’s the hardest worker of anyone I’ve ever known,” says Mason.

On this brisk morning in late January, a few days before her 73rd birthday, Aledia is wearing jeans, white sneakers and a royal blue Patagonia pullover that matches her eyes. A gold company name tag is pinned to her chest. To this day, she speaks with a coal-country drawl.

The woman exudes vitality. You’d expect nothing less from a three-time

John Yoder helps customers at the counter, where friendly service has long been part of the shop’s island charm.

winner of the Sarasota Tarpon Tournament. Over time, Aledia became an avid angler but the early days of running a bait-and-tackle shop took some adjustment. And courage. “I remember one day gettin’ shrimp for a customer and one jumped out on the floor, and I thought … ” she pauses. “Luckily,

longstanding traditions.

Mason Tush, who joined the family business in 2005, helps lead CB’s Saltwater Outfitters into its next chapter while honoring its

the man picked it up for me and put it back in the tank. And I thought, ‘Well, I’m gonna have to do this one day.’ So I learned how.”

CB’s Saltwater Outfitters embodies the kind of family business that’s getting washed away with the tides. It’s the antithesis of a tacky retail emporium. The main store has expanded over the decades to about 4,000 square feet but retains a sense of intimacy. Friendliness permeates the place, whether it’s Alan, a retiree who greets me with “Welcome aboard!” as I enter the store, or the young man who smiles and says hello while working on a boat out back.

CB’s has long employed an array of part-time workers who range from seniors to high school kids. “We like to say it goes from AARPs to student IDs,” Mason says. People who come seeking a job at CB’s don’t get turned away and are told to fill out an application online. In fact, they might get interviewed and hired on the spot.

Of course, this ingrained conviviality extends to customers as well. “We have so many people coming in on

vacation and the first thing they do is stop at CB’s, get their fishing license, bait buckets, beach stuff,” Mason says. “And they’re all excited. They’re on vacation now. We’re really proud of that, and we don’t take it for granted.”

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Aledia Tush’s parents grew up in rural communities near the border of Kentucky and Virginia. Her mother, Edith, a schoolteacher, was a “rule follower,” according to Aledia. She and her younger sister, Barb, were expected to follow suit. Their father Alvis, more of a nurturer, was business driven. He served in WWII, got a degree from University of Kentucky on the GI Bill, worked in the coal business — although never in the mines — owned a hardware store and had interests in a bank and a Chrysler dealership. “I grew up ‘Alvis Hunt’s daughter,’” Aledia says proudly. “He was very well respected in the community, and I felt I had to live up to that.”

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The Hunt family lived comfortably, Aledia says, certainly better off than many of her peers in the coal-centric community. The Hunt girls worked hard, stayed out of trouble and scored good grades. “I think I graduated 11 [in my class],” Aledia says. “I was really mad that I missed the top 10.” Going to college was a given. She graduated from Morehead State University in Kentucky with a double major in business and psychology. “I liked psychology, but my dad said, ‘You won’t be able to make any money doing that,’” she remembers. While in college, Aledia met Lee Tush, a couple of years older. They were married in 1974. The couple worked in Louisville for a year — Aledia at a bank, Lee in computer sales — before the move to Florida.

When the Tushes opened Mr. CB’s in 1976, business was anything but gangbusters out of the gate. “We didn’t even make minimum wage the first year,” Aledia recalls. “And it was a lot of hours. I remember our first $350 day, which was a pretty big deal.” As it happened, the Tushes had something working against them. Chuck Berecki (CB), the previous owner, was known as a grumpy character, lacking in people skills. “We started out with a business where nobody wanted to come in,” Aledia says, her eyes widening. “If we’d known that, we probably would’ve changed the name.”

The company didn’t drop the “Mr.” in Mr. CB’s until 1996.

Aledia says there was no master plan to build a saltwater retail dynasty, but there were a few inflection points.

Continued on Page 80

“We

started out with a business where nobody wanted to come in. If we’d known that, we probably would’ve changed the name.”

From bait and tackle to boat rentals and charters, CB’s Saltwater Outfitters has welcomed locals and visitors alike to the water’s edge on Siesta Key for 50 years.

Artist’s Rendering

Continued from Page 78

One, fairly early on, was when Lee convinced her to add T-shirts to the store inventory, which boosted traffic and launched their apparel line. After eight years co-running CB’s, Lee left to join an aluminum business that was associated with the family.

NEW BLOOD

Adding Mason, now 43, to the company roster in 2005 provided a major boost. In high school he planned on joining the family business — but perhaps didn’t make that clear enough to mom. Aledia remembers, when “I was about 20, 25 years in [business], we were ridin’ in the car, and I’m sayin’, ‘Maybe it’s time to quit this, to sell it.’

And Mason — he was in high school — pipes up out of the back seat and goes, ‘I thought that’s what I was comin’ back to.’ So I figured I could last another, six or seven years.”

And counting …

Mason earned a marketing degree from University of Florida, took a couple weeks off and started work. He’s been the primary driver in acquiring the new properties, leasing to the Daiquiri Deck and forging partnerships that have added Jet Ski rentals, parasailing and Tiki boat tours.

HEADWINDS

For roughly the first half of her five decades as owner of CB’s Saltwater Outfitters, Aledia Tush dealt with the

travails of being a woman in a so-called man’s business. She recalls going to trade shows in the early years, stopping at booths and “no one would pay attention to me.” As time went by, and CB’s grew to become a widely known brand, she earned her due respect. Two men she had met at those shows finally came around. Aledia recalls, “I was [at CB’s] 20 years and they said to me, ‘Well, we talked about it and we think you’re gonna make it.’”

All told, though, the sexism she endured didn’t take much of a toll. “I was too busy,” she says. “I didn’t have time to worry about all that.”

Aledia has no plans to retire, in part because she doesn’t know what she’d do with all the extra time. But she’s “actively, in her head, trying to” cut back on her hours, Mason says with a chuckle. Mother and son agree that, while they occasionally have disagreements, their working relationship is strong. “She puts a lot of stress on herself,” Mason says of his mother as we’re wrapping up our interview in the office. “She’s done so much. I’d like to see her relax more, have some fun.”

Aledia interjects, “I do have fun. I think I’ve gotten better at that. You know, the truth of the matter is, I’ve been pretty good at this. At a certain age, I’ve come to understand that the business is in good hands.”

She pauses, then adds quietly, “We are CB’s. We can. We will. And we do.”

A company motto, if you will.

With that, her eyes mist up.

THE PACKAGE DEAL

CB’s Saltwater Outfitters embodies the kind of family business that’s getting washed away with the tides. It’s the antithesis of a tacky retail emporium.

Lew and Janie Sill, snowbirds living in Sarasota Sunny South RV Resort during the winter months, would always stop at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters to pick up bait and other beach necessities. During their second season, “we’d been to the beach eight out of 10 days,” Lew, 65, recalls. “And I told Janie, ‘I can’t sit around all the time. We’re going to that bait shop to see if they need any help.’”

Soon after, the couple stopped into CB’s, wearing swimsuits, and struck up a conversation with Mason and Aledia Tush, who were interested in hiring the personable retirees. The Sills said they came as a package deal. The Tushes replied that they didn’t typically hire a husband and wife. “I told them, ‘You might want to make an exception,’” Lew says, chuckling.

Lew and Janie, 63, started about two weeks after that meeting. It’s worked out swimmingly for both employer and employees. Lew — a retired electrician — tackles construction projects and assists customers. Janie usually works the register and helps customers at Fin Island Co.

This is the fifth season the Sills have been part-timers at CB’s. They average a couple days a week and the money they bring in is secondary. More important is the opportunity to add another dimension to their active lives and to interact with colleagues and customers.

“We’re very social,” Janie says, “and meeting so many people has been a perk.”

Hannah Garriott and Alicia Siracusa welcome shoppers to Fin Island Co., the CB’s Outfitters–owned boutique offering beachwear and island-inspired gifts on Siesta Key.

Courtesy photo

Lew and Janie Sill have worked part-time at CB’s for five seasons.

EXQUISITE COUNTRY CLUB SHORES

548 HORNBLOWER LANE | $4,950,000

WEST INDIES MASTERPIECE

BONAIRE V | 5005 GULF OF MEXICO DRIVE | $4,424,000

Rebuild. Remodel. Refresh.

The home’s calm exterior shows its Sarasota School influence, with a simple geometric façade and indigenous landscaping.

The lounging area in the 50-foot-long swimming pool adds some unexpected curves to the home’s design.

International Modern, Sarasota Soul

A Swiss architect’s striking Lido Shores home blends clean lines, dramatic space and a deep connection to the tropical landscape.

BY ROBERT PLUNKET | CONTRIBUTOR

Lido Shores is famous, of course, for all its iconic Sarasota School architecture from the 1950s and ’60s. But just as interesting are many of the later homes by architects influenced by the style and showing off their best game on what is considered sacred ground. One of the more original is this home designed by the Swiss architect Hans Ritschard. Most modern homes are calm and serene. This one has an unexpected note of drama.

Continued on Page 88

Photos courtesy of Pix360.com and Premier Sotheby’s International Realty

A rooftop terrace faces Westway Drive, perfect for sunset watching with New Pass just though the trees.

Centerstage is the remarkable living area. It’s an atrium-like space, 44 feet long, with a ceiling that rises to 16 feet. Three sides are glass, looking out onto a tropical garden enclosed by lush greenery. Because the house is already elevated, the effect is of living in the treetops. “It’s like sky art,” says Mark Davis, who owns the home with his wife, Hue Tran. “The sunrise, the sunset, the tropical rainstorms — you’re living right in the middle of a jungle.”

Until 2023, Mark and Hue were living in the middle of a different kind of jungle — Silicon Valley. Mark has been involved in a number of startups but is now backing away from tech. “It’s a young man’s game,” he says, looking much too young to be making such a remark. Hue is still deeply engaged in her work at Nvidia, focusing on artificial intelligence and cloud computing. But it was time for a change of life -

style. Their careers were becoming less important; what they wanted now was a calmer — and warmer — way to live. The Pacific can get very chilly.

Hue, who has always been fascinated with architecture, took charge of the search. Florida seemed the logical place. The east coast of the state wasn’t that appealing, she quickly decided. But Sarasota, even online, had the “calm energy” they were looking for. They knew no one in the area and had no personal connections here, but Hue showed her husband several possibilities she had discovered. When Mark saw the Ritschard house, he knew immediately. “I fell in love. I knew we should buy that house.”

Ritschard had built the house for his own use. A prominent architect in Switzerland and Germany, he began working in Florida in the 1990s and even became involved in Sarasota’s urban planning. Ritschard sold the

house to a well-known tennis pro and in 2023, the Davises bought it from her.

Ritschard’s buildings, both commercial and residential, are characterized by their simple and transparent spaces. “We love the bones of the house,” Hue says. She describes the design as “international modern.” “We were trying to see architecture differently. We look for things that are interesting and different.”

The exterior of the home is simple and understated — white walls set on different planes, framed by carefully landscaped grounds. A wide flight of stairs leads to the entrance. Only inside does the home’s true character reveal itself. First comes the drama of the soaring, expansive living area, followed by an added surprise: a 50-foot swimming pool complete with a unique semi-circular stairway and seating area. This unexpected curve

Continued on Page 90

“The sunrise, the sunset, the tropical rainstorms — you’re living right in the middle of a jungle.” The

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

Based on SHOLEM ALEICHEM stories, by special permission of ARNOLD PERL Book by JOSEPH STEIN

Music by JERRY BOCK

Lyrics by SHELDON HARNICK

Produced on the New York Stage by HAROLD PRINCE

Original New York Stage Production Directed & Choreographed by JEROME ROBBINS

Directed by PETER ROTHSTEIN

Choreography by DANNY PELZIG

Music Direction by MATTHEW MECKES

The home offers a superb location, situated among the architectural gems of Lido Shores.

breaks the geometric order of the design and gives the home its distinctive personality.

There’s another curve in the home. It’s located in the primary suite and shows the architect’s bold thinking. Here, instead of embracing the tropical outdoors as the rest of the house does, the mood becomes more intimate and reflective. There is only one smallish window; the wall curves the way a seashell might, thus adding another note of natural design appropriate for the home’s location.

That location — a sophisticated sandbar famous for its seashells, Gulf views and important architecture — has many stories to tell and one of them involves the home. Years ago, this was where Joseph Hayes lived. His house, torn down around 2000, was a local landmark — a picturesque beach house built in a sort of 1950s Japanese style, with pagoda rooftops and other elements of Asiatic design. Hayes was a charter member of the artistic colony that made Sarasota so notable — the painters and writers who contributed so much to the country’s popular culture of the time. His play, “The Desperate Hours,” won a Tony award on Broadway in 1955. It was the play that made Paul Newman a star. (The movie, made a year later, had Humphrey Bogart playing the lead.)

The Davises still have a home in California, but their move to Sarasota has been a success. They’ve taken up boating and spend more time cooking, Mark in particular. They’re impressed with the tech scene in Tampa, which Mark describes as being full of young entrepreneurs who remind him of himself 20 years ago. And Hue, who was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. as one of the “boat people,” delights in walking on the beach and people watching — when she can find the time.

There is only one problem with their home — at 2,800 square feet it isn’t big enough. Like most new Sarasotans, they find that they now have lots of relatives who love to come for a visit. In their large blended and extended family are five children and three grandchildren, and that’s just the start. So they are putting the Ritschard house on the market and have just bought a

There’s another curve in the home. It’s located in the primary suite and shows the architect’s bold thinking.

larger house nearby.

“We miss the modern vibe,” Hue says, for their new home is more traditional in style. But it has its compensations — more space and a waterfront view of the open bay with the city skyline in the distance. But best of all is the peace and contentment they feel in Sarasota. They were a little apprehensive at first.

“But we’re risk takers,” Hue says. And this was a risk that paid off just as well as any Silicon Valley startup.

A curved wall and minimal exterior views give the primary bedroom an intimate, secluded air.

A view of the home from the rear.

The home’s living area boasts a state-of-the-art kitchen and soaring windows on all four sides.

Spring Sparks

Five compelling reasons to wander galleries, catch a performance and reconnect with Sarasota’s creative pulse.

BY SU BYRON | MANAGING EDITOR

STITCHED

At Sarasota Art Museum, “Maria A. Guzmán Capron: Penumbra” unfolds as a lush solo exhibition of large-scale figurative textiles that explore how identity is stitched from ancestry, culture and lived experience. Born in Milan to Peruvian and Colombian parents and raised in Texas, the California-based artist creates plush, hand-dyed and screen-printed portraits with exaggerated hands, layered fabrics and entwined figures that draw viewers into a tactile world of connection. A suspended 15-foot soft sculpture winds through the gallery, while works like “Déjame Llevarte” and “Brisa Corriendo” hint at the many selves we carry. “Penumbra,” meaning half-shadow, becomes a metaphor for the in-between spaces where light and identity meet. April 19 through Sept. 27. Visit: SarasotaArtMuseum.org.

MOONLIGHT, MISCHIEF AND MIXED-UP LOVE

Runaway lovers. Meddling fairies. A troupe of hilariously earnest actors. One enchanted forest where nothing — and no one — is quite what it seems. Spells misfire, affections tangle and identities blur as moonlight and magic turn the world deliciously upside down. The Asolo Conservatory takes on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Shakespeare’s buoyant comedy of romance, confusion and theatrical mischief. The production spins a sparkling tale of desire and transformation where love rarely follows a straight line — especially when fairies are involved. April 7-26. Visit: AsoloRep.org.

Photo courtesy of the artist

Right: Artist Maria A. Guzmán Capron beside one of her large-scale textile works featured in “Maria A. Guzmán Capron: Penumbra,” on view at Sarasota Art Museum through Sept. 27.

HOMEGROWN NOTES, WORLD-CLASS PLAYERS

A Sarasota story comes full circle when the DragonBoot Quartet (Cate Carson, violin; Katya Moeller, violin; Sydney Whipple, viola; and Lila Holyoke, cello) performs the world premiere of Roger Zare’s “Gamma” for string quartet for Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota. Zare, a Sarasota native and the organization’s first scholarship recipient in 2003, returns home in spirit through this new work, performed by four rising Juilliard musicians. The program also includes Haydn’s String Quartet Op. 33, No. 1, Jessie Montgomery’s “Voodoo Dolls” and Janácek’s “Intimate Letters.”

4 p.m. April 12, at First Presbyterian Church. Visit: ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.

DRAWN IN

“The Imagination of Art Venti,” at Arts Advocates Gallery, showcases the artist’s extraordinary “pencil paintings” — monumental works built from countless delicate layers of colored

pencil on paper as wide as 110 inches. Created over months, these intricate compositions blur abstraction and reality while quietly engaging environmental and social themes. Using the familiar language of landscape, Venti invites viewers into a visual dialogue where lines, shapes and color feel both recognizable and elusive. On view 2-4 p.m. Saturdays, April 4 through May 30, with opportunities to meet the artist. Visit: ArtsAdvocates.org.

MOTION IN BLOOM

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’

“Alexander Calder: The Nature of Movement” pairs the artist’s kinetic abstractions with living plant displays that float, twist and hover as if suspended in air. Works by Calder mingle with lush epiphytic orchids and bromeliads, echoing his fascination with balance, suspension and motion, while a playful nod to his early circus studies resonates with Sarasota’s Ringling legacy. Through May 31. Visit: Selby.org.

Work by Art Venti is featured in “The Imagination of Art Venti” at the Arts Advocates Gallery, Saturdays April 4–May 30.

Works by Alexander Calder are at Selby Gardens through May 31.

Courtesy photos

DragonBoot Quartet performs the world premiere of Roger Zare’s “Gamma” for string quartet for Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota on April 12.

Hal Christensen of Harry’s Continental Kitchens

This Longboat Key landmark blends Old World cuisine, family tradition and a commitment to hospitality.

BY MARTY FUGATE CONTRIBUTOR

For nearly half a century, Harry’s Continental Kitchens has been part of the heartbeat of Longboat Key life — a place where white-tablecloth dining coexists with deli takeout, catering trays and a corner market stocked for beach days and vacation stays. The restaurant’s general manager, Hal Christensen, grew up inside the family business founded by his parents, Harry and Lynn Christensen, learning every facet along the way. Today, he oversees an operation that spans a restaurant, deli and bakery, wine shop, catering division and convenience market. Through it all, the family’s original commitment to hospitality still shapes what appears on the plate and how guests are welcomed.

The secrets of Harry’s staying power include … Consistency in product and service and an understanding of the rhythms of Longboat Key. With a short, intense season, our business depends on careful planning and disciplined management. Staff is equally important. Many of Harry’s employees have been with us for 15, 20, even 25 years. That longevity translates to consistent excellence on the plate and the dining room experience. People love working here; guests know it the minute they walk in.

My role as general manager involves … Overseeing four distinct but interconnected businesses: a restaurant, deli, bakery, wine shop, off-premises catering and our corner market, which

is stocked with grab-and-go meals, drinks and essentials. They make up a complete ecosystem — from fine dining to everyday convenience.

What makes Harry’s distinctly Harry’s is …

Our welcoming attitude. Harry’s is refined but not ultra-formal. We’re upscale but not intimidating. Whether you’re grabbing a sandwich in work clothes or arriving for dinner from a beachfront home, we treat you the same — with warmth, familiarity and genuine hospitality.

The secret of success on Longboat Key is … Managing both the highs and the lows. On Longboat Key, you make your money during the season but survive by planning for the offseason. That means reinvesting wisely, not overspending and understanding that the 12 weeks of “season” are the bulk of what you’ll earn, even in a strong year.

We work hard to … Treat people like they’re special. Harry’s is a place where the staff remembers people’s names, preferences

Photo by Lori Sax

Hal Christensen carries forward the family legacy at Harry’s Continental Kitchens, overseeing the restaurant, deli, bakery and market that have made the Longboat Key institution a local favorite for decades.

and routines. An electrician grabbing a sandwich at the deli is as welcome as a wealthy guest pulling up in a Bentley.

Don’t leave Harry’s without trying … Brunch, for starters. The German apple pancake is a longtime favorite, along with multiple takes on eggs Benedict. The Far Horizon roast beef hash is another standout. (It’s named after the legendary resort that transformed Longboat Key’s dining culture.) For dinner, shrimp escargot and the steak hardwood are classics. Our in-house mixologist has also elevated our bar’s craft cocktails in recent years.

A surprising fact about Harry’s is … … our family ownership, which is rare in this area. After decades of local ownership changes, Harry’s remains one of the region’s longest-running, singlefamily-owned restaurants. We’re always evolving, but we honor our family roots.

One thing we’ll never change is … The feeling at Harry’s. The French-

coastal décor, white booths, garden views and original artworks feel more like a home than a restaurant.

One change that’s really paid off is …

Harry’s outdoor dining. During the pandemic, we added a retractable awning. It transformed the patio into a year-round asset, providing comfort in sun, rain and cooler weather.

Something we fiercely protect at Harry’s is …

Our core menu and our staff. Harry’s continental cuisine is eclectic and global, never boxed into a single category. And the philosophy of “never been better” — a phrase Harry himself is known for — still guides the way we operate today.

I love my job because …

It’s a legacy. Working alongside family, longtime staff and guests who return year after year creates a sense of continuity that’s rare in the restaurant

world. Harry’s isn’t just a workplace; it’s a community.

If I could be teleported to any restaurant in the world, it would be …

A beachside spot in the Caribbean with cracked lobster, conch fritters, margaritas and sand underfoot. Good food doesn’t have to be fancy to be perfect.

IF YOU GO

Harry’s Continental Kitchens

525 St. Judes Drive, Longboat Key 941-383-0777

HarrysContinental Kitchens.com

Seared sea scallops are presented on top of a golden sauce with roasted cauliflower and delicate garnishes, showcasing Harry’s Continental Kitchens’ blend of refined presentation and coastal flavor.

CAFE GABBIANO

In this intimate dining getaway located on Siesta Key, Chef Paolo di Costanzo, hailing from Ischia Italy, brings you a diverse seasonal menu. Certified sommelier, Marc Grimaud, specializes in pairing the perfect wine with your food. Enjoy dining in one of our wine rooms, or choose outdoor seating in our climate-controlled patio.

• Open Daily at 5pm

• Locally Sourced

• Award-Winning Wine List

• Handmade Pasta

• In-House Aged Steaks

• Events & Catering Available

5104 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key 941-349-1423 | www.cafegabbiano.com

CAFÉ ON ST. ARMANDS

Café on St. Armands is your destination from morning to night. Start the day with rich espresso and flaky pastries from Café Soleil, or sip a Mimosa with breakfast on the patio while the Circle comes alive around you. Linger over a fresh lunch in the Garden Room, where crisp salads, hearty sandwiches, and coastal specialties set the perfect midday pause. In the afternoon, unwind at the Wet Bar and enjoy handcrafted cocktails, fine wines, and light bites during Happy Hour from 2 to 5pm in a chic and relaxed setting. Evenings shine in the Gallery with fresh seafood, savory steaks, and chef inspired dishes served with Five Star Fun hospitality that makes every meal memorable. Whenever you crave something sweet, indulge in Chef Jayna’s housemade pastries and decadent desserts that are unforgettable from first bite to last.

431 St Armands Cir, Sarasota (941) 388-4415 | CafeOnStArmands.com

C’EST LA VIE

Locally owned and operated by Christophe and Geraldine Coutelle, this award-winning local favorite opened in 1997. Experience an authentic French café for breakfast, lunch, coffee, house-made French dessert, or a glass of wine! The Downtown Sarasota location is open seasonally for dinner starting in December; hours are posted on cestlaviesarasota.com. Featuring monthly wine-pairing dinners on select evenings, C’est La Vie is also available for creating party platters and customized cakes and desserts!

9118 Town Center Pkwy, Lakewood Ranch

941.961.0111

• Open Tue-Sat 7:30a-5p, Sun 8a-4p

1553 Main St, Sarasota • 941.906.9575

Open Mon-Tues 7:30a-6p cestlaviesarasota.com

LOTSA LOBSTER

LOBSTER, SHRIMP, HADDOCK & COD – OH MY! LOTSA LOBSTER is a Maine and New England seafood market providing fresh haddock, cod, swordfish, tuna, salmon, sea scallops, mussels, steamers, stuffed clams, crab cakes and LOTSA more! We have Chilean sea bass, smoked salmon, halibut, trout, cherry stones and quahogs. Did someone say CHOWDA? Try our clam chowder or Lobster bisque. But wait there is more… freezer treats include frog legs, octopus, salt cod, sardines and crawfish. For land lovers we have a variety of savory marinated meats from Danvers Butchery. Don’t forget to preorder for the upcoming holidaysEaster Sunday on April 5th, Mother’s Day on May 10th and Memorial Day on May 25th. Come on in or call ahead.

8780 S Tamiami Tr, Sarasota 941.918.2529 | LotsaLobsterSarasota.com

MR. & MRS. CRAB

Mr. & Mrs. Crab brings a lively seafood experience to Sarasota with a focus on interactive, flavor-forward meals. This casual, family-friendly spot is known for its customizable seafood boilsguests pick their seafood and sauces, then enjoy a hands-on meal served in classic boil bags right at the table. The menu celebrates fresh shellfish like crab and shrimp paired with bold Cajun and Szechuan-inspired seasonings for a fun twist on a Gulf Coast favorite. The Sarasota location also features a full bar and welcoming atmosphere perfect for relaxed dinners with friends or family nights out. Whether you’re craving savory bites or refreshing cocktails, Mr. & Mrs. Crab delivers a memorable and social dining experience.

8389 S Tamiami Trl, Sarasota, FL 34238 (941)265-6888 | mmcseafood.com

SIESTA KEY OYSTER BAR

Welcome to Siesta Key Oyster Bar (or SKOB, as the locals call it), your ultimate beachy hangout where the Island vibes are always flowing! We’re #1 on the Key for a reason-our mouthwatering menu! Whether you’re craving fresh oysters, seafood, all-natural burgers, or crispy chicken wings, we’ve got you covered. Sip on one of 21+ beers on tap, from local craft brews to imports, or try one of our creative specialty cocktails. Don’t miss our happy hour, $12 a dozen oysters from 3-6 PM daily! With live music every day and night from the best local musicians, SKOB is your go-to spot. And hey, we’re serving up brunch Sundays from 9-11:30 AM. Stop by, chill out, and enjoy the good times!

5238 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key 941.346.5443 | skob.com

KEY ENCOUNTERS

PHOTO BY LORI SAX

Some walks arrive without announcement, wrapped in wind and shared silence. Along the sugary sands of Siesta Beach, where the shoreline feels untouched by time, the yellow lifeguard tower keeps its patient watch and gulls drift in and out like passing thoughts. The waves repeat their ancient refrain, steady and unhurried. And for a little while, moving forward side by side feels like its own kind of home.

Key Life Spring 2026

KEYLIFE

STYLE

THE BARRIER ISLANDS’ COMMUNITY, NATURE, PEOPLE

DESIGN DRAMA

Nowhere but here.

Transforming a Lot Into a Legacy

Luxury Homes, Designed Around Your Land

CONTENTS

SPRING 2026

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

CRAFTED WITH BRILLIANCE

KEYLIFE

EDITORIAL

ADVERTISING

CREATIVE SERVICES

CONTACT KEY LIFE

TIMELESS TREASURES

HOT TOPICS

TIMELY PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS

Safe Keeping

THE RESTORATION BEGINS

TURN BACK THE CLOCK

STEWARDSHIP IN PRACTICE

Sticky Situation

GEM OF A SPOT

CRITICAL THINKING

A New Voice at St. Boniface

HARRY ROA

HIGH TIDES

THE HEART OF COMMUNITY ON THE KEYS

‘Next Level’

The Butterfly Effect

This Is What Concierge Care Was Meant to Be

SPRING 2026

APRIL

1

BRIDGE STREET MARKET

SIESTA KEY DRUM CIRCLE

11

RUN FOR THE TURTLES

MEET, GREET, EAT

LUNCHEON: SARASOTA ORCHESTRA

23

COMEDY NIGHT

17-19SUNCOAST BOAT SHOW

24DINNER AND A MOVIE

30

SAXOPHONE SPLENDOR

MAY

2

CORVETTES ON THE CIRCLE

7-17

23-24

JUNE

2

6

TURTLE WALK

6-7

ST. ARMANDS CIRCLE CRAFT FESTIVAL

20-21

DOWNTOWN VENICE CRAFT FESTIVAL

JULY

4

FOURTH OF JULY FREEDOM FEST

ANNA MARIA ISLAND PRIVATEERS FOURTH OF JULY PARADE

VENICE FIREWORKS

SIESTA KEY COMMUNITY FIREWORKS

5

LIBERTY LITTER CLEANUP

11

RUN MANATEE

Gear for the Gulf

Actual Patients

Smile Makeovers and Veneers

Dental Implant Surgery and Reconstruction

URBAN

RENEWAL

BUSY, BUSY