New riverfront Bradenton restaurant slated to open this summer near Riverwalk
BRADENTON, Mar 31, 2012 (Menafn - The Bradenton Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Long-time Kansas City restaurateur Kurt Petty says he's found a new home.
Petty plans to sprinkle some Midwest charm into his new Florida venture, the YachtSea Grille, with items like a Oklahoma smoker, hickory-grilled steaks and interior decor touches.
YachtSea Grille is slated to open in late May or early June in the Plaza Del Rio building at 101 Riverfront Blvd., Bradenton. It is the first restaurant contiguous to the city's Riverwalk project, a development focused on growing downtown Bradenton.
"If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right," Petty said from the construction site. "I just need the hottest food and the coldest beer, and we're in."
The YachtSea Grille, still un
dergoing its face-lift from an office building, will seat 164 people in 3,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor dining area.
The restaurant will feature a daily breakfast, lunch and dinner menu -- with fast meal service to the surrounding business community during the day and a more elegant setting for dinner in the evenings.
YachtSea Grille also will have a full liquor bar, a draw for those who just finished a stroll along the Riverwalk or took in a game at its sand volleyball court. The 6.2 million project, in the restaurant's backyard, is expected to be completed in October.
Petty said he's been scouting Southwest Florida for nearly two years to find the perfect location for his restaurant. The Riverwalk and lack of nearby competition made the Plaza Del Rio building a fit.
Petty was drawn to Bradenton because his retired parents and younger brother live here.
"I was just about to pack up the bags and head back," he said. "But when I looked around, this is home."
YachtSea Grille will offer a traditional breakfast menu with items in the 6 range; a sandwich, salad and soup menu for lunch with items in the 10 range; and an upscale steak and seafood dinner menu with entrees averaging 20.
The majority of seating will be outdoors, overlooking the Manatee River under lighted canopies. The deck also will feature two 10-seat fire pit tables, air conditioning for those blazing summer days and 70-inch high definition TV.
The restaurant will be designed to look like the back of a yacht.
Both Petty and the landlord are investing more than 200,000 each in the renovation as part of the five-year lease agreement. The restaurant plans to employ 40 to 50 workers through a combination of full-time and part-time positions.
"This location is just going to be prime," said Angela Varga, an adviser with Sperry Van Ness Commercial Realty, which brokered the deal. "Their goal really is to capture the tenants in the building, and those around it, who can just call ahead and come pick it up."
YachtSea Grille will become the first restaurant located in Plaza Del Rio in almost 25 years. The 90,000-square-foot office complex now is about 87 percent full.
A year after opening, the restaurant will consider plans to add a cocktail and appetizer area on the roof.
Area officials said YachtSea Grille will make a nice side dish to the Riverwalk project, which is slated to bring 100,000 visitors to downtown Bradenton each year.
"People know the Riverwalk project will be completed sometime this fall, and it's a direct reason why businesses will continue to grow and move into this area," said Dave Gustafson, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. "(The restaurant) is a great demonstration."
Josh Salman, Herald business writer, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow him on Twitter @JoshSalman
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