For Sarasota and Tableseide, high-profile openings on tap

SARASOTA — Joe Seidensticker steps outside Libby’s Neighborhood Brasserie in Southside Village on the kind of balmy February afternoon that makes our friends and relatives up north extremely jealous. It’s Valentine’s Day, and in a couple hours Libby’s, a longtime area favorite, should be brimming with happy couples out for a romantic evening. Not tonight, though.

Seidensticker announced last October that Libby’s would be reopening in a few months with the Brasserie name and a complete interior makeover. Now, Seidensticker hopes to see this Libby’s location on Osprey Avenue welcoming guests next month along with a new “bar-tique” tenant of Seidensticker’s where patrons can lounge with a cocktail while shopping for stylish clothing. The new Libby’s Neighborhood Brasserie in Lakewood Ranch, at the intersection of Lorraine Road and University Parkway, should debut later in the summer.

These are just two of the several high-profile openings planned this year for the Sarasota-based Tableseide Restaurant Group that Seidensticker oversees following the passing of his father, Steve Seidensticker, last year.

The other Tableseide openings planned for 2019 include the Oak & Stone craft beer and artisan pizza restaurant at 4067 Clark Road, scheduled for May; the Oak & Stone with a rooftop bar at the currently-under-construction Marriott Springhill Suites overlooking the Manatee River and Tampa Bay in downtown Bradenton, which Seidensticker hopes to see ready in September; and an Oak & Stone in Naples planned to open by the end of the year. In addition to the original Oak & Stone on University Parkway, launched in 2017, there’s another one now thriving in downtown St. Petersburg.

Tableseide also owns downtown Sarasota dining destination Louies Modern, Muse at the Ringling museum and Modern Events catering. Miss Susie’s Newtown Kitchen, another family project, ran over budget, Seidensticker says, but they’re continuing to raise funds so they can open as soon as possible.

And then there’s Seidensticker's newest idea, perhaps the most exciting of the bunch, at least for people who value a good time as much as clever cuisine. Look closely as you pass by The DeSota apartment building by Whole Foods in downtown Sarasota and you’ll see a sign that reads “Circo: A Taco and Bourbon Joint.”

“It’s a love project,” Seidensticker says of the brand he hopes to see realized later this year. “It’s a really cool bar with good tacos, and it will evolve as it goes.

“I love tacos, I love Mexican food, and we’ve always talked about opening something that’s a fun hangout and super casual, a brand with a small footprint where we can open others in the right market.”

Seidensticker lives close to downtown and looks forward to having Circo next door to local beer maven Mark Tuchman’s craft brew and wine room 99 Bottles, also slated to open this year.

“We’ll support each other big time, with him and us really energizing that block there,” Seidensticker says. “With everything happening downtown, it’s a perfect proving ground.”

OK, so why bourbon and tacos and not the traditional Tex-Mex pairing of tequila and tacos?

“Because it lends itself more for what I’m going with the bar atmosphere, and bourbon pairs so well with everything; it’s different and allows me to carry really cool bourbons, plus tequila, and switch stuff up like a margarita made with bourbon. It’s like how the menu will focus on Mexican food, but it could be anything if the cooks are in a groove. It will be fun with arcade games, pinball machines, live entertainment, and couches.”

Seidensticker adds, “Everything we’re opening has to be fun and approachable and interest our employees and be something the locals in Sarasota want to show off.”

Wade Tatangelo, editor of Ticket and Food & Wine, can be reached at 941-361-4955.