A restaurant closing, opening and ‘resurrection’ in Sarasota and Manatee

Blue Rooster, which had a great run beginning with its highly anticipated opening in early 2013, will serve its final meal April 30 along with a performance by popular local dance band Big Night Out. My colleague Jimmy Geurts reported that owner Bill Cornelius, who will soon turn 71, simply wants to retire.

I’ll miss the Blue Rooster. I’ll miss the classic Southern cuisine like chicken and waffles, and fried catfish with collard greens. I’ll miss seeing national blues music stars such as Damon Fowler, who’s scheduled to perform a final date with his group there April 29.

My fondest Blue Rooster memory, though, is attending the Southern Buffet Gospel Brunch with Truality, which will occur for the last time this Sunday.

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I attended in 2015 for my old Bar Tab column. I noted that while the venue regularly hosted nationally-acclaimed roots music acts, the Sunday gospel brunch had gradually become one of its most popular attractions.

“When I was moved to Detroit to work for Ford after I graduated from the University of Illinois, I did not have any friends at first,” Bill told me. “I went alone to a music venue most Sunday afternoons because I had the blues. Sundays have always felt special to me as a day to experience music.”

Bill added, “That feeling of listening to someone singing from their heart is what I wanted others to experience by starting the gospel brunch.”

While the news of the upcoming closing of Blue Rooster drew the most attention from Sarasota-Manatee subscribers this past week, a restaurant opening came right behind it. On Wednesday, Jimmy reported that the upscale Banyan House is expected to open in November with the completion of Downtown Wellen’s first phase. Downtown Wellen, by the way, will be the entertainment hub of Wellen Park, the master-planned community that my colleague Derek Gilliam noted could reshape the image of North Port.

Story continues

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Interested in elevated drinking and dining? The most popular USA Today Network entertainment story in the entire state this past week was our article on the 12 best rooftop bar and restaurants from across Florida. Jimmy and I wrote about ones in Sarasota and Bradenton as well as favorites of mine in Tampa Bay, Key West and Miami. Our USA Today Network teammates wrote about rooftop bars I look forward to someday visiting in Fort Myers, Orlando, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Cocoa, Gainesville and West Palm Beach.

Also, while this column mostly looks back at our most popular dining and entertainment stories from the past week, I do have some news to break today. Sean Murphy, the renowned restaurateur and equally gifted raconteur, issued a newsletter on Thursday to his longtime Beach Bistro guests that menu items from the famed Anna Maria Island restaurant he recently sold will now be offered at his nearby The Doctor’s Office (5312 Holmes Blvd.).

Following a funny tale about his Uncle George, who had issues with both The Three Wise Men and the Easter Bunny, Murphy wrote “that a story about Easter and resurrection is perfectly suited to our announcement of a new Beach Bistro style menu being resurrected at The Doctor’s Office.”

This week “The Doc” will be serving the Bistro Blue Tomato Soup and the Murphy invention Lobstercargots as well as Duckling Foie Pate, and tossing the Bistro’s Classic Caesar salad. In addition, the week’s bigger plate feature will be The Bistro’s Port-Braised Prime Beef Short Rib. For more information or to make a reservation, call The Doctor’s Office at 941-213-9926.

Also, keep in mind that Murphy plans to bring those Beach Bistro classics with him when he opens his Rosemary District restaurant tentatively called BLVD Bistro.

Finally, if you don’t feel like cooking this holiday don’t forget to make reservations at one of our favorites restaurants for Easter; and for good times, be sure to check out our picks for fun things to do this weekend.

And please consider sharing this link with folks who might also be interested in enjoying our weekly newsletter that is sent at 9 a.m. Fridays, and spotlights the top new dining and entertainment stories from TicketSarasota.com, which is part of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and USA TODAY Network.

Cheers,

Wade Tatangelo

Wade Tatangelo is the Herald-Tribune’s dining and entertainment editor overseeing the weekly Ticke
t publication. He’s also co-leader of USA Today Network’s Uniquely Florida team creating statewide content. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He may be reached by email at [email protected]. Support local journalism by subscribing.​​​​​​

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Blue Rooster’s Gospel Brunch will be missed in Sarasota