Two years after the 2024 hurricanes, St. Armands Circle's restaurants have rearranged themselves across its corners. One restaurant moved into another's building, a third tenant is taking the space it left, and a family restaurant that had been at one address for more than 25 years now runs under a new name and a new generation of the same family.
If you live on Lido Key or St. Armands and still give directions by the old names, some of them now lead to a different meal. "Meet me at Tommy Bahama" points to a different building than it did for nearly 30 years. "The old Le Colonne spot" now serves dry-aged steak and whole bronzino under another sign. Here is the Circle's restaurant map as it stands this month, address by address, in time for the Dec. 4 Holiday Night of Lights.
| Address | The name you remember | What's there now |
|---|---|---|
| 465 John Ringling Blvd. | Shore | Tommy Bahama restaurant and store |
| 300 John Ringling Blvd. | Tommy Bahama, for nearly 30 years | Pinchers, moving over from Lakewood Ranch |
| 22 S. Boulevard of the Presidents | Le Colonne, founded in 1998 | Nonno Umberto |
| Boulevard of the Presidents at Madison Drive | A gutted two-story shell | Shore's proposed return |
The Chain Starts at the South End
The first move happened at the south entrance. Coming onto the Circle from that side, one of the first things you see is Tommy Bahama's navy blue awning. That awning now hangs on 465 John Ringling Blvd., the building Shore occupied before the storms. Your Observer reported that the combined restaurant and retail store held soft reopening events on Sept. 23 and 24, 2025, and a grand reopening on the evening of Nov. 5, 2025. Storm damage from the 2024 season caused the move.
Shore restaurateur Tom Leonard still owns 465 John Ringling and leases it to Tommy Bahama. He plans to bring Shore back on a different corner, at Boulevard of the Presidents and Madison Drive. The plan calls for a boutique shop and casual cafe on the ground floor, the restaurant on the second level, and a residential floor on top. Your Observer's October coverage describes the site as a gutted two-story shell. The project went back before the city's Development Review Committee on Oct. 7, and the city's stated next step is for the applicant to resubmit.
So one storm-damaged building became Tommy Bahama's new home. That freed up a different corner, and the move sets off the rest of the chain.
300 John Ringling Gets a Seafood Tenant From Lakewood Ranch
For nearly 30 years, 300 John Ringling Blvd. was Tommy Bahama, a stop on most visitors' first lap around the Circle. The next tenant is Pinchers, a Southwest Florida seafood brand owned by Naples-based Phelan Family Brands. The restaurant at 300 John Ringling has 200 seats.
Pinchers isn't adding a location so much as relocating one. Its St. Armands page says the Lakewood Ranch restaurant at 10707 Rodeo Dr. is moving to 300 John Ringling with "same family, same seafood from our own boats, and the same team," and that phone calls go to the Lakewood Ranch location until the move is complete.
Rachel Burns, executive director of the St. Armands Circle Association, told Your Observer why Florida seafood fits that corner:
"A lot of people want to try Florida seafood. They want to experience the Florida that they're seeing on TV. They want to see the tropical plants, the bright colors, fresh seafood, and that relaxed, upscale vibe where you're dressed up, but you're still wearing your flip-flops."
The same article lists fresh fish, blue crabs and a cheesy crab dip appetizer among Pinchers' popular dishes. Burns says Florida seafood is one of the requests she hears most often from visitors.
Across the Street, a Son Keeps the Address
Directly across from Pinchers, an address changed names but stayed in the family. As Your Observer reported, Le Colonne opened at 22 S. Boulevard of the Presidents in 1998 and stayed open more than 25 years. After the 2024 hurricanes, owner Umberto Salustri decided to close it. His son, Simone Salustri, and Simone's wife, Amber Mayner, started renovating the property in September 2025 and opened Nonno Umberto in late December 2025. "Nonno" means grandfather in Italian.
It still seats 300 people, but the menu has changed. Your Observer describes it as an Italian seafood and steakhouse with a coastal-feeling interior. Mayner names the whole bronzino, deboned by the chef, along with the dry-aged meat and the shrimp cocktail as the top sellers. Bread and desserts are made in-house, and shrimp carpaccio is a recent addition. Her own pick is the filet mignon with creamy peppercorn sauce and truffle mashed potatoes.
A few doors down, the same block now has two newcomers that took over empty storefronts instead of inheriting a famous name.
- Chocolate Emporium, 28 S. Boulevard of the Presidents. This Anna Maria Island chocolate shop opened its first Sarasota location in June 2026, next to Le Shop. It sells handmade chocolates, confections and saltwater taffy. The Herald-Tribune described it as the final tenant to move into the quadrant of the Circle hit hardest by the hurricanes.
- Flambo, 40 S. Boulevard of the Presidents. This 175-seat Trinidadian restaurant had a soft opening in October 2025 and a grand opening that November, so it is reaching its first anniversary now. Co-owner Anthony Logan, who runs it with his son Kevin Ramlochan, says the best seller is butter chicken in a mildly spiced tomato cream sauce. The Flambo red snapper and the Trini drunken rice noodles come next.
Logan explained the name to Your Observer. A flambeau is a flaming torch, and he remembers the homemade lantern his parents made from a rum bottle during power outages when he was a child in Trinidad. For a restaurant that opened on a Circle still rebuilding after the storms, it is a fitting name.
The One Name That Hasn't Moved
Against all this reshuffling, Columbia stands out for staying put. The Cuban-Spanish restaurant opened on the Circle in 1959 and anchors what Your Observer counts as more than a dozen restaurants on the Circle today. Burns puts the Circle's appeal down to variety.
"There's a lot of opportunity for small restaurant owners to find a niche for something original," she told the paper, adding that more boutique-style eateries and businesses are on the way. A coffee and dessert shop is listed as coming soon.
Before the 2024 storms, Le Colonne had held 22 S. Boulevard of the Presidents for more than 25 years, and Tommy Bahama had held 300 John Ringling for nearly 30. What has taken their place is mostly the same set of names spread across new corners, plus a few newcomers that took over empty storefronts.
The Updated Map Gets Its First Test in December
The Circle's busiest local night falls on Friday, Dec. 4, 2026. The St. Armands Circle Association lists the 48th Annual Holiday Night of Lights from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The Association sponsors the event.
The night traditionally includes a carol sing-along, a Santa parade, holiday entertainers, photos with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and the lighting of the 60-foot tree, as described on the City of Sarasota's event page. This will be the first Night of Lights with Nonno Umberto, Flambo and Chocolate Emporium all on South Boulevard of the Presidents, and with Tommy Bahama at the south entrance in Shore's old building. If you plan to have dinner before the tree lighting, the list of places within walking distance is longer and different than it was two Decembers ago.
Eight days later, on Saturday, Dec. 12, the 22nd Annual Porsches in the Park brings cars from around Florida to St. Armands Circle Park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., sponsored by Suncoast Motorsports.
After the holidays, the next confirmed addition comes from the other side of the state. Sloan's Ice Cream, based in West Palm Beach, plans to open its first Florida west coast shop at 380B St. Armands Circle in the first quarter of 2027, according to the Herald-Tribune. When it opens, it will join Chocolate Emporium as a second new sweets shop on the Circle.
Shore's corner at Boulevard of the Presidents and Madison Drive is still a shell waiting on its next city review. The plan would put the Shore name back on the Circle, this time on a different corner from its old building at 465 John Ringling.
At The Ackerman Group, we follow which storefronts change hands on the Circle the same way we follow the homes around it, because on St. Armands, being able to walk to dinner is part of what makes a home valuable. If you own on Lido Key or St. Armands and want to know how this new restaurant map figures into your home's value this season, we're glad to walk the Circle with you and talk it through.
