A longtime Chili’s location in Sarasota is getting a new life as a locally owned restaurant.
Ed’s Tavern Sports Bar and Restaurant plans to open in 2027 at 4131 S. Tamiami Trail, leasing the former Chili’s Grill & Bar spot that opened in the 1980s and closed last year, according to signage outside the building.
Ed’s Tavern expanded from one location on Lakewood Ranch Main Street to two in 2024, when it opened another location in Bradenton off of State Road 64. It has since opened a location in Palmetto’s Gateway Commons plaza near Parrish and has another upcoming opening in West Bradenton, according to the restaurant’s website.
What type of food and drink does Ed’s Tavern serve?
Ed’s Tavern’s current locations offer a variety of casual cuisine dishes including shareables, salads, wings, flatbreads, sandwiches, wraps, burgers, sliders, bowls, entrees, sides and desserts. It also has a full-liquor drink menu, serving signature cocktails, beer with local craft options, and wine.
The Herald-Tribune named the Lakewood Ranch Ed’s Tavern one of the area’s best sports bars in 2022 for “boasting a long bar as well as plenty of booth seating with great sight lines of the many screens hanging from above” as well as “covered patio seating with TV screens you can watch while overlooking a lake filled with wildlife.”
What is the history of the former Chili’s location?
The former Chili’s property was built in 1986, according to a real estate listing, and is located across the street from Trader Joe’s on one side and Walt’s Fish Market on the other.
The Chili’s closed on May 19, 2025 — coincidentally the same day that another big chain restaurant, Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar, closed its location on University Parkway. Chili’s still has a Sarasota location at 5851 Bee Ridge Road and a location further down South Trail at 4289 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice, as well as Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton and Ellenton.
For more information on the various Ed’s Tavern locations, visit edstavernfl.com.
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Closed Sarasota Chili’s spot to become locally owned restaurant
Reporting by Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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By Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY Network
