A pair of popular downtown Sarasota restaurants that recently announced Main Street moves opened their new locations the same day.
French restaurant and bakery Mademoiselle Paris opened its new location at 1766 Main St. in the former space of Cuba 1958 on Tuesday, May 5. So did pizzeria and Italian restaurant Il Panificio at 1995 Main St., next to the Regal Hollywood movie theater, where Bravo’s Pizza & Italian Eatery operated for nearly 30 years.
Mademoiselle Paris’ original downtown Sarasota location is at 1605 Main St. in the Wells Fargo building, while Il Panificio has operated for decades at 1703 Main St. Both those locations remain open for now as well, though the Mademoiselle Paris in the Wells Fargo building will now focus on coffee and pastries rather than full restaurant service, and both will eventually close.
What is the story behind Mademoiselle Paris?
Owned by Myriam and Jean Dandonneau, who previously lived in Paris before moving to the Sarasota area, Mademoiselle Paris also has locations open in University Town Center, on Anna Maria Island, and in Gulfport. Mademoiselle Paris’ earlier downtown Sarasota location is a smaller, café-style space, so they had been looking for a bigger space where they could also offer dinner and wine tastings. Then, as the lease at the original downtown Sarasota location was nearing its end, the former Cuba 1958 space became available.
The breakfast and lunch menu at Mademoiselle Paris features cold and hot sandwiches including paninis, sweet and savory crepes, eggs Benedicts and omelets, pancakes and waffles, quiches and salads. Dinner entrees include fettucine, beef burgundy, mussels, risotto, steak frites and lamb chop — with options varying depending on if you’re ordering from a chef’s menu or a la carte — while appetizers include French classics such as escargots and French onion soup.
The new downtown Sarasota Mademoiselle Paris will also offer a full-liquor drink menu, making it their first location in the Sarasota area with a liquor license (their Gulfport location also has one, but the University Town Center and Anna Maria Island locations have beer and wine licenses).
What is the story behind Il Panificio?
The Melone family opened the original Il Panificio restaurant in 1991. It also has a Siesta Key Village location at 215 Avenida Madera.
Their original location is the future site of SOTA Residences & Hotel, which will include a ground-floor Il Panificio. Until then, taking over the former Bravo’s space will keep an Il Panificio presence in downtown Sarasota while its original location is demolished and construction on SOTA begins.
Il Panificio is best known for its New Jersey-style thin-crust pizza that’s simultaneously crisp and chewy, which it offers as pies or by the slice, along with deli sandwiches, salads, sides, appetizers and desserts. It also serves thicker Sicilian-style pizza.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Two popular downtown Sarasota restaurants open new locations same day
Reporting by Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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