One of Sarasota and Bradenton’s best sandwich shops closed in 2020; now it's reopening
For those of us who appreciate an awesome local sandwich that requires two hands and perhaps a cold draft beer to wash it down, there will soon be an exciting new option in Sarasota-Manatee — one with a whole lot of tasty history.
Karen Bell, the unofficial queen of the Cortez fishing village on north Sarasota Bay, owns the Star Fish Company restaurant and market, the A.P. Bell "fish house" located next door, and is also the co-owner of the nearby Tide Tables. Star Fish and Tide Tables are two of my favorite restaurants, especially when I'm craving fresh Gulf of Mexico seafood. Now, Bell is venturing outside Cortez and her seafood wheelhouse, and I couldn't be more excited.
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Star Fish Company restaurant owner to reopen The Boiler Room in Bradenton
Bell and her longtime employee, Josh Wilkinson, are reviving local comfort food favorite The Boiler Room, which will specialize in the cheesesteak sandwiches that made the restaurant famous before its closure a few years ago. Located at 5600 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, about seven miles from Star Fish Company, it should be ready to welcome back guests in February if all goes as planned.
"We're bringing The Boiler Room back to what it was but modernizing it," Bell told me. "We want to keep the simplicity of what it was."
That means we should expect exceptional cheesesteaks, burgers, and wings served along with beer and wine in a setting marked by TV screens and a single pool table, just as I recall from visiting The Boiler Room countless times in the past.
But what about fresh fish sandwiches?
"Maybe as specials — I definitely know where to get them,” Bell said with a laugh. “But not in the beginning, in the future."
The Boiler Room was a beloved West Bradenton hangout owned by Matt LaVallee for nearly 40 years
Matt LaVallee opened The Boiler Room in the 1980s and ran the restaurant until its closure in 2020. The sign on Manatee Avenue West read “home of the famous steak sandwich,” and yes, the main culinary attraction was undoubtedly those cheesesteak sandwiches that came “all the way” with onions, peppers, and mushrooms, paired with American, provolone, or Swiss cheese for a mere $9.50. There were also chicken, ham, and veggie options for a dollar or two less. In addition to the cheesesteaks, wings and burgers, popular items included chili, shoestring fries, and the “Famous Onion Strings.”
More than just a restaurant, though, The Boiler Room was a beloved West Bradenton hangout. LaVallee coached football and wrestling at nearby Manatee High School and seemed to know everyone in town, including their kids. In fact, it was common to witness multiple generations of Boiler Room regulars.
“I’ve been here all my life,” LaVallee told me in 2020. “I love the community. They’ve been great patrons for many, many years.”
Alas, LaVallee passed away on June 19, 2022, at the age of 63. Fortunately, his legacy should now live on at The Boiler Room when it reopens in the capable hands of Bell and Wilkinson. I'm already counting down the days until I can once again feast on one of those cheesesteaks.
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Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Popular Sarasota-Bradenton sandwich shop The Boiler Room is reopening
