Ticket Editor: Oh no! One of the best new restaurants in Sarasota has closed

Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Updated ·4 min read

While our list of the biggest restaurant openings this year in Sarasota and Bradenton continues to grow, so does our list of local restaurant closings in 2023.

Recently, I had the pleasure of reviewing the new tapas eatery, Beso, which should be mentioned in any serious conversation about the best restaurants in downtown Sarasota. Earlier in August, however, I reported on SweetBerries Frozen Custard & Eatery permanently shutting the doors to its Sarasota location after 20 years in business.

Now, it's another restaurant closure I must report. And of all the places we have lost this year, this one hurts the most, despite the fact that far too few people had the chance to experience its New Orleans-style charms.

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St. Armands Oyster Bar in Sarasota permanently closed after being in business about a year

The fried catfish po’ boy at St. Armands Oyster Bar on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota photographed July 30, 2022.
The fried catfish po’ boy at St. Armands Oyster Bar on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota photographed July 30, 2022.

I first raved about St. Armands Oyster Bar in my Ticket Editor column published on August 12, 2022. Less than a year later, the restaurant at the doomed 15 S. Boulevard of the Presidents address on Sarasota's famously upscale St. Armands Circle had closed permanently.

St. Armands Oyster Bar's Facebook page notes that its "permanently closed" status was posted about two weeks ago as of Aug. 24. When I called, it went straight to an automated message informing me that the phone number “can’t take your call now.” I also saw on Facebook that a cook at St. Armand's Oyster Bar posted that the restaurant closed Aug. 6. I emailed the owner, Brad Hagen, earlier this week, but have yet to hear back.

Hagen opened the similar Grafton Oyster Bar in Grafton, Illinois, about six years ago. Both restaurants specialized in Louisiana dishes, with the extensive Sarasota menu featuring about 20 entrees including such Crescent City favorites as jambalaya, red beans and rice, and crawfish etouffee, which you could order individually or all together as the "Holy Trinity." St. Armands Oyster Bar also offered a full-liquor bar with Big Easy-inspired cocktails, and served one of my favorite beers, the Louisiana-made Abita Amber Lager.

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St. Armands Oyster Bar served delicious Cajun, Creole and soul food-inspired cuisine

Chargrilled oysters at St. Armands Oyster Bar in Sarasota photographed July 8, 2023. The restaurant permanently closed in August, 2023.
Chargrilled oysters at St. Armands Oyster Bar in Sarasota photographed July 8, 2023. The restaurant permanently closed in August, 2023.

My favorite dish was probably the catfish po' boy, served on fresh-baked bread from Gambino's Bakery, a New Orleans area legend dating back to 1949. It was dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onion, and a delightful peppercorn mayo. I also loved the wings tossed in "Cajun tequila sauce" and the freshly shucked chargrilled oysters cooked over an open flame, the smoky flavor set off by the garlic butter, Creole spices, and grated Parmesan sharing space in the blackened shell.

My final visit to St. Armands Oyster Bar occurred less than two months ago, in early July. My wife, Kristin, loved the barbecue shrimp, and I had another deeply satisfying serving of chargrilled oysters, which I washed down with my other favorite Abita beer, Purple Haze. Yeah, St. Armands Oyster Bar will be missed, especially by those of us who appreciate all things New Orleans, particularly the music (I'm writing this article to the sounds of Crescent City piano great, James Booker) and its heady mix of cuisine informed by equal parts Cajun, Creole, and soul food.

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Multiple restaurants have now closed at that same St. Armands Circle location

St. Armands Oyster Bar. at 15 S. Boulevard of the Presidents on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, photographed July 30, 2022.
St. Armands Oyster Bar. at 15 S. Boulevard of the Presidents on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, photographed July 30, 2022.

For those unfamiliar with the two-story structure at 15 S. Boulevard of the Presidents, with its own elevator and stylish staircase leading to the space above, it has quite a history.

St. Armands Oyster Bar replaced The Whiskey Barrel, opened in early 2021, preceded by The Venue which, like the oyster bar, boasted a New Orleans theme, with more of an emphasis on live music. The space is most famous for housing Italian restaurant 15 South Ristorante Enoteca, which happened to be a favorite of mine, especially for pizza cooked in the wood-burning oven.

Here's hoping another restaurant can flourish at that spot on St. Armands Circle. Apparently, though, a New Orleans theme just won't cut it, which is as heartbreaking as hearing Booker perform "Please Send Me Someone to Love." A song, I should note, probably best heard on Booker's album "King of the New Orleans Keyboard" while sipping some Abita beer; unless of course, a well-made Sazerac is handy. Yes, I know what it means to miss a restaurant that reminds me of New Orleans.

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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: Sarasota restaurant St. Armands Oyster Bar permanently closed