Popular Sarasota food truck-turned-restaurant to open second location
A Sarasota food truck that branched off into a brick-and-mortar restaurant has announced plans to expand further.
Florence and the Spice Boys will open a second location at University Town Center, according to a press release. The projected opening for the restaurant at 257 N. Cattlemen Road #90 is fall 2024. Florence and the Spice Boys, which serves modern Middle Eastern fusion street food, started as a food truck in 2019 before opening a restaurant in south Sarasota shopping plaza The Landings in March 2023.
"It's hard for us to believe that we are making this announcement; it feels like yesterday we were still in the food truck, dreaming of one restaurant, let alone two,” said Florence Schmitt, who owns Florence and the Spice Boys along with her husband Steven Schmitt and Carl Kolber, in a statement. “We are incredibly excited to get started, truly humbled by the opportunity and more than ready to see our Lakewood Ranch friends more often!"
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The new location will feature Florence and the Spice Boys favorites such as a turmeric fried chicken sandwich, vegan falafel pita taco and chicken shawarma taco, plus "a few more elevated dishes." It will also serve craft cocktails.
Spanning 2,500 square feet, the University Town Center location will feature interiors with lush greenery and a mix of bohemian and eclectic décor, weaving rattan and neon. The new space will open onto a large patio with an indoor-outdoor bar.
It will join other upcoming University Town Center restaurant openings such as "farm-to-fork eatery" Naked Farmer, now slated to open in June; Pura Vida Miami, a health-conscious cafe scheduled for a late summer opening; a second area location for St. Armands Circle Greek restaurant Blu Kouzina; and a new location for high-end steakhouse chain Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.
Florence and the Spice Boys' currently open location is at 4990 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For more information, call 941-923-9920 or visit florenceandthespiceboys.com.
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota restaurant Florence and the Spice Boys to open new location
