Photo by Codey Phillips Photography.

Sometimes best laid plans go awry. In the case of Beachside Hospitality Group, the back to back hurricanes of fall 2024 had the potential to lay waste to their newly purchased trio of waterfront restaurants: Mar Vista on Longboat Key, Beach House on Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria Island’s Sandbar Seafood and Spirits.

At Sandbar, the sand from the storm surges was piled three to four feet high in the dining area. Entire kitchens were wiped out, the outside pavilion which hosts upwards of 150 weddings per year was swamped in sand and the floors, walls and windows were compromised. Although renovations to the restaurant were already underway, the storms forced management to get creative—the winter rush was incoming for the establishment that has called Anna Maria home for over 70 years.

“We were approaching spring break in our business season and didn’t want to miss that opportunity. Over the next couple of months, we saw a level of teamwork that we’d never seen before and witnessed the pride that our employees have not just for our restaurant, but for Anna Maria Island as a whole,” says Director of Southwest Operations at Beachside Hospitality, Daniel Sullivan. “It was an opportunity to take something that was extremely negative and turn it around and have as much of an optimistic approach as possible.”

The team at Sandbar have taken that opportunity in stride as the summer beach season nears closer. They have revamped the space, with new flooring, furniture and lighting in the dining areas, installing a new bar and kitchen equipment, refurbishing the grand pavilion space and redesigning the restaurant’s entrance. Beachside Hospitality has also introduced new dining elements to Sandbar—Beachside Bites, open from 8am-3pm, operates out of a walk-up window on the beach entrance adjacent to the restaurant, offering breakfast options and light fare. Sweet Willy’s Ice Cream Shoppe, open from 11am-10pm, now sits in the restaurant’s entryway, specializing in small-batch ice cream and other after dinner indulgences.

Sandbar’s menu also features a new look, tying in fresh, wild-caught seafood with some of the staples of Sandbar such as the cowboy shrimp and Sandbar tacos. Some of the new additions include red grouper, royal red shrimp and bairdi crab, a larger, sweeter variant of snow crab.

“When it comes to seafood by the seashore it’s a simple equation,” says Sullivan. “People want fresh, quality, simply-made dishes.”

Sandbar Seafood and Spirits, 100 Spring Avenue, Anna Maria, 34216

Photo by Codey Phillips Photography.

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