"This fence should last at least ten years," a contractor told Steve Phelps while Indigenous was being built in Towles Court. Phelps remembers his answer: "I was like, perfect."
The restaurant lasted fifteen years. Indigenous announced its closing on social media on Sept. 15, 2026. The post said the team was "ready for a change" and gave no other reason. Three days later, Alma de España chef and owner Elier Rodriguez told the Herald-Tribune he plans to move his restaurant from Southside Village into the same cottage at 239 S. Links Ave.
Restaurant spaces usually go dark after a closing like this. Here, one independent chef handed off to another almost right away. The best-known dining room in Towles Court goes from a chef who cooked there for fifteen years to a chef who will start cooking there on Nov. 1, and no restaurant group sits between them.
A Closing on the Chef's Own Clock
Most Sarasota restaurant closings come with an explanation, a hint of one, or a for-lease sign that tells the story anyway. Indigenous came with a thank-you note. "After 15 years of serving this community and working with our staff, farmers, fishermen, bakers, producers, and community, we are ready for a change," the post said.
A week later, Phelps told SRQ Daily the timing suited him. "I'm happy," he said. "I always said that I would get out while I was ahead of things. Five more years than I expected." He is a two-time James Beard semifinalist. He also said he had turned down buyouts, partly to keep the rights to signature dishes like his truffled mushroom bisque. "That'll be available to people very soon," he said. "I knew I'd want to carry those recipes on."
That decision explains how the space changed hands. Because Phelps didn't sell to a buyer, no new owner took over the Indigenous name, menu or concept. The cottage simply opened up. Sarasota Magazine said Indigenous was the restaurant that "made responsibly sourced seafood feel like a Sarasota imperative." That identity stays with Phelps and his recipes. The space passes to a chef with a style of his own.
Seven Weeks Between Restaurants
The handoff, by date:
- Sept. 15, 2026: Phelps announces that Indigenous has closed.
- Sept. 18, 2026: The Herald-Tribune reports that Alma de España plans to leave 1830 S. Osprey Ave. at the end of September and reopen at 239 S. Links Ave. in early November.
- Now: Alma's website lists Links Avenue as its "new location" and announces a grand opening on November 1, 2026, with reservations through OpenTable.
If Alma opens on schedule, the cottage will have gone 47 days between restaurants. Alma had only been open since August 2025, so it is leaving Southside Village after about a year. Rodriguez hasn't given a public reason for the move. Local coverage hasn't said who owns the cottage or what the occupancy terms are, and no new tenant has been announced for the Osprey Avenue space.
For anyone checking the website before November, the menu page still shows the old Southside Village address. The homepage has the current address.
What Alma Brings to Links Avenue
Elier and Claudia Rodriguez co-own Alma de España, which describes itself as a Spanish tapas and wood-fired grill restaurant. Elier's cooking draws on his Cuban upbringing and his family's Spanish roots. He learned from his grandmother in Cuba, trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta, and cooked at the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta, Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Picasso and Le Cirque in Las Vegas, and restaurants in Washington, California and Santa Barbara.
SRQ Magazine's October 2026 profile describes his goal as approachable, inventive tapas made with fine-dining technique. It says Loquita in Santa Barbara shaped that approach. Here's what diners ordered on Osprey Avenue:
| On the Southside menu | Details |
|---|---|
| Tapas | Wagyu carpaccio, ham croquetas, gambas al ajillo, crab-stuffed piquillo pepper |
| Paella | Three standing versions plus a rotating weekly chef's paella, cooked to order for two or four |
| From the grill | Lamb with romesco and whole charbroiled branzino, both singled out in Sarasota Magazine's review |
| To drink | Red and white sangria and a wine list that reaches beyond Spain |
No source has announced changes to the concept, hours or menu for the new space. The site still uses the same tapas-and-grill description. The table shows what Alma has been. Opening night will show what the Links Avenue version looks like.
The format carries over well. At Southside, Alma had a bar, a small dining room and outdoor tables, with shared plates at the center of the meal. Indigenous was also an intimate room built around a chef-owner, where servers guided guests through unfamiliar Gulf species.
Where Phelps's Cooking Goes Next
Phelps is stepping out of the dining room but staying in Sarasota food. He told SRQ Daily that pop-up meals and a portable soup wagon are coming. "Keep your eyes and ears open for really fun collabs with chefs in town and opportunities to buy soup, especially around the holidays," he said. He hasn't announced dates, venues or partners yet.
He's also continuing his work on the seafood side. He is an ambassador for Pine Island Redfish and a founding board member of the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture. "I want to continue to teach people what I'm learning every day," he said. Indigenous posted its closing notice under the Instagram handle @theaquaculturechef, alongside @chefstevephelps. Those two accounts are the most direct way to hear when the soup wagon is out.
The farms he cooked with are still easy to find. Phelps had made the Indigenous courtyard a pickup point for Grove Ladder Farm and Homestead Hydroponic Farm, and he also supported Sunshine Fungi and Blumenberry Farms. His advice in the interview was to "take an extra hour of your weekend and go to the farmer's market." SRQ listed three:
- Phillippi Farmhouse Market, Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Sarasota Farmers Market, Saturdays 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Farmers' Market at Lakewood Ranch, Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Towles Court Has Come to Depend on Individual Owners
The handoff matters more because Towles Court has fewer shared spaces than it used to. Sarasota Magazine's 2023 profile of the former artist colony described rising property values, the removal of deed restrictions that had required art uses, and the loss of shared walkways and courtyard access. The homeowners' association voted to dissolve in 2020. A neighborhood association made up of artists, business owners and homeowners formed afterward. In January 2026, the Herald-Tribune reported that the Towles Court courtyard, once a popular spot for live music and community events, was for sale along with a nearby century-old home now designated as a mixed-use building. No later report has said whether either one sold.
With fewer shared spaces, the anchors are places that individual owners keep open. Towles Court Artist Studios at 1938 Adams Lane lists nine resident artists: Helen Rosenkranz, Anne Ireland, Maggie Bosco, Susan Coyne, Peter Garon, Terry Martin, Jane Cohen, Phyllis Nathans and Jan Bullard. The studios host Third Friday Open Studios from 4 to 8 p.m., October through May, with live music, guest artist pop-ups on the porch and complimentary refreshments. The Towles Court Neighborhood Association lists the open studios in its description and can be reached at [email protected].
Counting from the calendar, the season's first Third Friday is Oct. 16, while the cottage on Links Avenue is still between restaurants. The next one is Nov. 20, less than three weeks after Alma's planned opening. The studios' own page still shows the May 15 event as "next," so check the date with the studios before you go.
With a restaurant space turning over and the courtyard listed for sale earlier this year, Towles Court is shifting, and that changes how the neighborhood works day to day. If you own a home or studio in Laurel Park and want to know how this fall's changes in Towles Court affect what your property is worth, Shane Lewis can walk you through it with local, data-driven guidance. Start with Get Your Instant Home Valuation.
