Most of the new names on St. Armands Circle have moved into spaces other businesses left behind. Those businesses left because of the floodwater from Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. Since then, a seafood chain has lined up Tommy Bahama's longtime restaurant address. Tommy Bahama moved into a restaurant that left Sarasota. A son reopened his father's 1998 dining room under a new name. A Trinidadian kitchen, an Anna Maria Island chocolatier and a Palm Beach County ice cream parlor have all signed on to the same ring.
Almost every operator refilling the Circle already had a foothold somewhere. Some had one on the Circle itself. Others had a location elsewhere and treated St. Armands as their next one.
How much the storms emptied
SRQ Magazine's account of the recovery says storm surge and flooding wrecked most of the Circle's ground-floor businesses. Columbia Restaurant and Cha Cha Coconuts took on more than 4 feet of water. Rachel Burns, executive director of the St. Armands Circle Association, told the Business Observer that damage usually stays in one section of the Circle. "We've never had a hurricane season that affected so many merchants," she said.
By late March 2025, 84 of the Circle's more than 100 merchants had reopened. That October, Your Observer reported that about 70% of the Circle's business spaces were occupied. The two figures count different things, merchants open in one case and spaces filled in the other. Both describe the same situation, though. A year after the storms, a sizable share of the ring was still waiting for a tenant.
One closing that set off a chain of moves
Most of the openings since then trace back to a single exit. Here is how it played out:
- Shore, a longtime Circle restaurant, said flooding from the 2024 hurricanes forced its owners to leave Sarasota. It was scheduled to close Dec. 1, 2024.
- Tommy Bahama's restaurant at 300 John Ringling Blvd. could not reopen after storm damage. The brand leased Shore's building at 465 John Ringling Blvd. for a combined restaurant, bar and retail location.
- Tommy Bahama's separate retail store at 371 St. Armands Circle was able to reopen.
- That left 300 John Ringling, Tommy Bahama's home for nearly 30 years, free for Pinchers. It is a 200-seat restaurant from Naples-based Phelan Family Brands.
Your Observer's Nov. 1 roundup of new Circle restaurants called 300 John Ringling "something of a rotation-restaurant moment for the Circle." No brand on that list is new to the region. Tommy Bahama was a Circle fixture already. Pinchers will be the brand's 11th Gulf Coast location, and one of the existing ten is on Lakewood Ranch Main Street.
Who holds each address now
The same pattern shows up on South Boulevard of the Presidents and around the ring.
| Address | Before or during the storms | Now |
|---|---|---|
| 465 John Ringling Blvd. | Shore | Tommy Bahama restaurant, bar and retail |
| 300 John Ringling Blvd. | Tommy Bahama restaurant, nearly 30 years | Leased to Pinchers, Phelan Family Brands |
| 22 S. Boulevard of the Presidents | Le Colonne, founded 1998 | Nonno Umberto, opened December 2025 |
| 40 S. Boulevard of the Presidents | n/a | Flambo, grand opening November 2025 |
| 28A S. Boulevard of the Presidents | Storm-damaged unit, fully renovated | Chocolate Emporium, soft-opened late June 2026 |
| 9 to 17 S. Boulevard of the Presidents | Olivia at No. 9 | Olivia at No. 17 since mid-January 2025 |
| 380B St. Armands Circle | Storm-vacated storefront | Sloan's Ice Cream, planned for Q1 2027 |
Every row shows a foothold at work. Le Colonne's founder, Umberto Salustri, decided to close after the 2024 hurricanes. His son Simone Salustri and Simone's wife, Amber Mayner, started renovating the space in September 2025 and opened Nonno Umberto that December. They named it for the grandfather. The 300-seat room now serves what the couple calls an elevated, contemporary menu drawn from Simone's coastal Italian heritage. Bread and dessert are made in-house, and the whole bronzino comes deboned by the chef. "Our summer was absolutely amazing," Mayner told Your Observer in mid-September.
Flambo, at 40 S. Boulevard of the Presidents, looks like the Circle's one true newcomer. Co-owner Anthony Logan opened the first Flambo in Philadelphia, though, and now runs the 175-seat Sarasota restaurant with his son, Kevin Ramlochan. According to Logan, the most popular dishes are butter chicken in a mildly spiced tomato cream sauce, the crispy Flambo red snapper with pickled vegetables, and Trini drunken rice noodles.
Chocolate Emporium is the second location of an Anna Maria Island chocolatier owned by Kevin and Ruth Schreiner. It was the last of three units to lease at 28 S. Boulevard of the Presidents. The property's owner had fully renovated the storm-damaged building. Le Shop opened there in November 2025 and Acadia Jewels Fine Jewelry & Design followed in January. That building went from storm-damaged to fully leased by June.
Olivia never left the Circle. Owner Annika Sandstrom had spring merchandise on the way after the storms, so she moved a few doors down from 9 to 17 S. Boulevard of the Presidents, where she could reopen sooner, and reopened in mid-January 2025. She has owned the boutique for 38 years.
What the refill does to the mix
When storefronts go to operators with proven concepts, the Circle ends up with a lot of the same kind of business. The clearest case is sweets. Longboat Key News reported that the Circle already had these shops:
- Kilwins, on the Circle since 1985 as the company's first Florida store. It rebuilt after nearly a year dark following the storms and reopened in late summer 2025.
- Ben & Jerry's
- Settimi's Gelato
- Big Olaf
- River Street Sweets
- Chocolate Emporium, hand-scooping ice cream alongside truffles, Key lime confections and a bacon-and-caramel bark sold only at its St. Armands shop
Sloan's Ice Cream would make seven sweets vendors in a ring the same outlet says takes 10 minutes to walk. The West Palm Beach brand has taken 1,450 square feet at 380B St. Armands Circle, a crosswalk corner a couple of doors from Ben & Jerry's. It plans to open in the first quarter of 2027, and the shop will be the chain's first on Florida's west coast. The franchisee, Sohrab Khadivian, lives in Sarasota. David Wild, Sloan's director of franchising, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that the Circle is "one of the highest trafficked tourist areas in the entire state," as Longboat Key News reported in its story on the Sloan's lease.
Burns presents this concentration as opportunity. "There's a lot of opportunity for small restaurant owners to find a niche for something original," she told Your Observer. She also said Florida seafood is one of the requests she hears most from visitors. That ties the choice of Pinchers for the old Tommy Bahama address to what people walking the Circle ask for. The same report says more boutique-style eateries and businesses are on the way, a coffee and dessert shop among them.
The anchors that came back in place
The longest-running names did not need new addresses. Columbia, a Circle landmark since 1959, flooded alongside Cha Cha Coconuts. Fifth-generation owner Casey Gonzmart's team rebuilt with sturdier materials such as cement board, and both restaurants reopened within five weeks, according to SRQ Magazine. SRQ also reports that Le Macaron French Pastries reopened in its St. Armands shop after taking on more than 3 feet of water from Helene.
The center of the ring has been rebuilt too. The City of Sarasota says its crews planted 30 new trees and 4,600 shrubs, annuals and groundcovers in and around Circle Park. They chose plants partly for saltwater tolerance and limited need for irrigation. Crews also restored sidewalks and lighting and added new light bollards around the Circle. The city puts the work at an estimated $500,000 and has applied for federal reimbursement.
Seeing the new lineup on Dec. 4
Holiday Night of Lights is the easiest night of the season to see the whole rotation in one walk. The St. Armands Circle Association lists its 48th annual Holiday Night of Lights for Friday, Dec. 4, 2026, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. A loop on foot can cover dinner at Nonno Umberto or Flambo on South Boulevard of the Presidents and dessert at Chocolate Emporium, which keeps 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours. From there it's a short walk past 300 and 465 John Ringling Blvd. to see where the chain of moves started. Nonno Umberto seats 300 and Flambo seats 175, so a reservation is the simplest way to lock in a table before the lights come on.
When the shops and restaurants on the Circle change hands, the homes on Lido, St. Armands and the nearby keys start to look different to buyers. Shane Lewis tracks those shifts address by address, and if you own nearby, he can show you how today's Circle factors into your home's value. Get Your Instant Home Valuation.
