The Breakfast House, a 17-year-old Sarasota institution known for its pancakes and yellow bungalow charm, is moving to a new site near Fruitville Road and Tuttle Avenue after its owner paid $1.15 million for two parcels at 128 N. Briggs Ave.
Owner Wendy Lee Goldberg, who founded the restaurant in 2009, closed on the 1.04-acre property on May 12. It includes a one-story home built in 1956 and a vacant neighboring lot. Goldberg has filed a rezoning application to change the land from Residential Single Family 2 to Urban Mixed-Use 1, according to Sarasota Magazine, which first reported the plans.
Apartment complex would replace entire block
The move is not voluntary.
A proposed 324-unit apartment complex called 1899 Fruitville Road, developed by Franklin, Tennessee-based Bristol Development Group, would replace the entire block where the restaurant currently sits at 1817 Fruitville Road. That project covers 3.44 acres and 22 parcels and is undergoing administrative review because the site is already zoned Downtown Edge. It first appeared before the city's Development Review Committee on March 18 but did not receive partial sign-off, and the development team must return at a later date.
Renovation plans and rezoning timeline
"We don't want to be in a plaza," Goldberg said at a community workshop on the rezoning held Wednesday at Selby Library. "We want to be in a house."
Goldberg plans to renovate the 1956 home into a larger restaurant, expanding from 78 seats to about 110. The new layout would include a dedicated six-foot pancake griddle, a coffee and juice bar, a separate prep kitchen, four bathrooms instead of two, and a covered veranda converted from the existing carport. Parking would stay on-site, with a circular driveway designed for accessible drop-off.
The city of Sarasota puts the initial rezoning cost at approximately $9,128. Goldberg told workshop attendees she plans to handle much of the application process herself. She estimated the rezoning could take four to six months.
Her target: close the original location around Jan. 2, 2027, and reopen at Briggs Avenue around Jan. 15, 2027.
A bigger vision: Sarasota Bungalow Village
Goldberg isn't thinking only about her restaurant. She and four neighboring business owners displaced by the same redevelopment are exploring a concept called the Sarasota Bungalow Village, which would cluster their bungalow-based businesses around a community green on the Briggs Avenue property.
The five businesses: The Breakfast House; Siegfried's Restaurant & Biergarten (René and Kim Zimmermann); the Artful Giraffe art studio and gallery (Tessy and Timothy Craig); Discover Sarasota Tours (Tammy Hauser); and the Cookie Cottage (Cathy Vande Mheen).
Goldberg was careful at the workshop not to oversell the village concept, saying her immediate priority is securing the rezoning for the restaurant alone.
The fundraising campaign carries a $2.43 million total goal split into three phases, starting with $250,000 for project development and entitlements. As of Thursday, the campaign had raised $4,330. The businesses are not organized as a nonprofit, which Goldberg said limits their access to foundation funding.
One bungalow has already been offered: a home at 1716 10th Way owned by Sarasota Motor Club founder Scott Stevenson, who plans to donate it and put his demolition savings toward moving it to the new site.
What's next
The rezoning application is the first step. Even if approved, a site plan and additional development approvals will still be required. No city hearing date has been publicly scheduled. Residents can track the application through the city of Sarasota's Planning and Development Services Department.
