Power Lunch: Simon's Coffee House

Restaurant: Simon's Coffee House

Address: 5900 S. Tamiami Trail

Phone: 941-926-7151 or 941-922-2500

Website: www.simonstogo.com

Lunch guest: Jess Fronckowiak, president of Venice-based J2 Solutions, a general contractor. Firm's projects include tenant improvement and work in retail, medical office, dental and restaurant/food-service sectors.

Reservations: Not required.

Parking: Plenty available in shopping center.

One-hour lunch test: Passed.

See and be seen: High. There's a sizable chunk of regulars, from retirees to a group Simon's manager Travis Kirby calls “tennis moms.” Lunch hours in season are filled nearly every day.

Privacy: A few tables in the back are good for private conversations. But just about every part of the restaurant is loud during lunch rush.

Ambiance: Local corner eatery meets strip mall, with an everyone-knows-your-name vibe. The wait staff is friendly and fast, and chummy with customers. Decor is bright, airy and beach-themed, with a colorful chalkboard of daily specials.

Food: Menu includes multiple whole foods and organic ingredients. There are also juices, wheatgrass and health shakes, in addition to six soups every day. Gluten-free choices are available, and so is soy, rice and almond milk. Coffee is a blend of in-house beans. Regular lunch menu is diverse, and includes hot-pressed paninis, vegetarian paninis, vegan paninis and vegetarian burgers. Cold sandwiches and at least six kinds of salads are also available. Lunch items range in price from $8.75 to $10.95.

Ownership: Simon Kirby, a British native who served in the military in his homeland, opened Simon's in 2001. He was in the restaurant business in England, and also in Clearwater Beach after he first moved with his family to the States.

Simon Kirby has expanded the location three times since he first opened, all for increased demand. The current season, says Travis Kirby, Kirby's son and the day-to-day manager, has been one of its best ever. “We've been knocking it out of the park,” the younger Kirby says. “We've been really busy.”

Simon Kirby maintains an ownership stake in the restaurant and is often around, and his wife, Michelle Kirby, does the bookkeeping. Travis Kirby, 24, has become the front-of-the-house face of Simon's after he worked in just about every other role there over the last five years. “Simon has a massive influence in this restaurant,” says Kirby. “He's taught me everything I know.”