Sean Murphy to anchor BLVD condo tower retail

Famed restaurateur Sean Murphy, owner of the award-winning Beach Bistro restaurant on Holmes Beach, intends to open a new eatery on the ground floor of the 18-story BLVD condo tower in downtown Sarasota when it debuts in the fall of 2019.

Core Development Inc. President Kevin Daves, who is developing the 49-unit, luxury condo tower at Tamiami Trail and Boulevard of the Arts in Sarasota, made the Murphy announcement during a groundbreaking ceremony on June 26.

“There’s no one else I would open a new restaurant for at this stage,” Murphy says of Daves.

The pair have worked together before. More than a decade ago, Murphy opened a Beach Bistro-styled restaurant inside the clubhouse at The Concession, a luxury golf course and residential community in Manatee County.

In BLVD., where units are priced from $1.7 million to $6.4 million and more than half are reserved, “Sean Murphy’s Bistro” will occupy 7,500 square feet, and include 175 seats and on-site wine storage.

“It’ll have the best visibility of any restaurant in downtown Sarasota,” Daves says.