- February 18, 2026
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A local commercial real estate investor has purchased a well-known Sarasota County bar, two months after another deal to buy it fell through.
Frank Giuffre, president of F&H Properties Sarasota LLC, closed on the sale of 975 Cattlemen Road and its adjoining property for $3.5 million Feb. 10, according to a statement. Over the last 20-plus years, the site has operated as Cock & Bull, Big Top Live and The Parrot Live Tiki Bar & Grill.
Dawn and Howard Hochberg, the property's previous owners, first opened the Cock & Bull in downtown Sarasota in 1997. They moved to 975 Cattlemen Road in 2001 after buying the property for nearly $1.07 million.
For years, Cock & Bull served as an “iconic craft beer bar” there until 2018, according to a statement. Since then, the site has operated under separate management teams.
“As with so many things, the original version really was the best,” Giuffre says in a statement. “Too many things these days are emphasizing the high-end. I think plenty of locals still really want a friendly dive bar where they can relax. That’s always been what Cock & Bull is about. This landmark is staying.”
The Cattlemen Road property includes a restaurant with a bar, an outside seating area with another bar and an outdoor space that can accommodate up to 1,000 people. The restaurant is 5,200 square feet, including the covered deck area, with 2,400 square feet of interior space
In December, a tentative deal fell through between the Hochbergs and the owners of The Parrot Patio Bar & Grill in Sarasota and Manatee counties, who had planned to run a bar and host musical acts at the Cattlemen Road property. Among the complications: the location did not have a business use permit to operate as a live music venue, the potential buyers told the Business Observer. There were also liens on the property, they said.
Issues with permits and fines related to the prior tenants have been cleared up, according to Giuffre, who says live music remains a possibility, but it will be within county regulations and not on the prior scale.
As the new owner of 975 Cattlemen Road, Giuffre is not planning to run a bar there himself. Once he finishes making upgrades, he plans to solicit offers for sale or lease to the next Cock & Bull management team.
Renovation plans call for all new siding, windows, doors, roof and decking. The updates are expected to take four months.
“My goal is just to get the building to where it needs to be while maintaining that fantastic Old Florida charm,” Giuffre says. "Then hopefully there’ll be someone who can run it with the same sense of relaxed joy and camaraderie that the Hochbergs originally brought to the table.”
Giuffre, who specializes in buying and rehabbing commercial properties, also plans to develop commercial properties on the adjoining lot.
Previously, Giuffre restored nearby properties at 963 Cattlemen Road and 1705 Cattlemen Road. In January, he sold a Venice warehouse and self-storage complex after putting $1 million in improvements into the site.
In a 2021 interview about his model for flipping properties, Giuffre told the Business Observer: “What makes a building desirable to me is a building that’s undesirable to everyone else."
