Louies Modern Opens Inside Palm Ave Garage

Follow the steps down from the Palm Avenue Parking Garage from your car, and you will step right into Louies Modern.

To the left, is the Louies Modern Barista Bar, which will open at 7 a.m, Monday, April 8, and in front of you is the outdoor seating and couches serving Louies Modern, creating a chic casual environment without the upscale prices. Keep walking and you'll run into Louies' relative, The Francis—a special event space that also features a private dining room.

It's the way that the Seidenstickers designed the space, working with an empty slate of retail space on the ground floor of the garage that included the former parking attendant station that is now a cafe and bar. Louies Modern opens its doors at 1289 N. Palm Ave., starting with dinner at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Reservations are recommended for Louies Modern, which seats 150.

"We're all super food people who try to create something new in Sarasota," said proprietor Joe Seidensticker, whose father Steve Seidensticker along with Pat Seidenticker and  Jeff Greco owns and operates Libby's Cafe + Bar in Hillview. The Seidenstickers and staff buzzed around Tuesday evening during a test run of the restaurant before Wednesday's opening.

It was less than a year ago — mid-April 2012— that developer Jesse Biter purchased the space from the City of Sarasota for $1.6 million, announcing his intentions to partner with Steve Seidensticker to open a new restaurant. The lease was approved for the restaurant along with the floor plans just in July. (For more details on the financial side of the deal read Name Revealed For Libby's Cafe Spin-Off.)

The Food

The menu took plenty of traveling and eating to put together to figure out what to include. One of those is Danny Meyer's Nuts. It's found under the snack portion at Louies, but really was found at Gramercy Tavern in New York. It's one of Meyer's many renowned restaurants in the Big Apple.

Seidenticker was nuts about Danny Meyer's recipe, and decided to bring it to Sarasota, placing the roasted assortment in a small bowl mixed with cayenne, brown sugar. 

It's quite a diverse, yet simple item on the menu under the snack section. The foods are just meant to have something to munch on while you decide what else you should order, but not serve as a full appetizer. The nuts are also great at the bar as you swig on your beer, Seidensticker added. 

The nuts come hot--so be prepared as you pick each peanut, walnut and cashew up. They're actually pre-roasted and roasted again to get the flavors marinated in, then flashed in the oven before they come to the table, he said.

The nuts' syrup are then built into the Gramercy cocktail, which has a nutty taste along with a sweet flavor among the Bacardi base, garnished with mint.

"When we conceptualize the cocktail menu, we did it by matching ingredients on our menu and building out from there," Seidensticker said.

Whether it's the juicy burger, the pizzerita with pulled pork and crunchy onions, the menu has a lot of options for people, and full plates like a half chicken or even vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Prices are moderate, and as Seidensticker points out, it's at a lower price point than at Libby's Cafe.

"Libby's is highly technically and has top-notch service, and here you're receiving the same great service at a more affordable price," he said.

Menu prices range from $4-$24, for snacks through entrees. Craft beers range from $4-$8; handcrafted cocktails are $10 each and a wine list with glasses $7-$12 and full bottles from $21-$66.

At the Louies Modern Barista Bar, starting Monday people can stop in and grab some breakfast to-go or take a seat while they sip a cup of coffee that each barista will labor over to make to perfect. You won't find any machines filled with 30 buttons to automate your Cup of Joe.

Nor will you find a soda gun—all sodas come in a bottle, ranging from southern favorites like Cheerwine to Mexican Coke, he said.

What you will find though is a vintage Stella Artois tap once the lunch menu starts at 11:30 a.m. The curved tap allows for a  more controlled pour, Seidensticker said.

"The Barista Bar is also a great way to end your night, too," he added, giving people an option for a nightcap or to relax and have a cappuccino.

The Francis

Walk past the Barista Bar, through the Louies Modern dining room (and a quick glance to the open-view kitchen) and you'll arrive at The Francis. 

The Francis is an event/conference center that can host any groups from 10 to 250 people, and has its own customizable menu. 

"We'll cook anything," at The Francis, Seidensticker said.

"For instance [Wednesday], we have an event where we're serving both Indian and American foods," he said.

Beyond weddings and bridal showers, conferences can be held there with state-of-the-art A/V offerings, too.

The Francis actually started hosting events since Feb. 14, he said, and bookings are doing well, with 25 already set for April.

A separate private dining room that seats 18 is available as well.

In all, Louies Modern employs 115 to 120 people and an additional 30 people are brough on for events at The Francis, Seidensticker said. 

Louies Modern and The Francis

1289 N. Palm Avenue 

Louies Contact:

941-552-9688

www.louiesmodern.com 

Francis Contact:

941-552-9650 

www.thefrancisevents.com

Louies Modern Barista Bar

Opens 7 a.m. April 8

Lunch service starts at 11:30 a.m. Monday-Sunday

Louies Modern

Open daily for dinner at 4 p.m. Online reservations offered starting April 8. 

The Francis

Now open and available for booking events. Call or book online.

Who's Louie?

Steve’s father, Louie was a self-taught culinary master who held a shared passion for good food and drink.

RELATED:

• Libby's To Launch Restaurant in Palm Avenue Garage
• Name Revealed For Libby's Cafe Spin-Off