Walk the 5000 block of Ocean Boulevard this month and you will pass two storefronts that did not exist a couple of years ago. One sells build-your-own poke bowls next door to Made in Rome Organic Gelato. The other, tucked into the Siesta Center across from Davidson Plaza, sells Turkish döner wraps double-marinated for five days. Both get called "new" in the same breath on local food round-ups, but only one brings new ownership to the Village.
For people who eat in the Village regularly, the distinction offers one way to understand its restaurant mix. The intersection of Ocean Boulevard and Avenida Messina, which locals treat as the Village's front porch, includes several restaurants associated with Above the Bar Hospitality Group. Knowing the ownership can add context when a new restaurant opens here.
Siesta Poke joins an established local restaurant group
According to Siesta Sand, Siesta Poke opened at 5204 Ocean Boulevard and has drawn steady praise from customers for its build-your-own bowls, açaí, and boba. Customers choose a protein (ahi tuna, salmon, or grilled chicken), a base, and a sauce made fresh daily. Katie Spelman, who works with the company behind it, told Siesta Sand that the concept lets customers design a bowl "more than 1,000 ways."
Here is the ownership detail mentioned in the coverage: Siesta Poke is, as Siesta Sand reported, "the latest restaurant creation of Chris Brown and Mike Granthon." The same two names sit behind the Summer House Steak & Seafood, The Hub Baja Grill, and The Cottage, all a few doors down on the same stretch of Ocean Boulevard and Avenida Messina. Brown and Granthon do business as Above the Bar Hospitality Group, and Siesta Poke adds a new format to the group's existing restaurant portfolio.
That portfolio goes back further than most residents realize.
How two partners built a Village restaurant group
Brown, a Milwaukee native who moved to Sarasota in 1993, and Granthon, who arrived by way of Peru and Washington, D.C., met in 2005 when Brown bought the Beach Club, a bar that has been operating on Siesta Key since 1947. Granthon was already the general manager. They liked working together enough to formalize the partnership the following year, and from there the list of properties grew steadily rather than all at once.
| Year | Addition |
|---|---|
| 2005-06 | Beach Club (operating since 1947) |
| 2008 | The Hub Baja Grill |
| 2011 | The Cottage |
| 2014 | Eight buildings purchased in the Village, including the old Siesta Market property |
| 2018 | Summer House Steak & Seafood opens March 19 |
| 2022 | MVP (My Village Pub) opens in the former Napoli's space at 5200 Ocean Blvd |
| Most recently | Siesta Poke opens next to Made in Rome Organic Gelato |
By 2023, a Your Observer feature on the group noted that five separate-looking establishments at the Village's main intersection all traced back to the same two partners. Granthon has described the strategy in plain terms, comparing the cluster of concepts to a cruise ship where guests can visit a different style restaurant each night without leaving the ship. Their reach extends past Siesta Key too. The group also owns Joe's in Downtown Sarasota and holds an investment stake in Mad Moe's Pub and Grill in Osprey, and Brown separately owns the buildings that house Morton's Siesta Market and Another Broken Egg Cafe on Avenida Messina.
None of that makes Siesta Poke a bad addition. The bowls are good and the format fills a real gap for a quick, healthy option near the beach. That makes it a new option for diners, though not a new ownership presence in the Village.
The döner shop that actually is new
As reported by Siesta Sand, The Duo Döner & Deli, at 5049 Ocean Boulevard inside the Siesta Center, is an independently owned restaurant on this block. It belongs to chef Jakub Skoczylas and his wife Maja Rakowiecka, a husband-and-wife team with no connection to Above the Bar. Skoczylas is a native of Poland whose path to Siesta Key ran through Sweden, Croatia, and the United Kingdom. He has said he worked with a Michelin chef in Sweden before an opportunity brought him to Florida, and before opening his own place he served as executive sous chef at Sarasota's exclusive Founders Club.
That resume shows up on the menu. The döner recipe, Skoczylas has explained, marinates for five days and blends techniques he picked up from Turkish friends in the U.K. with seasoning adjustments from every country he has cooked in. The shop also runs a deli counter alongside the wraps, with coffee, breakfast sandwiches, smash burgers, and paninis, aimed squarely at beachgoers who want something fast without a sit-down wait. Sarasota Magazine named it one of the city's best new restaurants, and repeat visitors on Yelp keep calling out Skoczylas by name in their reviews.
The Duo Döner is run by its owners and adds an independently owned restaurant to the Village's mix. It is one example of the different ownership structures represented on Ocean Boulevard.
"We like the idea of the multiple locations being different. It's like being on a cruise ship with different style restaurants you can visit in one week. It's perfect for tourists. We offer one-stop shopping within walking distance." — Mike Granthon, co-owner, Above the Bar Hospitality Group, as quoted by Your Observer
What sits above the ownership lines
None of this matters to the storefronts this October, when the Village runs its own calendar regardless of who signs the lease. The Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce has confirmed two returning fixtures for fall 2026:
- Scarecrow Stroll, October 1-31, 2026. Participating businesses line their storefronts and walkways with handmade scarecrows for residents to stroll past, vote on, and shop around. The tradition only began in 2025, which makes this its second year.
- Safe Treats for Kids, October 31, 2026, 3 to 6 p.m. Sponsored by the Chamber, families trick-or-treat storefront to storefront across the Village, with balloons marking which businesses are participating. The event had to be scrapped in 2024 while the island was still recovering from hurricane damage, and its return in 2025 and continuation this year is as much a sign of the Village's recovery as it is a Halloween tradition.
Both events are coordinated by the Chamber and welcome businesses across ownership models, including Above the Bar locations and the independently owned business run by Skoczylas and Rakowiecka. They also give residents and visitors a shared way to take part in Village traditions.
Why this is worth knowing if you already live here
Several Village restaurants are associated with the same ownership group, alongside independently owned businesses. Knowing who operates them adds context without changing the dining experience at Summer House or Siesta Poke. The Duo Döner, owned by Skoczylas and Rakowiecka, is one independently owned option.
Whether you are grabbing a döner wrap before a Scarecrow Stroll evening or deciding which corner booth to hit for dinner, getting to know the Village block by block can help you explore its dining and community events. For anyone thinking further ahead about property near this stretch of the island, that same kind of on-the-ground detail is where Bonnie Schiavone spends most of her time. If you want a closer look at what living near Siesta Key Village is really like, block by block, explore the neighborhood guide or reach out any time. Let's Connect.
