The Food Network made them stars. Couple now bringing French cuisine to Anna Maria Island
Food Network stars Buddy Foy Jr. and his wife, Jennifer Foy, are opening a new Manatee County restaurant, The Chateau Anna Maria, in mid-December.
The Chateau Anna Maria is replacing Eliza Ann’s Coastal Kitchen in the Waterline Marina Resort & Beach Club, 5325 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.
“Chateau will be French inspired with Italian portions,” Foy said during a phone call from New York. “We are coming to fill a void, not to compete with anyone or poach any employees.”
The couple came to national attention with the Food Network TV Reality Show, Summer Rush, which chronicled the Foys running their restaurant, Chateau On The Lake in Bolton Landing, N.Y.., in competition with restaurants owned by his parents and his brother.
The Chateau Anna Maria will be the second location for the Foys. Their Chateau On The Lake in Bolton Landing received the Top 100 Restaurants in America award.
The family was familiar with the Bradenton area through their 18-year-old daughter, Summer, a soccer player at IMG Academy. Their 14-year-old daughter, Ava, expects to enroll in either Saint Stephens Episcopal School or IMG Academy in January.
Through his brother, who lives in Sarasota, and his brother’s connections, Buddy Foy Jr. learned about the availability of the Eliza Ann space.
“Our second location on Anna Maria Island is an interpretation of our brand with a southern twist,” the couple say on their web site.
“My wife is first-generation Italian, which means everyone must have enough portions. I am French and Irish, which means having a great wine collection is dangerous for me (remember, I am half Irish). Jen and I travel often visiting her family in Italy as well; we love traveling the US. We know how much it means to have great food and a great experience during traveling, we hope you enjoy,” the couple say.
Foy expects The Chateau Anna Maria to open with a VIP event on Dec. 19 and then to the public on Dec. 20. The Chateau Anna Maria will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The restaurant has about one week of renovations remaining, but guests will be able to make reservations soon via Opentable.
“We are giving away a 1975 and 1982 box set of Barbi di Monticello. All people have to do is follow us on Facebook and they are entered to win,” Foy said.
Eliza Ann’s Coastal Kitchen was closed earlier this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew Houghton, managing partner for Mainsail Lodging & Development, said Monday.
“Closing Eliza Ann’s enabled us to rethink the business model,” Houghton said.
Mainsail set out three critiera: the new restaurant would need to have a connection to Anna Maria Island, it would have to respect the community and it would have to use locally sourced ingredients, unless better quality could be found elsewhere, Houghton said.
“We wanted to complement what was here, but also to provide something that was different,” Houghton said.
Ten different groups approached Mainsail with proposals, a list that was narrowed to three, including the eventual operators, Buddy and Jennifer Foy.
“We wanted to raise the profile of the business. Buddy met all three criteria. COVID-19 has destroyed many businesses. But people will be traveling again and Anna Maria Island is a great destination. The Chateau Anna Maria can add to what is here. Buddy is up in a tiny town on a lake in New York. He helped put the place on the map,” Houghton said.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
