Bradenton’s iconic The Boiler Room Bar and Grill reopening with new ownership, new name
The Boiler Room Bar and Grill, which was a Bradenton icon at 5600 Manatee Ave. W. from 1984 to 2020, will be returning to the local restaurant scene.
Karen Bell, one of the owners of A.P Bell Fish Co., Star Fish Co. Market and Restaurant and Tide Tables Restaurant and Marina, will be reopening the restaurant with a new name, Bradenton Boiler Room, along with business partner, Josh Wilkinson.
It won’t be the same recipes that the late owner Matt LaVallee used, but the menu will be similar, Bell said.
Although Bell is one of the leaders of the Cortez commercial fishing industry — in 2019 she was named Manatee County Agriculturist of the Year for her leadership of the $11 million Manatee County seafood industry — the menu won’t include seafood.
“We are not planning to introduce seafood at this time,” Bell said Monday but added that eventually there could be seafood specials.
For now, Bell is concentrating on getting the building in shape to reopen. Originally, she was aiming for a Feb. 1 opening, but she is now looking at March 1.
In 2020, LaVallee told the Bradenton Herald that he thought that he might just quietly shut the business down.
But when word got out that LaVallee was planning to close up shop, customers flocked to the restaurant, sometimes lining up for a seat to get one last meal of some of the best burgers and fries or cheese steak in town.
“What a way to go out,” LaValle said at the time. “I have been a resident here all my life. I grew up here and love Bradenton. I am very overwhelmed by all the great people who have shown their appreciation for the many years we have been in business.
“It’s time,” he said of the decision to close The Boiler Room. “I wish everyone a happy new year. My wife and family have been great supporters.”
In 2020, customers told the Bradenton Herald they were saddened to see The Boiler Room closing, citing LaVallee’s community spirit and his great food.
“We come in here like three times a week. I like the bacon double cheeseburger. I have no idea where I am going to get a steak sandwich now. Man, I can’t believe he’s closing,” one customer said.
LaVallee died June 19, 2022, at age 63.
“For many years he was active in coaching football and wrestling at Manatee High School. He never met a stranger and loved living life his way,” his obituary said. “Although he did not have children himself he thought and treated all his nephews and nieces as his own. He will be missed but stories of him will carry on.”
In 1992, a Bradenton Herald columnist took notice of LaVallee’s contributions to local youth.
“LaVallee is the kind of coach who, at his own expense in the summer of 1991, took a van-load of local wrestlers to Appalachian State University in North Carolina for a summer camp,” the writer said.
“I have come to appreciate the efforts of the junior varsity coaches, men like Matt LaVallee at Manatee.”
“For the last six years, LaVallee has contributed his time not only as a coach but also in helping the wrestlers with their academic work,” the columnist said.
This story was originally published January 9, 2024 at 10:00 AM.
