Which Manatee County restaurants have closed recently? See the list
The Manatee County dining scene has seen a few restaurants shutter their doors lately.
From a national dessert spot to a local restaurant offering Caribbean flavors, these are the places that closed recently.
Kelly’s Roast Beef
After eight months of opening in Parrish’s Creekside Commons shopping plaza, Kelly’s Roast Beef closed. A company spokesperson confirmed the restaurant is permanently closed.
Its other Manatee County location off University Parkway has also closed. Kelly’s other Florida locations, except for one in New Port Richey, have closed, according to its website.
The Massachusetts-based restaurant brought its 3-way roast beef sandwich, which it claims it invented in 1951, to the area in 2022.
Last May, its second Suncoast location opened a 3,500-square-foot space at 8710 U.S. 301 North.
Rodney’s Jamaican Grill
Locally-owned Rodney’s Jamaican Grill shut down its brick-and-mortar location and downsized to a food truck. The food truck is parked in the parking lot of the closed restaurant, located at 420 67th St. W., Bradenton.
Owner Rodney Williams opened a restaurant in Palmetto in 2016, before starting a food truck in 2022 and then the Bradenton restaurant in 2023.
Jamaican dishes such as oxtail, jerked chicken, brown stew chicken, curry goat and more are offered.
Portillo’s
The popular Chicago-area restaurant didn’t close a Manatee County location. Rather, Portillo’s is no longer listed as a tenant for the Marketplace at Heritage Harbour shopping center.
The chain, which was founded in a Chicago suburb in 1963, is known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and chocolate cake shakes.
Portillo’s filed paperwork in December 2024 for a restaurant inside the Heritage Harbour shopping plaza off State Road 64 near Interstate 75, and was listed as a future tenant on the leasing plan until recently.
The space is available for lease up to 6,250 square feet on the southeast side of the shopping center. The plaza’s nearest restaurants to the previous Portillo’s are LongHorn Steakhouse and a future Chick-fil-A.
Sprinkles Cupcakes
The dessert shop, with its famous “cupcake ATM” vending machine, closed all its locations nationwide on Dec. 31, including its lone Manatee County location, according to The Associated Press.
That shop was located in the Shoppes at University Town Center plaza next to Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard.
Founder Candace Nelson announced Sprinkles Cupcakes, which “she sold to private equity firm KarpReilly LLC in 2012,” according to The Associated Press, was closing nationwide.
Did we miss any? Email reporter Jason Dill at jdill@bradenton.com with any restaurant closings we may have missed.
