Craving Skyline Chili? Here’s when it will be served in Manatee County

This particular chili has been in the making two years, but Skyline Chili fans won’t have to wait much longer.

Just about 90 days, says owner Joan Zai.

Zai, of Alexandria, Ky., and her partners Susan Wiegele and Amy Groene, both of Lakewood Ranch, have been working about two years on bringing a Skyline Chili to Manatee County.

The new restaurant will be inside the Shoppes at Commerce Park, 4112 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., north of Technology Terrace.

“My goal is to have the restaurant open the week of Jan. 28,” Zai said Tuesday. “We have just started construction on the interior and it will take 90 days to build out.”

In addition to its Cincinnati-style chili — served over spaghetti with a healthy grating of mild cheddar cheese — the Lakewood Ranch Skyline Chili will also serve deli sandwiches, Zai said.

Skyline Chili’s signature spaghetti dish is called “Ways.”

It comes three ways: spaghetti covered with chili, topped with a mound of shredded cheddar cheese; four ways, a three-way with onions or beans; and five ways, a three-way with onions and beans. Spaghetti is also available without the cheese.

Other offerings on the Skyline menu include the Cheese Coney, a hot dog served on a steamed bun topped with chili, onions and grated cheese, the chili cheese sandwich, and the regular chili sandwich.

“We looked and looked for two years for a location in the Bradenton area, and decided that the place we need to be with all the growth is Lakewood Ranch,” Zai said.

Skyline has restaurants in Clearwater, Fort Myers, Naples, Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise, as well as in Cincinnati, Dayton, Lima, and Columbus, Ohio, and in Kentucky and Indiana.

Skyline Chili was born in 1949 when a Greek immigrant, Nicholas Lambrinides, opened his first restaurant on the Cincinnati skyline.

“Since then, Skyline Chili’s Coneys, Ways and table-side service have been enjoyed by generations. Our chili continues to be made from Nicholas’s original recipe, using a secret blend of spices and only the highest quality ingredients. Skyline is dedicated to bringing friends and families together for an experience like no other and we will always be devoted to the American dream of that young man from a small village in Greece,” according to company history.

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 3:54 PM.