Lakewood Ranch Main Street Trattoria says 'Cheers' to its five-year anniversary
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- If you remember Sam Malone and Diane Chambers and couldn't wait to watch the popular TV series "Cheers" about a bar where everyone knew your name, you may want to stop in at Main Street Trattoria in Lakewood Ranch.
Popular among Lakewood Ranch locals, and boasting one of the better indoor/outdoor bars and dining areas with a seven-day-a-week happy hour, MST is celebrating is fifth year in business with new, modern menu selections that preserve its classic Italian heritage.
"This is like my 'Cheers,'" said Lisa Cappiello, one of the original patrons of Main Street Trattoria who said she has enjoyed the outdoor dining time and time again with her family.
"They always make you feel welcome. The food is great and the staff is unbelievable. It's a place you can come and sit and feel comfortable," Cappiello said, savoring a white wine and pasta with fresh tomatoes on Thursday afternoon.
Owner Gary Fennessy opened Main Street Trattoria, an independent establishment in the heart of Lakewood Ranch's shopping district, in August 2010, after he and his family relocated from Morristown, N.J., where he had owned a successful Italian restaurant that singer Tony Bennett patronized.
Fennessy, who has worked in the restaurant industry for more than 35 years, but soon felt the calling to return to the restaurant business and chose Main Street as the place to do it.
"I find being in Lakewood Ranch, especially on Main Street, there are so many people who want you to succeed. Things are a little less bureaucratic than up North and things get done quicker. Here, they embrace your uniqueness and they encourage you to be a little a different. That has been quite enlightening to me," Fennessy said,
adding he had envisioned great things for Main Street, although most of the area around his restaurant was vacant when he leased space to start his trattoria.
"It was a little bit of a risk, but this street had a certain change of heart during the recession. When I moved in, the stores had more of a family attitude and appeal. This was very important to me since we try to be a part of the community. Half my restaurant and bar is outside, so we also strive for that Florida outdoor appeal and people enjoy it," he said.
Fennessy likened his restaurant to a Broadway show: It's not only the performance -- the food, he said -- it's the ambience, the airy, art-lined interior, the service, and the piano and guitar music offered daily by two local performers who play during happy hour from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"We're kind of the happenin' spot on Main Street," said restaurant manager Lyndsye Anderson, who began as a server when Fennessy first opened for business.
To celebrate Main Street Trattoria's fifth anniversary, Fennessy has partnered with the restaurant's head chef, Justin Sears, to create "fresh" (his mantra), new offerings, such as a tomato and goat cheese bruschetta served with mushroom and pistachios, duck prosciutto with pear bruschetta, and rich gnocchi (potato dumplings) with lamb ragu.
"It's nothing too, too out of the ordinary for the Italian scene in Sarasota, and so far, the response has been good," Sears said as he readied for the dinnertime crowd.
For patrons like Mike Gregory, who moved to Lakewood Ranch from New Orleans seven years ago, there's no other place for pizza than Main Street Trattoria.
"You take all the pizzas that are out there. I can't tell you how good the pizza is here. It's better than anything else around," he said.
Kathryn Moschella, Lakewood Ranch reporter can be reached at 941-745-7010. Follow her on Twitter @MoschellaHerald.
This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch Main Street Trattoria says 'Cheers' to its five-year anniversary ."