New restaurant on Holmes Beach is a coffee cafe by day, beer and wine bar by night
Fifty Three Fifty The Pourhouse is a self-described cafe by day, and a beer and wine bar by night.
“We offer a selection of coffee and espresso drinks with fresh pastries and breakfast. In the evening, we have a wide selection of wine and local beers, with an evening pour dinner menu,” the company website says.
Owner Brian Mathae opened Fifty Three Fifty The Pourhouse, 5350 Gulf Drive, in March a year ago, and poured a lot of his personality, tastes and sense of fun into the new business.
It shows in the relaxed, happy atmosphere among guests and staff alike.
“We’re a bit of a niche business,” Mathae, 58, says.
Mathae, a native of Vancouver, Canada, is a CPA with a deep business background, previously serving as an executive with Blue Cross.
He came to Anna Maria Island to visit friends, and fell in love with the place.
“My initial plan was to live here in semi-retirement,” he said.
But he ended up owning four existing businesses: Hurricane Hanks Grill and Bar, 5346 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, Hurricane Liquors, 5344 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, LBK Liquors, 6840 Gulf of Mexico Drive and Chubby’s Lounge, 6858 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key.
While he made some tweaks to those businesses, The Pourhouse is his concept from the ground up.
“This was a chance to have a clean slate and create something that I am personally drawn to,” Mathae said.
If it takes washing dishes and sweeping the floor to make it succeed, Mathae is more than happy to do that as well.
Beverly Kilpatrick is what Mathae calls “the barista extraordinaire.”
Kilpatrick has been preparing and serving coffee and other beverages for two decades.
“I love working here, seeing the people come in week after week. It’s a nice, homey, comfortable atmosphere. It’s real chill, not too loud. We’re calm and happy here,” she said.
A good place to start with The Pourhouse menu is the early eats portion: everything from avocado toast to brown sugar banana French toast to a smoked salmon bagel to the What Came First Quesadilla. The What Came First is so named because it contains chicken and egg, get it?
Also notable on the breakfast menu is chef Matthew Grossman’s signature 88Mike sandwich. An Army veteran who drove trucks while in uniform, Grossman named the sandwich after his military occupational specialty (MOS): 31M. For the record, the 31M includes a sausage patty, egg patty, pepper jack cheese and cheddar cheese, topped with spicy pepper and bacon jam on a bagel.
Rounding out the breakfast menu are croissants, muffins and cookies baked in-house as well as cheesecake from Anna Maria Island’s own Cheesecake Cutie and pies from Mike’s Pies in Tampa.
Also offered are a variety of 16-ounce smoothies, dips, and greens and things. Among them: wasabi Caesar salad, a tuna poke bowl and more.
There are also roast beef and grouper sandwiches (and more) and a variety of flatbreads. Nothing is fried at The Pourhouse.
The restaurant has an extensive wine and beer selection, what Mathae says are good and interesting spirits that you aren’t readily available at the corner grocery.
The Pourhouse is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, serving food 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-10 p.m.
Beer and wine are served 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
For more information, call 941-251-3681 or visit https://5350thepourhouse.com/.
