Suncoast Dining Guide Launches

SUNCOAST RESTAURANT GUIDE LAUNCHES
Sarasota-Manatee Originals Free Dining Guide Now Available

Sarasota, FL- Michael Klauber, president of the Sarasota-Manatee Originals and co-proprietor of Michael’s On East restaurant, announced today that the greatly anticipated 2005 restaurant guide featuring sample menus from more than fifty member restaurants is hot off the presses and ready for people to pick up. “This is a significant event,” says Klauber, “because a few years ago you couldn’t find five independent restaurateurs who could agree on anything. Now we have over fifty who have not only agreed on this dining guide, but on a comprehensive marketing plan as well—-and the list of restaurateurs keeps growing!” Klauber said that what began as just a few passionate independent owners concerned about losing Sarasota’s culinary heritage and the dilution of flavors unique to the Sun Coast is now a well-funded, unified coalition with clear goals.

“We needed some help identifying our voice in the marketplace,” said JP Knaggs, the group’s vice president and owner of the Bijou Cafe. The Originals chose a local Sarasota company, CAP Creative, which specializes in Brand Development and Brand Management, to assist in developing a long-range plan. “It hasn’t been easy,” enthused Knaggs, “but I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far.”

The colorful Sarasota-Manatee Originals Restaurant Guide is being feted Monday, July 18 from 4pm-7pm with an invitation-only press party at Michaels On East Ballroom. Opici Import Company, importers and distributors of fine wines from Europe and California, will be on hand with a festive and informative wine tasting featuring over 60 different labels. Opici is a corporate member of the Sarasota-Manatee Originals.

The Dining Guide is free and available to the public now at member restaurants and three hundred locations throughout the region.

About the Sarasota-Manatee Originals

The Sarasota-Manatee Originals came into being in September 2003 as a way to celebrate and maintain the heritage and flavors of the independently owned restaurants in the Sarasota region. The upsurge in population growth on Florida’s Gulf Coast attracted the notice of legions of chain restaurants that became determined to grab their slice of the burgeoning dining out trade. With no deference to local culture and a blind eye to regional cuisine, the chain’s number one priority remained the expansion of their bottom line.

Recognizing the economic threat this posed and cognizant of the chain’s deep-pocketed marketing departments, a handful of independent Sarasota restaurateurs decided to organize and work together to protect the heritage flavors of the Sun Coast. The Sarasota-Manatee Originals were born to become Florida’s first local chapter of the Council of Independent Restaurants of America (CIRA). CIRA has chapters in 15 other cities and works tirelessly to preserve a deeply rooted sense of place with commitment to offering the best of local products and indigenous cuisine.

Nowhere is this sense of independence more important than the Sarasota region. Within a twenty-mile radius of downtown Sarasota, there are more Florida Trend Award and Zagat top-scoring restaurants than any other area of the state and every one of this acclaimed coterie is independently owned.

The main goals of the Sarasota-Manatee Originals are:

• Increase the awareness level of local residents and visitors about the location and quality of member restaurants
• Bolster public awareness of the significant social, economic and charitable contributions the Sarasota-Manatee Originals make to the surrounding community
• Educate restaurant goers about the differences between chains and independents
• Improve the economic viability of independent restaurants by combining buying power to obtain pricing levels compatible to those available to national chains

The Originals have roots in the Sarasota region—-many delighting locals and visitors for twenty to thirty years—-and have established a culinary heritage that simply can’t be replicated in the corporate kitchens of Chicago, Los Angeles, or Dallas.

The Sarasota-Manatees Originals have quickly grown from the few nascent visionaries to a 50+ restaurant stronghold. For more information and a list of member restaurants with links to their websites, please visit www.sarasotaoriginals.com.