SARASOTA - Back in the heady days of 2005, when Sarasota was poised to ascend to one of Florida's capitals of panache, a few names stood as trophies that would signify the region's arrival.

There was Crate & Barrel. There was Cheesecake Factory. There was P.F. Chang's China Bistro.

Five years, a horrendous residential real estate collapse and the worst economic recession since World War II later, hopes for high-end furniture and abundant dairy desserts have largely gone.

But P.F. Chang's may be the exception -- and at a somewhat surprising site.

Under plans filed with the city, P.F. Chang's intends to open a roughly 300-seat restaurant at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Osprey Avenue, just outside downtown Sarasota.

"I don't know that it's among the primary indicators that we're coming out of the recession, though all indicators seem to show we're walking our way out," said John Harshman, president of Harshman & Co. Inc., a leading commercial real estate brokerage firm.

"It certainly demonstrates confidence in our market," Harshman added.

Chang's plans come amid a resurgence of restaurants throughout the region -- following a spate of recession-prompted closures that left darkened more than two-dozen area eateries -- and point to larger economic revival spurred by rising discretionary income and something of a thaw in the recession mentality.

In addition to Chang's, eateries ranging from Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse, on St. Armands Circle, to Square One Burgers & Bar, on U.S. 41 across from Sarasota Memorial Hospital, have signaled plans to open.

SARASOTA - Back in the heady days of 2005, when Sarasota was poised to ascend to one of Florida's capitals of panache, a few names stood as trophies that would signify the region's arrival.

There was Crate & Barrel. There was Cheesecake Factory. There was P.F. Chang's China Bistro.

Five years, a horrendous residential real estate collapse and the worst economic recession since World War II later, hopes for high-end furniture and abundant dairy desserts have largely gone.

But P.F. Chang's may be the exception -- and at a somewhat surprising site.

Under plans filed with the city, P.F. Chang's intends to open a roughly 300-seat restaurant at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Osprey Avenue, just outside downtown Sarasota.

"I don't know that it's among the primary indicators that we're coming out of the recession, though all indicators seem to show we're walking our way out," said John Harshman, president of Harshman & Co. Inc., a leading commercial real estate brokerage firm.

"It certainly demonstrates confidence in our market," Harshman added.

Chang's plans come amid a resurgence of restaurants throughout the region -- following a spate of recession-prompted closures that left darkened more than two-dozen area eateries -- and point to larger economic revival spurred by rising discretionary income and something of a thaw in the recession mentality.

In addition to Chang's, eateries ranging from Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse, on St. Armands Circle, to Square One Burgers & Bar, on U.S. 41 across from Sarasota Memorial Hospital, have signaled plans to open.

In Chang's case, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based chain's 8,000-square-foot restaurant at 766 S. Osprey Ave. would debut sometime next year if approved, plans indicate.

Chang's, a trendy concept started in 1993 by the same team behind Fleming's Steakhouse and other popular eateries, would supplant a two-story office building that would be demolished.

If completed, the local Chang's would become one of only five new bistros the company is planning for 2011 nationwide.

The closest Chang's to Sarasota is in Tampa, at the Westshore Plaza, though the company does operate an affiliate, a Pei Wei Asian Diner, in a Benderson Development retail complex in University Park, near Interstate 75.

"It's very exciting but it's still very early on," said Dr. Mark Kauffman, owner of the 766 S. Osprey Ave. property. "There are a lot of hoops that need to be jumped through. But it would be a great asset for the city."

Chang's representatives did not respond to requests for comment about the Sarasota eatery.

If Chang's does build at U.S. 41 and Osprey Avenue, it would mark the end of a long and exhaustive local search by the chain.

Over the past six years, at least, Chang's has scouted at least three other sites in and around Sarasota.

In 2004, it considered Sarasota Bayside, the ambitious, $1 billion plan by an Irish group working to revamp 15 acres of waterfront property between the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Hyatt Regency hotel, but that plan died when the housing market crashed.

In 2008, Chang's began focusing on Benderson's equally ambitious University Town Center mall, a 1.7 million-square-foot retail mecca planned to rival some of the biggest -- and most glamorous -- shopping districts in the state. But those plans were shelved, too, by the recession and flagging retail sales.

In between, Chang's considered numerous sites, including the ground floor of the Zenith office tower in downtown Sarasota.

Analysts said the decision to go forward now likely represents a confluence of improving economic conditions, the ability to compare performance with other, related chains, and significant market research.

"The fact that Fleming's is here, and Pei Wei, probably gives them a comfort level," Harshman said. "And Chang's and similar chains identify target markets through demographics years before locating, and Sarasota is no different."

"They had been eyeballing this market for years."

By Kevin McQuaid/Sarasota Herald Tribune

Published Wednesday, November 17, 2010