Kitchen Social to Open First Florida Location in Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — Kitchen Social, the Columbus-based scratch-kitchen restaurant group founded by Brian O’Malley, is preparing to open its first Florida location at 257 North Cattleman Drive, Unit 81, Sarasota, FL 34243.

O’Malley told Business Debut the team is targeting the first week of February.

What to Expect

The Sarasota restaurant will feature Kitchen Social’s signature indoor-outdoor design, including a large patio, an indoor-outdoor bar and a 40-foot wall that fully opens the space to the outdoors. The location will seat about 145 guests across 35 tables, supported by patio heaters and vapor misters for year-round use.

The concept is designed to be approachable for a wide range of guests. “Everybody feels like they’re in the right place,” O’Malley told Business Debut.

Menu and Vision

Kitchen Social serves a scratch-made menu influenced by Indian, Asian, Mexican and Italian cooking. The brand keeps a focused one-page menu of roughly 34 to 35 items to maintain consistency.

One of the restaurant’s standout items is its house-made cheddar scallion biscuits baked in a skillet with cheddar, scallions, and butter, topped with turbinado sugar and served with honey butter. O’Malley said about 66 percent of tables order them. The team also plans to offer its weekend “cinna biscuit” with cinnamon-brown sugar filling and vanilla cream cheese icing.

O’Malley said the company’s commitment to value is central to its model. “We provide a great experience at a price point that lets people come in once or twice a week,” he told Business Debut. He noted that guests typically spend around $25 per visit.

Experience and Background

O’Malley has worked in the restaurant industry for decades, including time with a company that operated about 18 restaurants in Florida. He told Business Debut those locations performed about 20 percent higher in average volume than the company’s other markets, which informed his decision to expand Kitchen Social into Sarasota.

Kitchen Social opened its first location in Columbus, OH in 2019 and has since grown to two restaurants in Columbus, two in Cleveland, and one in Cincinnati. The Sarasota location will be the brand’s first outside Ohio.

The company is led by four longtime partners who have worked together in various roles since the mid-1990s: Brian O’Malley, Phil Yondalino, Brian Harvey, and Justin Stratford. Yondalino and Harvey oversee the culinary direction, and Stratford focuses on operations. Each partner contributes to menu development and the overall guest experience.

O’Malley said the team’s commitment to quality and consistency has earned the brand strong reviews and top local rankings in its existing markets. “We want to be more than a regional brand, but we’re not going to grow beyond what we can execute at a very high level,” he told Business Debut.

Opening Timeline

Kitchen Social is targeting the first week of February.

Hours

• Monday–Wednesday: 3 p.m.–9 p.m.
• Thursday: 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
• Friday–Saturday: 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
• Sunday: 10 a.m.–8 p.m.

Follow for More

Visit their website