Developer and landlord left tenants in the dark. Wendy Lee Goldberg jumped into action.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: July 31, 2026
Host: The Historic Downtown Village’s days are counted. But one small business owner wants to recreate something like it one mile east. WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez has the details.
Wendy Lee Goldberg, daughters and renderings of the new Breakfast House. | Photos: Ramon Lopez
Ramon Lopez: For many years, a set of colorful bungalows have faced Fruitville Road in downtown Sarasota. They have housed popular restaurants, namely the Breakfast House and Siegfried’s Restaurant & Biergarten. The one-story buildings from the 1920s and 30s are also home to the Artful Giraffe, Discover Sarasota Tours, the Cookie Cottage and other small businesses.
But the site was sold by their landlord Alex and Marlene Lancaster to a developer who plans to cover the entire block with a 324-unit, five-story apartment building.
Left in the dark by their landlords, the Breakfast House (a family affair), Siegfried’s, and the others now there are waiting to find out when they will need to relocate. They can expect 90 days’ notice but maybe less to vacate.
But Wendy Lee Goldberg, who opened The Breakfast House in late 2009 at 1817 Fruitville Road, went into action. She found and purchased land, also on Fruitville, just a mile east of the current location, for an expanded breakfast and lunch eatery with more parking. An existing house there in need of much work is being renovated.
There’s room for others on the property—her aforementioned neighboring businesses. Her hope is to create a Sarasota Bungalow Village that mirrors what exists today. But obstacles remain.
A rezoning is needed before the new Breakfast House can open for business. It would grow from 78 seats to about 110. The existing carport will become a covered veranda for outdoor dining.
Goldberg said her goal is to close the existing eatery on January 2 and open the new one around January 15. The schedule depends on rezoning and the extensive buildout.
New Breakfast House rendering
The larger question is whether Sarasota Bungalow Village will see the light of day, whether any of the bungalows currently being used are moveable. The same goes for a bungalow owned by Sarasota Motor Club founder Scott Stevenson. He plans to donate it to Goldberg. If all goes well, the house could become the first relocated building in the future village.
Goldberg needs $2 million to make her village dream a reality.
Wendy Lee Goldberg: We started a fundraiser to see if our customers and residents of Sarasota who really want to keep the community village going will help—$5, $10, $100, $1,000. So we’re trying to raise the funds, and that’s why we’re not there yet with the bungalow village, because it’s $2 million we need to raise.
RL: Goldberg is handling much of the application process herself rather than hire a consulting firm. She says city government, especially City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch, has been extremely helpful in helping her achieve her quest.
WLG: They have been very helpful to the best of their ability. There’s guidelines and rules and laws and all that, but the city commissioner—Jen—has been amazing from day one. She wants to help me get some grants going because this is going to cost a lot of money and I don’t have a lot of money. She’s going to help find different grants that help me with the process of rezoning.
The restaurant’s current location at Historic Downtown Village.
RL: Ciara Bloomfield, the oldest daughter of Wendy Goldberg, said:
Ciara Bloomfield: Today, we are working toward rezoning the property toward its future mixed urban use designation, and we couldn’t be more excited about the possibilities. We’ve created an updated vision for the Sarasota Breakfast House that honors everything our customers have loved for the last 17 years while creating something beautiful that will serve our community for generations to come.
This project represents so much more than moving a restaurant. It’s about preserving a family legacy, protecting local jobs, investing in our community and ensuring that the Sarasota Breakfast House continues to be a place where memories are made for years to come.
RL: This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.