Longboat Key's North End Is Rebuilding Itself Inside Buildings Someone Else Left

On Oct. 1, Samantha Spontak stood outside an empty storefront in Whitney Plaza and looked through the windows. As she described it to Your Observer, she could already picture what the room would become. Contractors were already working inside. Until August, the space was the Elegant Lady Cheesecake Parlor, the Hollywood-themed sweets shop many north-end residents knew.

A short walk south on Gulf of Mexico Drive, a restaurant built inside an old Chevron station is asking the Town for permission to take over the vacant bank next door.

The north end's next set of everyday places is going into buildings someone else left behind, and each move-in runs on its own clock. The storefront is racing a crowdfunding deadline and the end of October, while the bank building waits for a Town Commission agenda that hasn't listed it yet. If you know which clock applies to which building, you can tell what will open this season and what is still on paper.

Three Buildings, Three Former Lives

All three buildings sit on the same short stretch of road. Whitney's set the pattern six years ago.

The Gas Station That Proved the Model

Whitney's opened on Jan. 20, 2020, at 6990 Gulf of Mexico Drive. Four partners redeveloped the former Chevron station: David Benstock, James Brearley, Jose Chichande and Joseph V. Chillura. Your Observer's opening coverage described casual beach styling, a bodega, freshly made food, all-day breakfast and tacos. It also noted that the owners kept some of the station's original features on purpose instead of hiding them.

Those details explain why the place works on the north end. The building still looks like a gas station. With all-day breakfast and a bodega counter, it handles quick, ordinary stops as well as sit-down meals.

The restaurant seats 70 today. The expansion would take that to 200.

The Bank Building and the Zoning Label It Carries

Whitney's owners bought the vacant former bank and its 0.69-acre lot next door in October 2025. According to Your Observer, the plans include an outdoor seating area, a commissary kitchen, restrooms, storage and cooler space. The zoning application states that the project would provide 51 parking spaces.

Before any of that can happen, the land needs a different label. The Sept. 15 Planning & Zoning Board agenda listed two separate requests for 6960 Gulf of Mexico Drive:

• Future land use: change from Office-Institutional to Highway Commercial
• Zoning: change from Office-Institutional to Highway-Oriented Commercial

The applicants argue that the office designation is what has kept the building empty. Project architect Bob Rokup put the question to the board directly, as quoted by Your Observer:

"The office designation didn't appear to have legs. It's been empty for a long, long time, and I think what we're proposing would be a positive addition. The fundamental planning question is does it make more sense to preserve this unsuccessful office designation on a long vacant property or allow it to integrate with a successful restaurant that's up there now?"

Town staff recommended approval, and the board voted unanimously for both changes. A nearby property owner and former board member spoke in favor, and no one from the public spoke against it.

The one concern raised was noise. Board Vice Chair Jay Plager said the neighbor feedback he had heard was overwhelmingly positive, with noise as the only worry. He proposed a condition banning loud music and sound amplification in the outdoor area. Town Attorney Maggie Mooney said the zoning amendments were the wrong place for that condition, but that it could be attached to the site development plan later. Anyone who lives within earshot of the corner should watch for that site-plan stage. That is when the rules for the outdoor area will be set.

Why the Expansion Is Still Months From Happening

The Planning & Zoning Board only recommends. These are the steps still ahead:

1. The Town Commission votes on the two ordinances for land use and zoning.
2. If both pass, the owners submit a site plan to the Town as a separate application.
3. The Planning & Zoning Board reviews that site plan and makes a recommendation.
4. The Town Commission votes on the site plan.

Rokup said after the September meeting that he had not finalized detailed plans and wanted the zoning settled first. The Town Commission's amended Oct. 5 agenda did not include the Whitney's ordinances. That meeting's quasi-judicial items were about the Town Center library. As of Oct. 12, no Commission hearing date has been published. Until the remaining approvals come through, the bank building stays as it is.

The Storefront on a Faster Clock

Market on Whitney is moving much faster. Spontak spent seven years as a cheesemonger and later manager at Sarasota's Artisan Cheese Company, which closed in September. She told Your Observer that she learned about the Whitney Plaza space through a friend, and that the decision "really came about in days." She attended culinary school in Connecticut. She also helped open Zoës Kitchen, a former Bradenton restaurant, which gave her experience launching a food business before this one.

Cheese will be on the shelves, but it won't be the main focus. "My vision for Market on Whitney is a small, general store vibe," she told the paper. "Think specialty grocery. I'm a baker, so we'll also do small-batch baked goods and offer specialty cakes as well." Her plans include:

• High-quality cheeses and grazing boards
• Goods from nearby jam makers, beekeepers and potters
• Small-batch artisan products such as Scottish biscuits, sourdough pastas and wines
• Her signature brown butter salted dark chocolate chunk cookie

A specialty grocery fits the same need Whitney's filled in 2020. It is a nearby place for small purchases, such as a board for guests or a cake for a birthday. Spontak said people stop by while she works to ask what is going on, and that some have told her, "We need that here."

The Dates on This Season's Calendar

The opening hinges on two dates close together. The first is the Market on Whitney Kickstarter, an all-or-nothing campaign with a $20,000 goal and a deadline of 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. When the page was captured, it showed $14,579 pledged by 49 backers. That was a snapshot, not a final result. Spontak has said the shop will open whether or not the campaign reaches its goal.

The second is the soft opening, which she is aiming for before the end of October, ahead of the busy season. As of Oct. 12, no opening date has been announced.

The Same Pattern Farther South

The north end isn't the only part of the island filling its empty spaces this way. Sips, the coffee shop that has operated in Whitney Beach Plaza since 2023, should not be confused with Whitney Plaza. In January, its owners announced plans for a second, smaller location at 3172 Gulf of Mexico Drive, in the former Turtle Coffee Bar space. According to Your Observer, Turtle Coffee Bar closed after extensive damage from Hurricane Helene. The second Sips was planned to focus on coffee, smoothies, juices, acai bowls and baked goods.

In each case, the vacancy itself made the new business possible. A gas station, a bank, a cheesecake parlor and a storm-damaged coffee bar each left a space behind. Market on Whitney is moving from announcement to a targeted opening in a matter of weeks. The bank building still needs a Commission vote on its zoning, then a site plan reviewed by the Planning & Zoning Board and approved by the Commission, before work can start.

Cindy Fischer has watched the north end change since she moved to Longboat Key in 2002. If you want to know how the Whitney's expansion or the next storefront turnover could affect the street near your home, Cindy Fischer can help. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.