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The restaurant, best known for its cheesesteaks, opened in the 1980s and is scheduled to reopen in February after being closed for several years.
For those who prefer a great local sandwich that requires both hands and perhaps a cold draft beer to wash it down, Sarasota-Manatee will soon have an exciting new option with a lot of delicious history.
Karen Bell, the unofficial queen of the Cortez fishing village in northern Sarasota Bay, owns the Star Fish Company restaurant and market, AP Bell’s “fish shack” next door, and the nearby Tide Table joint. Also the owner. Star Fish and Tide Tables are two of my favorite restaurants, especially when I’m craving fresh seafood from the Gulf of Mexico. Now Belle is venturing outside of her seafood wheelhouse with Cortez. I couldn’t be more excited.
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Star Fish Company restaurant owner reopens The Boiler Room in Bradenton.
Bell and her longtime employee Josh Wilkinson are reviving the locally popular soul food joint The Boiler Room, which features the cheesesteaks that made the restaurant famous before it closed a few years ago. We plan to specialize in sandwiches. Located at 5600 W. Manatee Ave. in Bradenton, about 11 miles from Starfish Company, he should be ready to welcome guests again in February if all goes according to plan.
“We are modernizing the boiler room while restoring it to its original appearance,” Bell told me. “We want to keep it simple.”
That means you should expect exceptional cheesesteaks, burgers and chicken wings to be served alongside beer and wine in an environment marked by television screens and a single pool table. I remember many times in the past when I visited his boiler room.
So how about a fresh fish sandwich?
“Maybe as a special. I definitely know where you can get it. But not initially, but in the future,” Bell said with a laugh.
The Boiler Room was a popular West Bradenton hangout owned by Matt Lavallee for nearly 40 years
Matt Lavallee opened The Boiler Room in the 1980s and ran the restaurant until it closed in 2020. Manatee Avenue West’s sign says “Home of the Famous Steak Sandwich,” and yes, the main culinary attraction was definitely the cheesesteak sandwich. Pair onions, peppers, and mushrooms with American, provolone, or Swiss cheese for just $9.50. Chicken, ham and veggie options were also a dollar or two cheaper. In addition to cheesesteaks, wings, and burgers, popular menu items included chili, shoestring fries, and “famous onion strings.”
But The Boiler Room was more than just a restaurant, it was a beloved hangout in West Bradenton. Mr. Lavallee coaches football and wrestling at nearby Manatee High School and seemed to know everyone in town, including the children. In fact, it was common to witness generations of Boiler Room regulars.
“I’ve been here since I was born,” Lavallee told me in 2020. They have been great patrons over the years. ”
Unfortunately, Lavallee passed away on June 19, 2022 at the age of 63. Fortunately, in the capable hands of Bell and Wilkinson, Boiler His Room has been reopened and his legacy will continue to live on in Boiler His Room. I’m already counting down the days until I can eat that cheesesteak again.
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Wade Tatangelo is the tickets editor for the Sarasota Herald Tribune and the Florida regional dining and entertainment editor for the USA TODAY Network.please follow him twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at Wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Please support local journalism by subscribing.
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