Ford s Garage nears opening of first Sarasota-Manatee location
An eagerly anticipated local restaurant opening, bringing a longtime Southwest Florida dining and drinking favorite to Sarasota-Manatee, is nearing completion.
Ford s Garage, a car-themed restaurant specializing in burgers and beer that opened its original location in 2012 in Fort Myers near Henry Ford s winter home before expanding throughout Florida as well as Michigan and Indiana, will soon open at University Town Center.
Plans are to open by early May, said Marc Brown, president of the Tampa-based 23 Restaurant Services that owns and operates Ford s Garage s Florida locations.
The University Town Center Ford s Garage, across from Dick s Sporting Goods, will be the restaurant s 16th location overall and its first in Sarasota-Manatee. Brown said they had been interested in expanding to the Sarasota area for several years, and have invested an estimated $2.5 million into this location.