Restaurant executive takes detail-oriented, ignore-the-obstacles approach to new venture

Brad Blum sat in one of the private rooms at Bravo Italian Mediterranean in Sarasota soon after the ribbon cutting that marked the unveiling of the new restaurant concept.

The door was closed, but that didn’t stop a woman from walking in, looking around the room and telling the chairman and CEO of FoodFirst Global Restaurants that she was hosting an event for 30 people there the next day. She also told him she might need it arranged differently.