Ritzy restaurant to get tasty makeover

The Vernona restaurant inside the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota, a popular spot for well-heeled travelers, local executives and the occasional out-of-town celebrity, has served its last meal.

But foodies can have hope: A new restaurant, a modernly designed waterfront fish house, what the hotel calls casually elegant, will take its place early next year. The restaurant is scheduled to undergo an extensive renovation, according to a release. It will re-open, under a name not yet determined, with a new vision, decor and menu.

Vernona opened in conjunction with the hotel in late 2001. It closed Sept. 23. “While a final farewell to Vernona will undoubtedly be a bittersweet one,” hotel General Manager Brad Jencks says in the release, “the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota looks forward to the newest chapter in its evolving culinary story.”