Shuttered Sarasota landmark restaurant sold for nearly $3 million

Nearly a year after closing its doors, the former Café Baci restaurant, a landmark property in a high-traffic part of Sarasota, has been acquired for about $3 million. 

East Manatee County-based Benderson Development acquired the property, at 4001 S. Tamiami Trail, in a $2.8 million sale that closed March 23. The property had been on the market, but under contract, since last May, when the longtime owners shuttered the restaurant. As soon as the last contract was up — with no closed sale — Benderson reached out to the Sarasota broker with the listing, Eric Massey of Michael Saunders & Co. That was in February. 

“We’re going to reimagine the property,” Mark Chait, executive director of leasing for Benderson Development, says.