Food truck-turned-restaurant to open second Sarasota location

A restaurant that traces its origins to a popular food truck will establish its second brick-and-mortar location soon, this time at University Town Center in north Sarasota. 

Florence and the Spice Boys, which serves up Middle Eastern fusion cuisine out of one location in south Sarasota, plans to open a new restaurant on Cattlemen Road this fall, according to a spokesperson for Benderson, developer of UTC, a fast-growing retail area just west of the University Parkway exit of Interstate 75.

The Spice Boys started in 2019 as a food truck, which was so popular that in March 2023 the owners decided to open their first location — Florence and the Spice Boys — in The Landings shopping center in south Sarasota. (East Manatee County-based Benderson Development is also the landlord for The Landings.)