- June 16, 2025
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Many Longboat Key residents shared their sorrow upon hearing that Euphemia Haye, a global fine-dining restaurant that had been serving a devoted clientele for more than 50 years, closed abruptly in late April.
Rachel Ghormley especially felt the loss, considering her parents held their wedding reception there in 1982. A couple that own and ran the restaurant for decades even babysat for a young Rachel Ghormley.
"I have some of my most cherished final memories with my parents here," she says. "We had our last Thanksgiving here with my father. It's been such a special place to me, and that's why it's so important to keep it alive."
Throughout the years, the restaurant remained dear to the family. She remembers visiting as a child and eventually bringing her own baby to the Haye Loft to reconnect with friends.
Anyone walking through the restaurant's multiple dining rooms can feel the decades of local history captured on site, evidenced by the collage of posters hung with care and the wall of wooden wine crates leading diners up to the second floor, which used to be the original owner's living space.
With all that personal history, Ghormley says her husband, Jason, decided something needed to be done to save the restaurant.
"I broke down in tears when I got the news" that it had closed, she says "and he simply said, 'Let me get to work."
Less than a month later, Euphemia Haye is back in business. The Ghormleys bought it and reopened the restaurant May 23. Financial terms of the sale weren't disclosed. The couple, who has lived at least part-time on Longboat since 2020, also bought a condo at the St. Regis Longboat Key Resort for $13 million in October 2024, Sarasota County property records show. Jason Ghormley is a founding member of Tampa-based Hydrologic, a plumbing and lighting supply company with locations around Florida, including Sarasota.
Ghormley jokes her husband hasn't seen the kids in a month, but the hard work has been worth it to save a place that is special to residents throughout the Key as well. She says their support has been "overwhelming" during the reopening.
The restaurant has only changed hands a few times over the years. Leslie “Les” R. Buntin originally opened Euphemia Haye in 1975, naming it after his grandmother.
Ray and D'Arcy Arpke assumed ownership in 1980, and longtime employee Amy Whitt purchased it in late 2021. The Ghormleys recently purchased both the restaurant and the wider property. "I grew up in the Village and went to Anna Maria Elementary," Ghormley says. "Actually, Ray and D'Arcy babysat me. This is a very full-circle moment."
Rachel Ghormleys says they don't plan to change the restaurant, though they will likely make minor updates to the wine offerings, specials and other details. She's also eager to explore what else the restaurant can offer to the community — such as spearheading a Longboat Key food and wine festival.
"Our goal is to honor the legacy of Euphemia with renewed energy and love," she says.
While this is her first foray into restaurant ownership, Ghormley says she learned about the food industry when her father ran the Old World Cheese Shop in Bradenton. And she also appreciates support from longtime staffers, one of whom texted her when the restaurant closed.
Billy Riley has worked at Euphemia Haye for years, remembering when it held only seven tables. He says the staff always considered it a compliment that many restaurant workers throughout the Key would come to Euphemia Haye for their own post-shift meals.
"After we served dinner, we would erase the chalkboard and put up a late-night menu for people from other restaurants who came here," he says. "That was a really fun time."
With Riley, the restaurant has 34 employees, all of whom worked there when it temporarily closed, or returned. Guest Relations Manager Georgette Young, who left in September, and a chef who left two years ago, have both come back.
In addition to returning employees, Rachel Ghormley says to keep an eye out for the return of live music nights and some special events celebrating the restaurant's 50th anniversary later this year.
This article originally appeared on sister site YourObserver.com.
