Hospitality exec aims to bring people together with St. Pete food hall

Natalia Levey is fond of saying that in the restaurant and hospitality business, you are constantly “fighting for every second” of efficiency. That could be an internal software program that makes it easier for customers to pay checks. Or a kitchen-order system that helps the chef and his or staff communicate better. Or maybe something as simple as a better process for washing wine glasses that saves the bartender time he could devote to chatting with customers. 

That watch every second mentality has driven Levey, a native of Russia who moved to the States in 1999, to some lofty heights in the restaurant business. The Tampa-based company, Hi Hospitality Group, owns and operates four brands in the Sarasota-Manatee area. The list includes a pair of Speaks Clam Bar locations, one on St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, one in east Manatee County; Kojo, a modern Asian restaurant on Palm Avenue in downtown Sarasota that includes the company’s Bar Hana concept; and Palm Avenue Deli, a New York-style deli next door to Kojo. (“Think matzo ball soup that feels like a warm hug,” says the Palm Avenue Deli website, in explaining the concept.)