After three months in business, Brandon's S Bar has permanently closed.
The young, newly renovated restaurant — which replaced The Rack at 1025 W. Brandon Blvd. but carried on its something-for-everyone mantra — was part sushi joint, part Southern bistro and part speakeasy-style bar. In July, owners Christy and Seth Ronchetti told CL the idea was to offer a new concept to Brandon-area residents, whether they were looking to have a good time with family and friends or celebrate special occasions.
"Everything seems similar out here. We just kinda got the sense of been there, done that, so that's just kinda what we focused on. We wanted to shake it up and do something new, have something new to offer," Seth said.
In a Facebook announcement Tuesday, the Ronchettis cited family reasons for S Bar's closure.
"We are sad to announce that S Bar has closed. We did not come to this decision lightly. This decision surfaced after some very deep soul searching," the post reads. "We are relocating to Illinois where we are needed more there than we are here. At the end of the day family is more important to us than anything else in this world. Although S Bar's time was brief our memories will last forever. The S Bar staff was and is the sweetest hardest working people we have ever had the honor of working with. We will greatly miss seeing them everyday."
They also took the time to acknowledge the diners who've stopped in since the doors opened: "We want to thank every single customer who visited S Bar! We know that everyone has dozens of choices of were to dine, and we were honored each time you chose S Bar. From the bottom of our hearts thank you!"
This article appears in Sep 14-21, 2017.