La Cruto’n also has locations in Tampa and Miami
During the regular meeting of the Sarasota City Commission conducted on Nov. 3, Deputy City Manager Patrick Robinson announced that he had just sent the members an update about plans for the new restaurant in Payne Park.
That included a copy of the menu that the business uses for its establishments in other locations, Robinson said, adding, “Looks really good.”
In fact, in an Oct. 29 email to Jerry Fogle, director of the city’s Parks & Recreation Department, Carly Nicholas, manager of Payne Park, wrote, “The menu looks pretty amazing.”
The Sarasota News Leader learned of Nicholas’ remark through materials it received in response to a public records request.
The restaurant is called La Cruto’n. The company behind it, HZIP LLC, has an operation on the first floor of the Hillsborough County Center, according to La Cruto’n’s website, and another location in Miami.
The Florida Division of Corporations says the registered agent for the limited liability company is Ili Umansky of Dania, FL. The company was established in early September 2023, a document shows.
As noted in an Oct. 29 email that Fogle sent to interim City Manager Dave Bullock and Robinson, the tentative plan was to open the café late this month. However, in response to a News Leader inquiry this week, city Communications Specialist Luke Mochaerman wrote that La Cruto’n “expects to open the café in mid-January.”
The procurement part of the process was complete as of June 10, the News Leader learned from a city email included among the public records that it received. The same day, Judy Soenneker, administrative supervisor for the city’s Parks & Recreation Department, notified Fogle, the director, that staff had sent the company “the new vendor packet … and they are officially set up as a vendor with the agreement signed.”
Further, Fogle wrote in a July 18 email to Bullock and Robinson that HZIP LLC “is in the process of renovating the building …”
The contract says that the base fee for the concession license is $1,000 per month, plus 10% of the “monthly gross sales” that the business generates from all operations at Payne Park.
The initial term of the agreement is five years, with two, two-year renewals allowed.
The document was signed on May 22 by Lina Bright, CEO of HZIP LLC, while then-interim City Manager Doug Jeffcoat and the city’s general manager of procurement, Renee Hayes, signed it on May 23.
The restaurant cannot open earlier than 5 a.m., the agreement says, and it “must close” no later than 11 p.m. Further, the document calls for the restaurant to be open “for a minimum of 7 hours per day ( 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.)”
As explained in the Scope of Work for the Payne Park Concession License, the interior of the restaurant encompasses approximately 790 square feet, while the patio comprises about 2,016 square feet. The physical address is 2010 Adams Lane.
In his July 18 email to Bullock and Deputy City Manager Robinson, Fogle explained that the city had issued the bid for the Payne Park Concession License because the people who operated Café in the Park “decided to do something different and did not want to extend their Concession License Agreement with the City.”