BRADENTON BEACH – Island Time Bar & Grill and the Bridge Street Bistro have new owners.
On Friday, Oct. 13, co-owners Bill Herlihy and John Hardesty closed the sale of their restaurant businesses to Steve Bishop and Ron Fuller, who own Surf Shack Coastal Kitchen in St. Armands Circle and Tampa.
Bishop and Fuller will continue to lease the building from property owner Angela Rodocker. According to Herlihy, the staff, including General Manager Kit Bradman, will be retained and business will continue as usual for the foreseeable future.
Herlihy and Hardesty bought Bridge Street Bistro on Jan. 31, 2011, and opened Island Time later that year on July 4. After 38 years, Herlihy will take a break from the restaurant business, but he and Hardesty still own and operate the Island Time Inn across the street; and Herlihy and his fiancée Cheryl Douma plan to get married in the coming year.
“I’ll be able to relax and go fishing now that I don’t have a three-story restaurant to run. I can watch my little hotel and enjoy the Island myself,” Herlihy said on Saturday.
“The city and the police department have been great to work with. I want to thank Barbara and Angela Rodocker for the opportunity, and thanks to all our customers for making us a huge success. I’m sure Ron and Steve will continue that success, and I wish them all the best.”