Trailer Estates
Trailer Estates, FL · LATEST NEWS
Herald-Tribune
amisun.com
Tampa Bay Times
Herald-Tribune
Popular downtown Sarasota restaurant closed following sale after 16 years
While downtown Sarasota comes back to life in early November, a restaurant that has operated in the heart of the city for the better part of two decades has been closed lately, including on a recent Friday night. Bevardi's Salute, a downtown landmark at 23 N. Lemon Ave. perhaps best known for its Mediterranean-style setting and sprawling, light-strung patio filled with customers enjoying Italian cuisine and live music, has changed hands. "The restaurant got sold," owner and founder Laszlo Bevardi told me by phone late Wednesday, Nov. 11. "The new owner is shutting down for remodeling." Bevardi declined to disclose the new owner's identity but confirmed the prime piece of downtown property remains owned by prominent Sarasota businessman and developer Ernie Ritz. The restaurant sits on historic ground at the site of Sarasota's Seaboard Railway Depot, built in 1903 and credited with helping fuel the city's early growth. Bevardi moved with his wife and two daughters from Philadelphia to Sarasota and opened Bevardi's Salute in 2010. In 2021, he became the operator of the city-owned Lido Beach pavilion concession, where he opened Lido Island Grill , serving beach fare, seafood and frozen drinks. "The lease was up, and it was
Bradenton Herald
Palmetto man faces prison time for dumping body into Gulf, prosecutors say
A Palmetto man could soon be headed to federal prison after prosecutors said he dumped the body of a person who died of a drug overdose into the ocean. Matthew Edward Zoladz, 37, pleaded guilty Nov. 2 to violating the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act and the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships , according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Zoladz faces up to 15 years in federal prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2027, according to court records. Federal prosecutors said Zoladz was using drugs with another person on Dec. 7, 2022, when that person overdosed and died. Zoladz then drove around with the person’s unconscious or deceased body in the front seat of his vehicle and recorded a video of the person, according to prosecutors. Investigators said Zoladz never reported the death. The following day, prosecutors said Zoladz was scheduled to work as a deckhand aboard a ship called the Big Dog. Before leaving, he wrapped the body in a black plastic trash bag and brought it onto the boat. Later that evening, Zoladz dumped the bag containing the body into the Gulf, according to an arrest