A former bookstore and cafe on Sarasota's North Trail will soon be replaced by another cafe-style restaurant, this one centered on French cuisine.
Comptoir — The Counter Café will open Monday, Oct. 5, at 2805 N. Tamiami Trail, in the former space of Shelf Indulgence Used Book Cafe. It is in the same Indian Beach Plaza as fellow restaurant Olive Eats, a couple of doors from The Mable Bar & Grill, and across the street from Ringling College of Art & Design.
The new business is co-owned by Cemantha Crain and Gregory Desvenain, who previously worked at the Lakewood Ranch location of downtown Sarasota French restaurant C'est La Vie. Desvenain is from France, taking inspiration for Comptoir from his recent travels and culinary experiences there.
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“When he was there, he kept texting me about all these different awesome places that he was going and the experiences that he was having with some of the food in particular that are trending in France that just haven’t really broken here yet — specific types of sandwich, specific types of dessert," Crain said. "In the course of that conversation, it just kind of hit me that he should really open his own place.”
What food and drink will Comptoir have?
Comptoir will offer a variety of sandwiches, salads, soups, quiches and crêpes. The Le Petit Vendôme sandwich — with ham from the bone, Normandy butter and cornichons (a type of pickle) — shares its name with a Paris restaurant whose jambon beurre (ham and butter) was declared the best sandwich in the world by Time Out.
There will be an in-house pastry chef, and another menu item the owners highlighted is the kouign-amann, which derives its name from words that translate to "butter" and "cake," aptly so given its rich, buttery taste. Comptoir will have its own locally roasted coffee blend, with styles including espresso, cappuccino, cortado and flat white, along with a variety of smoothies.
The cafe will have a beer and wine license and serve both, including the French beer Ch'ti and various French wines, as well as some wine-based cocktails. It will seat around 20-25 inside, which will feature a century-old flag as the focal point of its decor, and about another 20 outside in both front and back patios.
Comptoir will be open 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, call 941-726-3697 or visit thecountercafe.com.
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New French cafe opening in Sarasota with a taste of Paris
