Chiles Hospitality Sells Mar Vista and Two Other Beachfront Restaurants

Longtime Manatee County restaurant owner Ed Chiles has sold his three beachfront restaurants and other components of Chiles Hospitality, the company he founded 45 years ago.

The portfolio, which includes Sandbar Seafood & Spirits, Beach House Waterfront Restaurant, and Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub, has been acquired by Beachside Hospitality, a Pinellas County restaurant group managing 13 restaurants across eight Florida cities. The deal also includes Anna Maria Bake House and Chiles Hospitality’s events department.

The financial terms of the acquisition, set to close on July 29, have not been disclosed. Colliers International represented Chiles Hospitality in the transaction.

Chiles Hospitality’s 350 employees have been asked to continue in their current roles. Beachside Hospitality plans to keep the businesses open and operating as usual.

Ed Chiles, son of former Florida Democratic Governor Lawton Chiles, will continue to operate Gamble Creek Farms, a 26-acre organic-certified farm in Parrish that supplies restaurants and wholesales through a farm market. He will also remain active in promoting sustainable projects and environmental causes he is passionate about, and he plans to spend more time with his family and new grandson.

“This has been a difficult decision, but I know it’s time for me to move on,” Chiles said in the release. “I am passing the torch to new owners who understand the value of our employees and who will carry on the legacy that our team has built together. I leave knowing that the work our team has done together is one of the greatest experiences of my life, and we have made a measurable and positive impact in our community.”

Beachside Hospitality Group, with over 20 years of experience in the restaurant business, is venturing into Manatee County for the first time. The group operates six restaurants on Florida’s east coast, from St. John’s to St. Lucie counties, and six more in Pinellas County, including Crabby’s Bar & Grill and Crabby’s Hideaway in Clearwater, Crabby’s on The Pass on Treasure Island, and The Salty Crab Bar & Grill in Fort Myers Beach.

Chiles founded Chiles Hospitality in 1979 with the purchase of the historic Sandbar restaurant in Anna Maria. Mar Vista was added in 1989, and the Beach House Waterfront Restaurant, located on 650 feet of gulf-front beach, was acquired in 1993. Anna Maria Bake House was established in 2018 as a scratch-artisan bakery within the Beach House.

“I have had the pleasure of watching our businesses grow and getting to know the generations of families we have served,” Chiles said. “I took a beat-up restaurant in a great location and built it into a world-class hospitality company, one that I believe has and will continue to truly make a difference.”