VERO BEACH — They say it is a place where Vero Beach goes for the good life. Well, life just got a lot better at Chelsea’s on Cardinal.
And it comes in the form of crisp lettuce wraps, decedent chocolate and a plethora of other foodies’ favorites now that the island mainstay gourmet market, bakery, deli and café is expanding.
Over the next few days, customers will find that the space once occupied by a floral shop in the northern section of Chelsea’s has been turned into Chelsea’s Bar Times 4.
The café’s bar, once in the quaint bistro-style area of Chelsea’s, will feature a taco and wrap bar, a salad bar and a dessert bar, thus giving it the name Times 4.
To make it happen, owner Scanlan Buckley and crew have moved some coolers to give more space for the bar-themed expansion.
“Everyone is looking for something that is new and fun,” she said. “I’m so excited for the season. I’m really so excited; probably more than I have been in for a long, long time.”
Chelsea’s, once an 11-room hotel, has been an island favorite for 26 years.
Buckley, a former magazine publisher in Manhattan, has run Chelsea’s for 13 years. She made the decision to get out of New York after she was seriously injured in a car accident on Madison Avenue.
Her convalescence time away from her job allowed her to reflect on life.
She then found herself in the South Florida and made her way up the coast in her Miata, landing in Vero after deciding this should be home.
She’s right at home Chelsea’s which offers a large selection of wines, imported cheeses and fresh baked goods along with an assortment of fish, beef, chicken and vegetable dishes and signature sandwiches.
Chelsea’s dry-good and refrigerated shelves are stocked with fine crackers, pastas, jams and mustards and other must-have provisions for those who aim for perfection when dining and entertaining.
Countless customers tell her there’s no place like Chelsea’s.
“That’s the great part of it,” she said.
Buckley’s business model is simple: You have to be relevant and able to give the customers what they want. That’s why she’s bringing back the After Hours.
After Hours transforms Chelsea’s market and deli – which closes at 6 – into an early evening social hour with a tapas-style menu that includes the Scanlan’s Maryland Crab Cake, fresh tuna and Patrick’s baby back ribs among other small plate dishes.
After Hours also offers four different salads and starters that include artisan chesses, olives, jumbo shrimp tempura and the crostini of the moment. Buckley also will feature beer and wine specials.
After Hours will start at 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays beginning in January.
Returning winter residents also will notice another change.
Over the summer, Buckley sold the lease to Chelsea’s Gourmet Wine and Café in the Village Shops. The two-year-old business has been replaced by Coco’s Village Bistro.
Buckley said she received an offer she couldn’t refuse so she sold the lease, giving her more time to devote Chelsea’s Bar Times 4.
If her zeal is like her laughter, her new expansion and the addition of Chelsea’s Bar Times 4 should prove to be a hit with the islanders just as After Hours was last season.
“I want to make people excited too,” she said. “I’m striving for more quality. More excellence. More fun.”