When it reopens for business in October after a two-month renovation, island fine-dining restaurant The Tides will begin serving Sunday brunch and weekday takeout lunches to its loyal customers.
The Planning and Zoning Board of the City of Vero Beach approved the restaurant’s request for permission to offer the new services under its existing permits on Aug. 20.
The application, submitted by Tides owner and Executive Chef Leanne Kelleher, got a unanimous 5-0 thumbs up from board members despite concern from nearby business owners that additional traffic generated by the new services will make Central Beach’s long-standing parking problem worse.
The shortage of spaces during the busy winter months and even in the summer these days has been a source of consternation for merchants and a headache for the city for many years. Fixes have ranged from a short-lived shuttle to a bewildering series of changes in how long a car can remain parked before collecting a ticket.
Although she said she likes The Tides, considers it an asset to the city and has no problem with its planned Sunday brunch, neighboring business owner Nancy Cook urged the city to try again to come up with a comprehensive solution to the beachside parking problem.
“We can’t take any more strain on this huge issue of parking,” Cook said. “Every space is really valuable and any pecking away at parking spaces can kill an existing business. If your employees can’t find a place to park, and your customers can’t, they’ll just go somewhere else.”
Kelleher said she does not believe that weekday takeout lunches will create additional parking problems. She said she started offering takeout food during the COVID pandemic when the restaurant was closed. Although the program wasn’t a commercial success, she said it was popular with customers, many of whom walked to the restaurant location from nearby homes.
Kelleher’s bid to offer the new services in addition to her usual evening-only dining was supported by Vero Beach Planning and Development Director Jason Jeffries, who saw no problem with the request under existing zoning regulations.
The only restriction put on the approval, at the urging of Planning and Zoning Board Chairman Jeb Bittner, was that permission was contingent on The Tides continuing under its present management. If the business is sold, any new owner would have to start the application process over again.
Bittner was also concerned about Kelleher’s plan to start a so-called “membership club,” which he said could lead to other establishments in the area converting their businesses to private club use, which is not permitted under present zoning regulations.
Kelleher, who has been running The Tides restaurant for the past 26 years, explained that her club membership won’t cost anything and will only be offered as a “VIP invitation to my best customers” to be able to buy pre-packaged take-out food.
“It’s just a neighborhood-type service I’d like to offer to about 100 members,” she said. “It’s like a market for pay-as-you-go crab cakes or other items – stop by and take home some of our gourmet food.”
Jeffries said he does not expect takeout lunch traffic to increase congestion or create additional demand for parking on Cardinal Drive, where the restaurant is located. Seeing “no adverse effect” on the public due to the new services, he recommended approval of the changes to The Tides operational conditions.
One member of the Planning and Zoning Board said she was confused by the application, since she understood that The Tides was moving to a new location on South A1A next to the 7-Eleven convenience store.
Kelleher said that had been her plan until recently, but she changed her mind and decided to stay at her present Central Beach location because the vintage 1950s converted residence has strong nostalgic significance to many of her regular customers.
A new fine-dining restaurant, Blu Fin, managed by Argentine-born chef Sebastian La Rocca, will open in the fall at the just-built South A1A location, along with a tiki bar and an upscale market for takeout food.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
