Michelin Star recipient and world-renowned chef Jose Martinez didn’t mince words when Matt Buchanan, president and managing partner of Sarasota Ford, came to him with a big and bold idea.

Buchanan knew Martinez a little, having dined with his wife, Diana Buchanan at the chef’s noted Maison Blanche on Longboat Key on big occasions.

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Buchanan’s plan: create and open a high-end, French-accented restaurant inside the Ford dealership, open only to customers.

“I told him this was a crazy idea, but that I am up for the challenge,” said Martinez.

Buchanan, Martinez and a third business partner in the project, area restaurant consultant Tommy Klauber, took on the challenge. The result is Le Mans Kitchen.

It’s a first of its kind restaurant, a 3,367-square-foot, 38-seat private eatery inside Sarasota Ford.

Le Mans Kitchen is in the front end of the dealership, which faces Washington Boulevard in a high-traffic area just south of Main Street in downtown Sarasota. No other Ford dealership Buchanan knows of has done anything like this. Ditto for any dealership under any other brands. The restaurant has six employees dedicated to it, part of a 220-employee Sarasota Ford payroll.

Le Mans Kitchen, which opens Dec. 11, will be available to Sarasota Ford buyers and their guests, as well as Sarasota Ford automotive service customers. People who purchase or own a Sarasota Ford vehicle will be able to visit anytime and will receive a meal and drink voucher for their first visit. Sarasota Ford automotive service customers will receive a meal and drink voucher valid only for the day of their service.

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In a pre-opening tour and tasting, the trio of leaders behind Le Mans Kitchen talked about both the high-end menu and Ritz-Carlton-like service. On the latter, it’s literal: the chief experience officer at Sarasota Ford, who will help oversee Le Mans, is Mirza Velic, a former lounge and food and beverage supervisor at the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota. Buchanan met Velic there and thought so highly of his customer service skills that he wooed him to a position at Sarasota Ford in 2017, first as director of quality assurance.

Menu items, meanwhile, include Le Mans signature pillow pancakes; crème brûlée French toast; house ground prime burgers; heirloom caprese toast; carefully curated mocktails; milkshakes with a gelato base; and made-to-order coffee, with beans ground per cup. (For obvious reasons, there is no alcohol.)

“This is not where you’re going to get coffee and donuts,” said Klauber, citing typical auto dealership fare.

“We don’t want you to feel like you’re in a dealership,” added Buchanan. “You should feel like you were taken away to another world when you are here.”

The drivers

The hospitality team behind Le Mans Kitchen inside the Sarasota Ford includes:

• Blake Campbell, restaurant manager with experience at The Ritz-Carlton and The Oaks Club, in addition to Sarasota fine-dining star Selva Grill.
• Chef Joel Casillas, who has been cooking in some of the area’s top kitchens.
• Tommy Klauber, who has previously run several restaurants in the area, including Pattigeorge’s on Longboat Key and Polo Grill and Fete Catering in Lakewood Ranch.
• Jose Martinez, Michelin Star recipient and owner and executive chef at Maison Blanche on Longboat Key.
• Mirza Velic, chief experience officer at Sarasota Ford, who has an extensive customer service background and training from high level brands, including The Ritz-Carlton

The project to get Le Mans Kitchen ready for its grand opening took nine months and a multimillion-dollar investment. It replaces the dealership’s former cafe, which was 1,275 square feet. (Other dealership offerings for customers include a 11-seat movie theater and a relaxation room with hydro massage chairs.)

The Ford F-450 Super Duty-sized question is, of course, why do this?

Sarasota Ford, the flagship of three entities under Buchanan Automotive Group, is already one of the largest in the Southeast. The dealership sells about 450 vehicles a month, said Buchanan.

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Other dealerships in the company include Space Coast Honda in Cocoa and Nissan of Elizabeth City in North Carolina. The company’s history goes back to the early 1990s and Buchanan’s father, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, when he bought a Honda and Acura dealership in Ocala. (Vern Buchanan no longer has an ownership stake in the company.)

But with Sarasota Ford sales humming, even amid the auto industry’s challenges — chip supply shortages and inflation, to name just two — why take on this expensive and mostly non-revenue generating project?

Matt Buchanan sums up his why in one word: loyalty.

He seeks to create an atmosphere where people crave coming into Sarasota Ford. Not just for a new car or a truck or a mundane service appointment, but with something like Le Mans Kitchen, going to the dealership becomes a top-of-mind destination. Something to boast about to friends and family. The service department will work on any brand of car, not just Fords, as well. “Growing customer loyalty is everything,” Buchanan said.

One other objective, secondary to customer loyalty, yet still a big deal: to obtain Michelin Star status. A Michelin star for a restaurant is a sought-after industry gold star of top of the top in food and service.

“There’s never been a place where you can say they not only serve Michelin star food,” Buchanan said, “but they can also service and sell Michelin tires.”

If You Go

Le Mans Kitchen. Inside Sarasota Ford, 707 S. Washington Blvd. Beginning Dec. 11., open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, with weekend hours to begin in 2024. Visit LeMansKitchen.com.

This article originally appeared on sister site BusinessObserverFL.com.

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