Updated: October 2026
Sandbar Seafood & Spirits sits on one of the best known stretches of beach on Anna Maria Island and the site has a history that goes back more than a century. It started as a steamship landing called The Pavilion, became a tavern, and eventually grew into the restaurant people line up for at sunset today.
Most people eating dinner at the Sandbar have no idea how much history is tied to this spot. Before it was a restaurant, the site had several other lives, and some of them were a lot rowdier than toes in the sand.
The Pavilion
The story starts in 1911, when this spot was known simply as The Pavilion, a meeting place for visitors arriving by steamship from Tampa. A diving platform extended 100 feet offshore, and locals and tourists alike gathered here to be near the water.
The Tavern, the Jail, and a Very Florida Punishment
Later, a tavern opened on the same site and barroom brawls became a regular part of island life. To deal with rowdy drunks, the island built its first jail cell in 1927, just down the street. It had no roof, no glass, and no screens, only bars, so anyone locked up for the night faced the mosquitoes and no-see-ums with no protection at all. If you have never dealt with a no-see-um bite, my No-See-Ums on Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide explains what to expect and how to avoid them.
The jail was used for more than a decade, until a fire destroyed parts of it in the 1940s. It still stands today, roofless and doorless, and it earned a mention in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. It also makes a fun photo stop, and it appears in my Best Instagram Spots on Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide.
The Chiles Era
In July of 1979, Ed Chiles and a group of partners bought the site with a goal of honoring its history while building a destination restaurant. Over the next 45 years, Chiles grew the Sandbar into one of the best known names in Manatee County dining, with beachfront seating, a seafood menu, and sunset views.
The look, the landscaping, and the menu changed over the decades, but the site never stopped being a place where people gather, just as it was in the days of The Pavilion.
A New Chapter for Sandbar Seafood & Spirits
In 2024, after 45 years at the helm, Ed Chiles sold the Sandbar and three other Chiles Hospitality properties (Beach House Waterfront Restaurant, Mar Vista Dockside, and Anna Maria Bake House) to Beachside Hospitality Group, a St. Petersburg restaurant company that also runs the Crabby’s chain across Florida.
It was Beachside’s first move into Manatee County, and it ended one of the longest single-ownership runs of any restaurant on the island.
The Sandbar Today
After the 2024 hurricanes, Beachside renovated the dining room, bar, and outdoor spaces. It also added two new features: Beachside Bites, a walk-up breakfast window on the south side of the building, and Sweet Willy’s Ice Cream Shoppe inside the restaurant. The Sandbar offers valet parking and after years of first-come, first-served seating, now accepts reservations. I explain how that works in my Restaurant Reservations on Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide.
Save room for the key lime pie. Sandbar’s version earns its place in my Best Key Lime Desserts on Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide. The crab cakes are worth ordering too and appear in my Best Crab Cakes on Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide, and the fish sandwich is a solid choice as well.
For the full lineup of where to eat across the island, see my Dining on Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide. The Sandbar also appears in my Toes-in-the-Sand Dining on Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide.
I went to school with one of the Sandbar’s longtime general managers, so a visit here has always felt a little personal. Over the years, I have caught live music on the deck, watched weddings at the Pavilion, and stopped into the gift shop more than once. It has a great selection of Sandbar merchandise. The open-air Pavilion on the north side of the restaurant, close to where this story began in 1911, regularly hosts weddings and events, so your sunset dinner may come with a first dance in the background.
During turtle season, you may spot a roped-off sea turtle nest in the sand nearby. Shorebirds are a regular sight along this stretch of the Gulf as well.
One tradition worth knowing before you go is the nightly sunset bell. Each evening, guests on the deck guess the exact time the sun will slip below the Gulf horizon. When it does, a bell rings, the whole deck applauds and the closest guess wins a bottle of bubbles.
The Sandbar also hosts community events in daylight. Every spring, the restaurant holds its Annual Easter Egg Hunt on the beach out back, a tradition dating to the late 1980s that now draws hundreds of families from around the world each year. Kids bring their own baskets and refreshments are served in the pavilion.
Want more real-time tips and honest answers about Anna Maria Island? Join Anna Maria Island Insider, my Facebook group built on one simple rule: real, helpful answers only. Join the group.
Coastal Close
The Sandbar has changed owners, survived hurricanes, and added an ice cream shop along the way, but the best part has stayed the same. Next time you are at the Sandbar, arrive early enough to claim a spot on the deck, make your sunset guess, and save room for the key lime pie. Whatever time the bell rings, you will be sharing the same stretch of sand people have been gathering on since 1911.
If you enjoy stories like this, I share more in The History of Anna Maria Island: My Insider Guide.
— izzy