The Vue on 30A opens without Sandor (PHOTOS)
The newly renovated and re-decorated Santa Rosa Beach Club is ready to reopen as the Vue on 30A, but without its much-heralded chef who oversaw the redo of its kitchen.
The club’s membership held appreciation dinners March 14 and 15 to show off the restaurant’s new look and allow members to sample the food of the restaurant’s chef, Sandor Zombori.
Following the dinners, the board decided Zombori and the restaurant were not a good fit, said Board Chair bill Crane.
“We hired Sandor before the new general manager came on. When the new GM arrived they tried unsuccessfully to hammer out a menu that fit the club, but it never came to fruition,” said Crane. “Sandor was moving in a direction that we felt didn’t fit. it was better to part now rather than later. He got us going and set up in the kitchen and we appreciate what he did, but his style of menu didn’t work for us.”
The new GM is Jim Sides of North Carolina.
Zombori said when hired he was asked to produce fine dining and he did. his major concern, however, is to address the rumor that he quit.
“I would never quit. I was fired with no option,” he said. “Why would you renovate to serve meatloaf?”
As for the club’s renovation, visitors will see a much different interior when it reopens on Monday. the redesign was headed by Tammy Massey of Seaside.
Massey said that with a limited budget and a short time frame in which to achieve the transformation, the design focus for Vue was to work with the interior in manipulating the character of the spaces, defining the clarity of the layout and celebrating the experiences as you move through the space. Designing the new logo and signage and creating the scheme for the building’s exterior facelift was also achieved within this 2.5-month period.
“Given the fabulous panorama across the emerald-toned waters of our Gulf, on entering the space, framed and dramatic views were a priority within this amazingly sited venue,” she said.
The overall design essence was drawn from an elegantly chic cosmopolitan/mannerist flavor, interjecting a glamorous and romantic mid-century modern edge into the mix of coordinated color pallets, furnishings and finishes.
Gone is the unobtrusive beige of before. the new color palate is a sea green, and reflects our trademarked water vistas.
Curtains partially drape partitions and Massey’s custom-designed fabric throw pillows rest on modern black leather sofas.
Massey’s custom art pieces compliment the lobby, lounge, Gulf-front dining and west wing dining areas.
Art deco lighting hangs over the bar, where new craft drinks are served.
Maitre de Matt LaBo will see guests to their tables.
On the menu, lunch-time diners will find Firecracker shrimp, quesadillas, chicken bites, Carribe chicken, pasta, crabcakes, meatloaf, ribeye filet, and traditional sandwiches and salads.
For dinner, there is chowder, eggplant, stuffed shrimp, filet mignon, seafood, pasta, pork, and new York strip.
There also is a traditional bar menu.
In the kitchen until a new chef can be hired, will be new GM, Jim Sides, who is a graduate of Cordon Bleu. Sides said a nationwide search is on for a new chef.
The renovation project came in on time and on budget, said Crane. He also said the renovation would have been impossible without Zombori’s guiding hand and counsel.