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New things cooking for Fort De Soto

The county's top choice to run concessions plans a sit-down restaurant, trolley and more - but nothing "Disneylike."

By PAUL SWIDER
Published February 1, 2006

America's best beach is about to get a little better, if plans go through for Fort De Soto Park to get a new concessionaire.

"I think people are really going to be happily surprised," said Richard Lauzier of Hollywood Promotion Co., the Dania Beach firm that is negotiating a contract with Pinellas County to run concessions at the park. He plans to add a sit-down restaurant, Sunday brunch, a park trolley and other new services.

"We're going to make it a real destination while keeping the pristine of the park," he said.

Lauzier and his wife, Denise, were the first choice of a county panel that evaluated elaborate proposals last year to run the park's four snack bars and other amenities. The existing operator, Apostolu Enterprises, dropped out after the first round of competition. If Lauzier can agree on a contract with the county, commissioners could vote in the next two months and he would take over in July.

Though the search for a concessionaire predates the designation, Fort De Soto was named last year as America's premier beach by Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a professor of coastal studies at Florida International University. Lauzier said he will bring his Swiss culinary training, sensitivity to nature and marketing ability to expand menus at the park but also enhance its status.

"I'm known worldwide for my culinary expertise," said Lauzier, a French-Canadian from Montreal who studied at the Lausanne Hotel School and was once the executive chef at Busch Gardens and for the Busch family. "We want to make sure Fort De Soto gets the attention it deserves by bringing the right food, the right service and our expertise."

Among the changes Lauzier proposes would be a 225-seat restaurant in the existing gift shop just north of the fort. That building's unused kitchen and one at the North Beach would be revamped with modern equipment so Lauzier could begin providing items like fresh smoked meats and fish, a lobster burger, the Fort De Soto Southern Philly sandwich, conch fritters, Cajun boiled peanuts, fresh baked breads and some other specialties he said will remain a secret until he opens.

"We're going to have top-notch concessions at a top-notch park," said Jim Wilson, the county's park supervisor at Fort De Soto. He said the new food and services will merely add ways for visitors to enjoy the park without crowding it or upsetting its natural mission of protecting its "residents," the wildlife. "The big picture is that this is more than a beach."

Wilson said there were no complaints about the old concessions, but visitors did ask why some facilities weren't open more or didn't have a wider variety of foods. He said park management often takes suggestions from visitors, pointing to the the dog beach as the latest example of how they enhance amenities.

Lauzier said he "won't do anything Disneylike" but definitely plans to expand on existing opportunities. He expects to have a staff of 36 instead of the current three, he said, so he can extend service hours. And he plans to invest more than $1-million in equipment and portable buildings to add services at the boat ramp and campground. Lauzier might also build another restaurant at the Gulf Pier if that structure is rebuilt, something the county is still considering.

Lauzier said his campground store would feature a deli and produce, baked goods, grocery items and more. The shop by the boat ramp would have a stone oven to make fresh baked goods daily. The snack bars at the piers would have more food, rentals of fishing equipment, fishing lessons and souvenirs.

Beach chairs and umbrellas would be available to rent, along with the existing bicycle rentals Lauzier plans to continue under subcontract to Wheel Fun. Lauzier, who now runs concessions at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park, near Fort Lauderdale, is already involved in canoe and kayak rentals, so he might run that himself at Fort De Soto.

Lauzier said he plans to move to Pinellas County if he gets this contract so he can delegate his Lloyd operations and dedicate himself to Fort De Soto.

Lauzier also said he will add a trolley that will carry passengers to all points in the park for 50 cents - or for free when patrons make a concessions purchase. He wants to add the ability to use credit cards at the park, as well as debit cards for use only at Fort De Soto. An ice cream cart would make the rounds of park trails with water and juices. A low-power FM radio station would tell visitors about specials and events and services throughout the park.

Lauzier's lease would run 10 years with three possible extensions of five years each. The current vendor has been at the park for 25 years, after extensions and a competitive rebid 10 years ago. The county is asking for 15 percent of Lauzier's pretax sales in lieu of rent.

The bid process originally included the possibility of creating a marina in the park, but county staffers removed that from consideration when they realized it would be a large, long-term project all by itself.

Fort De Soto gets nearly 3-million visitors a year to its 1,100 acres of beaches, uplands and wetlands. Bob Browning, the park district supervisor overseeing Fort De Soto, said the boom in Pinellas development in 10 years has shown that the county is an attractive market and the park is part of that.

"The county is looking more aggressively to be able to provide services," Browning said. "If the food is good, this is going to be a big hit."

[Last modified February 1, 2006, 01:03:19]