ANNA MARIA – Bortell’s Lounge is closed for renovations and is expected to remain closed for at least three to five months, maybe longer.
Bortell’s closed at the end of business on Saturday, May 2. When discussing the closure and the future reopening, longtime owner Steve Rose said, “I would like to be full-tilt-boogie by January.”
Bortell’s had been on the market and Rose was considering a move to Telluride, Colorado.
“A deal was coming together for me to live out one last dream in the restaurant business. I was going to do a western-style saloon out in Telluride. It was going to be awesome, and it may still be. I’m not ruling it out, but for right now it’s not looking good. I was looking to sell one bar and open another. I had two buyers, but we couldn’t come to a full agreement – and Colorado kind of fell apart at the same time,” Rose said.
“I decided I can’t just wait around in limbo, so I’m making my own move. I’m keeping the bar. I love the place, but I need to retool it to make it a little easier for me. I’m going to renovate. I’ve got a laundry list of things that we’re going to do. Some of them are going to make my job in the restaurant business a lot easier. Some are hurricane related. We want to be as prepared as possible and a big generator is at the top of that list,” he said.
Bortell’s Lounge previously reopened in 2021 after extended renovations that included a new roof, a new kitchen and significant interior renovations – and it fared well during the 2024 hurricanes.
“I designed that whole place myself. I missed a few things and I want to go back and correct those things. I’m just shutting down to do some renovations,” he said.
After reopening in 2021, Bortell’s initially offered a full-service kitchen. More recently, the food service consisted primarily of pizza and Rose doesn’t expect a return to full-service dining.
“I’m leaving the full kitchen in the building, because it’s nice to have, and I might start cooking pizzas again. I’m going to go back to hot dogs. I loved doing hot dogs and I’m going to expand my hot dog offerings,” he said.
“I’m going to shrink the bar portion a bit and expand the retail side. We’re going to have a more organized liquor display, a more organized T-shirt display and we’ll do some other tourist stuff too.”
When asked about his staff, Rose said, “That’s the saddest part. There’s never a good time to put people out of work. I’m doing what I can for them, but the staff is out for the time being.”
When asked if Bortell’s is off the market, Rose said, “You can never say never, but yes, it is off the market. If I’m going to invest more money in it, I’m gonna play with that toy for a while,” he said.
While Bortell’s is closed, Rose and his new bride, Lisa, plan to drive their camper van to Alaska.
“I’m taking a little vacation, a little extended honeymoon. Lisa and I are going to try to drive the camper van to Alaska. It’ll be our third attempt. I think we’re going to make it this time,” Rose said.
Regarding their past attempts, Rose said, “Something happened at the bar both times. We were in Arkansas and some stuff came up that I needed to deal with, so we got turned around. The other time, we didn’t even get out of the driveway. We were ready to go and something else happened.”
