HOLMES BEACH – Three years ago, Ben Sato opened his gRub tropical barbeque restaurant in Anna Maria. He now plans to open Mingo’s Rooftop Restaurant and Sports Bar in Holmes Beach with his brother, Jason Sato, as his business partner.
Mingo’s name is derived from the word flamingo and a flamingo holding a tropical drink is featured in the restaurant logo.
The 125-seat, family-friendly restaurant and bar will occupy the second floor of the former Wells Fargo bank building at the corner of Gulf Drive and Marina Drive, at 5327 and 5325 Gulf Drive.
The former bank building and properties are being redeveloped by Island businessman Jake Spooner. The space leased to Mingo’s will sit atop Spooner’s ground-level Island Bazaar retail store and the space leased to The Fudge Factory candy and ice cream shop. Spooner’s business operations will also include a miniature golf course on the east side of the property and a small, stand-alone arcade.
Ben will oversee the pending interior buildout of the restaurant space and the day-to-day business operations when Mingo’s opens in late 2025 or early 2026. He recently gave The Sun a tour of the vacant space to be transformed into Mingo’s.
“I’ve known Jake forever. We grew up on the Island together. It’s a great location and being up top here will give us great visibility,” he said.
The exterior wall at the south end of the Mingo’s space will be removed so the interior restaurant space can be extended further south towards Gulf Drive, leaving enough space for a covered deck at the south end of the building. In the center of the deck area will be an artificial turf-covered play area where cornhole and other games can be played.
“The footprint of the building’s going to be the same. We’ll have a fun vibe with a turf area outside for the kids to play,” Sato said. “The restaurant concept is elevated bar food – bar food with a little twist on it.”
The Mingo’s menu will include “Tachos” (nachos made with tater tots), other types of nachos, chicken wings, seafood tacos, flatbreads, salads and more. gRub sells beer and wine but not liquor, so liquor service will be a new experience for Sato; and he’s already developing some signature frozen cocktails with a focus on tequila-based drinks.
“We’ll have full liquor but it’s not going to be a party atmosphere. This concept will be more focused on kids because of the miniature golf course and that’s how I approached the menu, the layout and the vibe,” he said.
Mingo’s will open at 11 a.m. and close at 10 p.m., when the miniature golf course closes.
“We won’t have late-night hours,” he said.
The south end of the expanded interior space will feature an accordion-style door that can be opened to create an open-air feel inside the restaurant.
“We’ll open it up so it’s basically indoor-outdoor seating with a breeze,” Sato said.
Mingo’s will have a tropical appearance and feel that highlights the pink and teal colors often associated with Florida. The exposed “wave ceiling” will have cloth hanging from it that creates a wave effect when the breeze moves it.
“I learned a lot opening gRub and I’m excited to open Mingo’s,” Sato said.
