CORTEZ –The grand reopening of the Cortez Kitchen, 4528 119th St. W., is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 14.
The newly-remodeled restaurant and bar is an upgraded version of its former self, featuring a new bar and seating, a state-of-the-art kitchen and TVs throughout, while still keeping the casual atmosphere that it had when John Banyas and Peter Barreda opened it in 1996.
“It was remodeled and beautifully upgraded, but with the same Florida charm that it always had,” said Adam Sears, general manager of Swordfish Grill and Tiki Bar, also owned by Banyas.
Banyas previously leased the Cortez Kitchen to Joe Oelker for 19 years. When Oelker retired last August, Banyas decided to take over the restaurant business.
“We’re all about serving up the freshest catches with that old Florida flavor. Our place is on the water, so you can enjoy your grub with a killer view,” according to the Cortez Kitchen website. “We love being part of the Cortez crew, so come hang with us and enjoy the flavors that everyone around here loves. Swing by the Cortez Kitchen for a laid-back dining experience where good eats are the main event.”
The menu features some new items along with some traditional Cortez Kitchen favorites.
“Two of the favorites are still on the menu,” Sears said. “We’ll have the royal red peel ‘n eat shrimp and the buffalo grouper.”
Other menu items include appetizers like smoked wings, Cortez Kitchen ceviche, fried okra and Atlantic lobster quesadilla. Entrées include a steamer pot with local crab, clams and shrimp, scallop risotto and braised short rib. A variety of sandwiches include softshell crab, lobster roll, Pete’s pressed Cuban and grouper or mahi. Seafood, short rib and chicken baskets round out the menu, along with salads and a kids menu.
Seating along the windows on the west side of the restaurant affords patrons a water view of Sarasota Bay.
“It’s nice that we’re able to reopen after nearly five months,” Sears said. “We’ve been working really hard to get this done.”
Sears said some of the employees of the restaurant when it closed in August will be back.
“There will be some old faces along with some new faces,” he said.
Live musical entertainment will be featured on weekends. Doug Deming and the Jewel Tones will play on Sunday, Jan. 14 from 4-7 p.m.
CORTEZ – It might not be for joy, but the mullet are definitely jumping.
Spawning season and cast net-wielding fishermen anxious to make some Christmas money are a formula for a busy mullet season at John Banyas’ Cortez Bait and Seafood fish house.
“It’s mostly local people bringing the mullet in to us,” Banyas said. “They’re out there castnetting closer to the cold fronts.”
Banyas, a fourth-generation fisherman from Cortez, owns Swordfish Grill & Tiki Bar, N.E. Taylor Boatworks, Killer Bait and Cortez Bait and Seafood.
He has seven boats in his fleet but says he relies on people fishing from their own boats to bring the mullet in.
The catches have varying degrees of value, with the real treasure being females with red roe. The egg sack from the gray mullet can be made into bottarga. The salted, cured fish roe pouch is considered a delicacy in Europe and Asia.
“The females have the red roe and the males white,” he said. “They’re all desirable, but we pay more for the red.”
On Dec. 15, Banyas said they were paying $1.60 per pound for the females with red roe and 30 cents a pound for others.
“There’s definitely money to be made,” he said, picking up a good-sized mullet. “This one alone could be more than $5.”
The fish are brought in by land or sea. They’re processed and cut, then packaged and frozen in large walk-in freezers before being shipped off to the wholesale market. He said that his facility processes thousands of pounds per day.
“We ship out all over,” Banyas said. “Italy, Taiwan. Mullet is used for crab bait or food.”
Mullet fishing has a long history in Cortez. “The North Carolina families came in the 1880s with the hope that the mullet and the sweat of their brow would bring a better life,” according to a publication from the Cortez Village Historical Society. “This unique community of 20 extended families with a love of fishing in their hearts has survived on hard work, fierce pride and a plentiful supply of fish.”
A quote from the late Cortez fisherman Ralph “Pig” Fulford sums up the importance of mullet to the Cortez fishing village.
“Mullet. That’s it. Some folks say fish smell. I say it smells like money.”
CORTEZ – Just in time for the Christmas mailing rush, the fishing village of Cortez is receiving an early holiday gift – its post office will remain open for another five years.
The post office, at 12112 44th Ave. W. – also the site of the community’s bulletin board and many neighborly chats – had been scheduled to close on Oct. 24 after landlord John Banyas did not renew the lease.
His reason, he told The Sun, was that a flagpole owned by the post office fell and injured a man, who sued him, and that the U.S. Postal Service refused his subsequent request to add him to its insurance policy. He sued the post office for eviction.
But the Postal Service now has added him to its insurance policy and signed a new five-year lease, Banyas said.
“It’s a good thing,” he said. Without the new lease, village residents would have had to travel more than 5 miles each way to the Palma Sola post office to get their mail every day.
During the dispute, disgruntled customers suggested alternatives including the more convenient Bradenton Beach post office, home delivery, and the purchase of the former Cortez fire station as an alternate site for the post office.
The village has had a post office since 1896 when it was in the Bratton store at the Albion Inn. The store, which outlived the inn, was relocated to the Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez and is under renovation.
CORTEZ – The Independence Day festivities will continue for an extra day when the Swordfish Grill hosts a legally-permitted fireworks display on Friday, July 5.
Swordfish Grill owner John Banyas obtained a public fireworks display permit from Manatee County on Tuesday and a second permit from the West Manatee Fire Rescue (WMFR) fire department on Wednesday.
Launching at 9 p.m., the permitted July 5 fireworks display will replace the non-permitted July 4 fireworks show that’s become a Cortez tradition in recent years.
On Wednesday, General Manager Bob Slicker said all the restaurant’s waterfront patio tables have already reserved for Friday evening, but there will still be standing-room-only space available.
There will also be seating inside the restaurant and sports bar, and it’ll be business as usual, except the kitchen will close at 8 p.m. so the kitchen staff can enjoy the fireworks.
“Our neighbors at the Cortez Kitchen will also be open and there may be some seats available there too,” Slicker said.
The fireworks will launch from an offshore barge and should also be visible from the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach and along Bradenton Beach’s eastern shoreline.
Tip prompts investigation
Banyas obtained the fireworks permits in response to a June 12 investigation that began with WMFR Fire Inspector Rodney Kwiatkowski responding to two anonymous tips about fireworks being stored at a Cortez home on 124th Street owned by Banyas and rented to Slicker.
“We drove by and confirmed what appeared to be fireworks in an open garage. So, we got the appropriate people together went to the residence, introduced ourselves and asked if we could go in and see what we’re looking at.”
These fireworks were previously stored at Bob Slicker’s rented home in Cortez. – Rodney Kwiatkowski/WMFR | Submitted
Kwiatkowski said the response team included Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies and members of the county bomb squad. He said the bomb squad responded due to the large amount of fireworks being stored.
“There’s no citation. The only issue we had was with the storage being so close to all the residences. The storage was in violation of a county ordinance. They were asked to move them. They obliged and they were going to have them sent back to the company that delivered them. They were very cooperative,” Kwiatkowski said.
“We also let them know that we were available to facilitate the permitting process and walk them through it, which we did. We met with John Banyas, showed him what was required for a permitted fireworks display and pointed him in the direction of some licensed pyrotechnic companies,” Kwiatkowski said.
“We’ve been working with them and the county to help facilitate this. This is the way it’s supposed to work, and everybody wins in the end,” he added.
“I’ll go out during the day and do an inspection during set up to make sure the licensed ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) shooter is there on site. In the evening, we’ll have a dedicated fire engine crew there during the display,” Kwiatkowski said.
Kwiatkowski said it’s legal to possess fireworks in Florida if purchased for agricultural purposes such as scaring off birds or other animals, but it’s illegal to detonate explosive fireworks without a permit. He feels this loophole in Florida law creates confusion and is something WMFR officials hope to close in the future.
“I don’t believe Bob Slicker was intentionally trying to break the law. I think well-intentioned people, because of this law, are put in a position that is unfortunate,” Kwiatkowski said. “We want people to celebrate, but we need them do it in a way that is safe and legal.”
Permitted activity
“This fireworks show has been going on for five years,” Slicker said. “Me and a group of local fishermen and business owners have been doing this to help our community celebrate Cortez and Independence Day. We had the garage door open and we were doing everything out in the public, just as we have for the past five years.
“Until this, we never had a complaint about the fireworks show that has become a community event at no cost to anyone but those who volunteer their own money. This is the first time anybody told us we were doing something wrong. As soon as they did, we stopped and did everything asked of us. We had to move the fireworks and they’re now stored in a safe, secure and approved location,” Slicker said.
These are some of the fireworks that will be launched near the Swordfish Grill Friday night. Rodney Kwiatkowski/WMFR | Submitted
“The fire department, the sheriff’s deputies and the bomb squad were all very kind to us and the county commissioners also helped us. We really appreciate how helpful everyone was in walking us through the permitting process,” Slicker said.
“We actually have more than twice the amount of fireworks the other local paper said we had,” he added, noting that next year’s show will be permitted in time to return to its traditional July 4 date.
The Swordfish Grill will still feature plenty of July 4 activity this year.
“We’ll have our annual hot dog eating contest at 1 p.m. and Tim Chandler will be playing. It’ll be business as usual and you can see many other fireworks shows from our deck,” Slicker said.
