Saks Fifth restaurant Sophie's now hiring for Mall at UTC

Sophie's, shown in this rendering in Chicago, will open
in the Mall at UTC in October. Photo Provided

Swanky restaurant Sophie's is now hiring for top chefs and management at the Mall at University Town Center in University Park.

Sophie's is the namesake of the 2,600-square-foot dining room at the Saks Fifth Avenue set to open inside the mall on Oct. 16.

Sophie's is operated by Centerplate, which oversees hospitality, team stores and catering services at a wide range of arenas, theaters and stadiums. This will be the only second Sophie's in the world, after Saks opens its first one in the seventh floor of a Saks Fifth in Chicago this year.


Sophie's is hiring for a general manager, assistant general manager, executive chef and executive sous chef so far.

Here is some more info on Sophie's from colleague Sabrina Rocco's March 5 story:

The name salutes American designer Sophie Gimbel, who presided over couture at Saks for more than 40 years. When the world focused on fashion coming from Europe, Gimbal embraced her American style. "I like my wardrobe simple, correct, perfect in every detail," she is quoted as saying.
Sophie's menu and design is modeled after the woman herself: elegant, contemporary, sleek.
The 2,600-square-foot
space will feature an indoor, 60-seat dining room and bar as well as a 60-seat outdoor terrace for dining, lounging and a second bar. The color palette will be centered around black and white with Florida colors incorporated throughout.
Executive Chef Alex Reyes, who is responsible for Sophie's overall culinary direction, will work closely with a chef hired for the Sarasota restaurant. The menu will feature Sophie's signature salads, appetizers and drinks but will skew closer to flavors found in Florida.

To apply, visit hcareers.com.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2014/03/05/5027691/saks-at-mall-at-university-town.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2014/03/05/5027691/saks-at-mall-at-university-town.html#storylink=cpy

Your Top Mall at UTC Suggestions

An aerial photo of the construction site for the Mall at University Town Center, a centerpiece to the shopping, sports and restaurant mecca on the county line for Manatee and Sarasota. 

Credit: Troy Morgan and PhotosFromTheAir.com/Special to the Herald

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/05/12/4522175/mall-rowing-venue-continue-momentum.html#storylink=cpy

Thanks to everyone who responded to my column on Sunday asking what you want to see come to the Mall at University Town Center!

I sifted through all the comments posted on the blog, tweets, phone calls and emails, and I organized all of them so you can see better what had the most votes. If someone said they agreed with having a certain store, it counted as a vote. If they objected to an idea, I noted it.

We have more than 120 suggestions from people, which could easily fill the mall. Way to go, Bradenton Herald readers!

Here's an update from Karen MacDonald, spokeswoman for Taubman, the leasing company for the mall:

"A lot of great names!  I will be sharing this information with our leasing team.  Stay tuned...good things come to those who wait!  We appreciate the time your readers took to share their thoughts."

Here we go:

TOP VOTES

• Cheesecake Factory 10 
• Apple 6 

FOUR VOTES

• Nordstrom 4 
• DSW 4 
• Sephora 4 

THREE VOTES

• Bar Louie 3 
• Charming Charlies 3 
• Container Store 3 
• Crate & Barrel 3 
• Hollister 3 

TWO VOTES

• Banana Republic 2 
• Barnes & Noble 2 
• Bass Pro 2 
• Christopher & Banks 2 
• Gilly Hicks 2 
• H&M 2 
• IMAX movie theater 2 
• Lucky Brand Jeans 2 
• Lord & Taylor 2 
• Mimi’s Café 2 
• Pottery Barn 2 
• Red Robin 2 
• Water Theme Park (lazy river in the mall) 2 (two objections, too)
• West Elm 2 
• White House Black Market 2 
• Williams-Sonoma 2

THE REST

1. Abercrombie & Fitch 
2. Alternative Outfitters 
3. American Apparel 
4. American Eagle 
5. Anthropologie 
6. BCBG-Maxazria 
7. The Body Shop 
8. Bose 
9. Brighton 
10. Brooklyn Industries 
11. Buddy’s Pizza 
12. Burberry 
13. California Pizza 2 
14. Cabela’s 
15. Capital Grille 
16. Cheddars 
17. Clarks 
18. Coldwater Creek 
19. CPK 
20. Delia’s 
21. Diesel 
22. Extreme Play 
23. Fossil
24. Gap 
25. Golden Corral
26. Grand Lux 
27. Houlihan’s 
28. Ikea 
29. Intelligentsia 
30. I.O. Metro 
31. J Crew 
32. Johnny Rockets 
33. Johnston & Murphy 
34. Jos. A Bank 
35. Kipling 
36. Little Miss Matched 
37. Louis Vuitton 
38. Maggiano’s Little Italy 
39. Men’s Warehouse 
40. Mellow Mushroom 
41. Michael Kors 
42. Microsoft 
43. Native Foods Cafe 
44. Neiman Marcus 
45. Nine West 
46. Oakley 
47. Origins 
48. Panda Express 
49. Pink Berry 
50. PGA Tour Superstore 
51. Peete’s Coffee 
52. PF Chang 
53. Portillo’s 
54. Quicksilver 
55. Swatch 
56. Soft Surroundings 
57. Sur La Table 
58. Texas de Brazil 
59. Tommy Bahama 
60. Top Shop 
61. True Religion Jeans 
62. Uniqlo 
63. Urban Outfitters 
64. Veggie Grill 
65. Vera Bradley  
66. White Castle 
67. Who.A.U (Stands for “Who Are You” 
68. Wildfire Café 
69. World Market 
70. Yankee Candle 
71. Zaxby’s 
72. Z-Gallery

General Suggestions

• Jewish-style Deli 
• Neon bowling alley (i.e. Lucky Strike) 
• Roller skating rink 
• Nightlife area like Downtown Disney/CityWalk (One objection to a Downtown) 

Suggestions needed for Mall at University Town Center stores

Officials and developers break ground for the University Town Center Mall development in October 2012. The upscale mall will be located in Sarasota at the southwest corner of University Parkway and I-75. PAUL VIDELA/Bradenton Herald PVIDELA@BRADENTON.COM

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/10/15/4239984/university-town-center-mall-groundbreaking.html#storylink=cpy

UNIVERSITY PARK--Talking with folks in the community about the Mall at University Town Center, there’s always excitement, and a line that goes something like this:
“I can’t wait. I really wish they would bring [insert store or restaurant name here].”
Today is your lucky day because a Taubman Centers official says she is listening.
Part of Karen MacDonald’s job as director of communications at Taubman is to track what people are saying and writing online about what stores they want to see at the Mall, set to open Oct. 16, 2014 at University Parkway and Cattleman Road, near Interstate 75.
MacDonald told the Herald that leasing agents, development people and the research team visited the area to try to get a sense of what’s here already, what works, and most importantly, the restaurants people want and the shops where they want to spend their money. Mall builders, it seems, take to heart what people write online about stores they want to see where they live.
“Oh yeah, we look at that stuff,” MacDonald said.
The mall has plenty of space to fill with 115 tenants plus an additional anchor to be named, so suggestions are welcomed. So far, Macy’s, Dillard’s, Saks Fifth Avenue are the only confirmed tenants.
The suggestions don’t necessarily have to be national chains, either.
“We always try to have some local flavor to our shopping centers as well with a handful of local retailers and food specialty stores,” MacDonald said.
Some of that research involves nearby retailers that provide data about where shoppers travel from, she added.
Sarasota area residents were recently excited about reports that an Apple store would open at the Westfield Southgate Mall when the shopping center expanded in 2011, only to feel spurned when it didn’t happen. Is that something shoppers here still want? Maybe a Google store instead, or in addition?
This mall might have had a similar moment with Bass Pro Shops, after the store apparently printed in a catalog last year that it would be coming to Sarasota, leading many in the community to speculate the store would be coming to UTC. Bass Pro told WWSB, who first reported the printing mishap, that they had nothing to announce at that time.
The first round of tenants will be announced in October, about a year before the mall opens, MacDonald said.
Now is your chance to make an impact on your local mall.
Sign in and post your suggestions to this blog below. I’ll pass them along to MacDonald so she knows that Manatee County shoppers will put their money where their mouth is.
Charles Schelle, business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow him on Twitter @ImYourChuck.