Downtown Sarasota’s Element Steak. Seafood. Pasta. to close after lease loss

Element Steak. Seafood. Pasta. is serving out its final days at 1413 Main St. after losing its lease, with Sunday, April 26, set as the last night in its downtown Sarasota dining room near the Five Points roundabout.

The closure landed after the restaurant announced the news in a video on social media, with chef Scott Morlock speaking to guests about the shutdown and saying the kitchen would “bang out” its best specials before service ends. Element’s website says the final night will be a sendoff built around a 10-course tasting menu priced at $100 per person.

For regulars, the loss is bigger than one menu. Element has been part of downtown Sarasota since 2017, when it opened as Element: Modern Mediterranean Grill in the former Ivory Lounge space. In 2020, it rebranded as Element Steak. Seafood. Pasta., a change that sharpened the concept while keeping pasta on the menu as part of a more modern, mixed dining style rather than a classic red-sauce format. The restaurant describes itself as a locally owned steakhouse, with sauces, desserts and other dishes made in-house.

The business’s timeline underscores how long it has been part of the block. Records tied to the company show the entity was formed in August 2017, while directory listings place its founding in November 2017. However it is dated, the run has been long enough for Element to become one of the familiar Italian-adjacent spots in downtown’s core, where Main Street foot traffic and restaurant turnover have become a bigger story of their own.

Management has said it hopes to find a new home and reopen in a yet-to-be-determined location, possibly by the 2026 season. For now, Element joins a stretch of recent downtown shakeups that includes Bravo’s Pizza & Italian Eatery closing and Mademoiselle Paris moving into another vacated Main Street space. Duval’s Fresh. Local. Seafood., part of the same broader restaurant group background, remains open, but Element’s departure is another sign of how lease pressure is reshaping what survives in downtown Sarasota’s dining scene.