Boca Restaurant Opens Third Florida Location in Lake Mary's Colonial Town Park

Derek had one instruction ready for his team before Boca opened at 1145 Townpark Ave on July 14: learn guests' names. "We want bar patrons to experience heartfelt hospitality in every detail, from the handcrafted cocktails to the way we greet our guests by their name," the Lake Mary location representative told Lake Mary Life. "It's designed to make people feel recognized, appreciated, and at home."

The pitch is deliberate. Boca Lake Mary sits in a Colonial Town Park dining corridor where it now competes directly with The Hangry Bison, F&D Cantina, Zacapa Mexican Restaurant & Bar, Craft & Common, 1501 Kitchen & Bar, F&D Prime Modern Steakhouse, and The Vineyard Wine Company. Boca's differentiator is its positioning as a casual-upscale hybrid, anchoring weekend brunch service on Saturdays and Sundays with a menu built around house-made flatbreads, fresh seafood, and shareable plates, while extending into evening cocktail hours and dinner seven days a week. The location occupies a completely renovated version of the space that previously housed Dexter's, a New American and wine bar concept that permanently closed. "We've worked hard on it," Derek said.

The opening was the third Florida location for the Boca brand, joining the original Park Avenue outpost in Winter Park, open since 2014, and a Sarasota location. Parent company Artistry Restaurants, a Winter Park-based platform led by CEO Bryan Lockwood, acquired the Boca brand on June 30, 2021. Since then, Artistry has expanded to seven distinct brands and 50 restaurant locations systemwide, a figure that grew by 20 units in January 2025 when the company acquired Hickory Tavern, a Carolinas chain, marking its first entry into that market. Jason Brooks joined as chief operating officer in September 2024. Artistry's full portfolio now spans Oak & Stone, Shrimp Basket, Boca, Atlantic Beer & Oyster, Sandbar Amelia Island, The Chapman, and Hickory Tavern.

Artistry's selection of Colonial Town Park reflects the site's specific operator advantages. The 24.44-acre mixed-use development, managed by North American Development Group west of I-4, combines retail, a movie theater, office space, and multifamily residential units, generating the sustained foot traffic that casual-upscale concepts require across lunch, happy hour, and dinner dayparts. Inheriting the Dexter's footprint reduced build-out costs, and the address already carried dining-destination familiarity among longtime Colonial Town Park regulars. Saturday evenings, when the center's residential, retail, and entertainment tenants converge simultaneously, will stress-test Boca's capacity and a parking situation the center already strains under peak demand.

Boca Lake Mary is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., with weekend brunch beginning at opening both days. The restaurant is at 1145 Townpark Ave #1201 and can be reached at (407) 814-4933.