Anna Maria Oyster Bar opens new restaurant and a fifth location. Another is on the way
John and Amanda Horne have opened their fifth Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurant in the Square at University Town Center, 5405 University Parkway, #110.
The new restaurant is their first in the thriving University Park area.
John Horne announced plans to take over the Newk’s Eatery space a year ago after negotiating a lease with Benderson Development.
“There is quite a bit of remodeling to do there. Newk’s was counter service with no bar,” Horne previously said.
The AMOB restaurants are known for their fun, family atmosphere, fresh fish, steaks and wings, along with oysters, burgers and margaritas.
“It has to be fun and different. I want my staff to have fun and absolutely enjoy their day. We are in the hospitality business,” John Horne said in 2020, marking the company’s 25th anniversary.
“If I walk in the front door laughing and in a good mood, everybody will be in a good mood. Guests will sense that right away. Good food will not overcome bad service. Let’s make the best experience and let them have fun,” he said.
The Hornes are also known for their education-driven philanthropy. The couple hosts the Dive into Reading summer literacy program for children and has supported Bradenton’s Pace Center for Girls, which provides schooling and social services.
Anna Maria Oyster Bar comes to UTC
AMOB marked the new restaurant’s opening Friday evening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, showcasing the raw bar, outdoor patio and local murals.
Until Friday night, it had been seven years since a new Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurant opened. The most recent one was in 2016 at the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach.
The Hornes have a sixth restaurant in the works for North Port.
Oysters Rock Hospitality, the parent company of Anna Maria Oyster Bar and Café L’Europe, announced in October the purchase of property at 14132 Tamiami Trail in North Port.
“Down at the ‘First One South of the Border,’ the Anna Maria Oyster Bar in North Port should be open to serve you sometime this September,” John Horne said in a recent newsletter.
“North Port is a special community that really reminds us of Bradenton. We loved meeting so many new neighbors when we hosted a pop-up meal service in the wake of Hurricane Ian. The people we met were so incredibly giving, friendly and gracious – anyone would be lucky to have them as neighbors or guests in their restaurant,” Horne said previously.
List of AMOB locations
▪ Landside, 6906 14th St. W., Bradenton
▪ Cortez Village, 6696 Cortez Road W.
▪ Ellenton, 1525 51st Ave. E., Ellenton
▪ Pier, Bridge Street Pier, Bradenton Beach
▪ UTC, 5405 University Parkway, Unit 110, Bradenton
▪ North Port, 14132 Tamiami Trail, North Port
