The family-owned Blue Sky Restaurant opened Dec. 7 in the former space of Franklin Social, a local bar with a limited food menu that closed earlier this year at Magnolia Square on the northeast corner of Goodlette-Frank and Pine Ridge roads.
The unit also previously was a Crispers salad-centric eatery, a defunct fast-casual concept with counter service formerly owned by Publix. So, until now, the corner eatery didn’t have a kitchen suitable for a full-service restaurant.
“We remodeled everything. We changed everything. Everything is brand new,” said Blue Sky General Manager Eris Llabani.
The new scratch kitchen executes an extensive full menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“Especially for dinner, our food is phenomenal,” Llabani said. “Our chefs are coming up with amazing dishes for a very reasonable price.”
Dinner entrees include grilled New York strip steak, chicken breast and salmon; kebabs, burgers and grilled cod with lobster sauce.
“Our pork chop is one of our best sellers so far,” Llabani said. “It’s a pork chop on the bone with Parmesan potatoes and roasted cauliflower. The [demi-glace] sauce, we make it here homemade.”
The lunch menu includes sandwiches, wraps, soup, flatbreads, salads and blue-plate specials, such as pot roast, chopped steak and grilled fish. Appetizers feature chicken wings, steak bites, shrimp cocktail, quesadillas, wraps and a charcuterie platter.
Breakfast items include a variety of egg combinations and dishes, such as Benedicts and about 10 omelet options. Also available are breakfast sandwiches, bagels, French toast, pancakes, waffles, crepes, fruit, oatmeal and corned beef hash.
Desserts include tiramisu, berry cake and ice cream. Blue Sky’s unique Supreme Sundae Nachos features waffle cone wafers with scoops of cookies-and-cream, strawberry and vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate fudge, caramel syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles and maraschino cherries.
“The top dessert, from the feedback we are getting, is our Lemon Dream Cake,” Llabani said.
Llabani’s sister and brother-in-law, Jorilda and Noeli Ago, own Blue Sky, and the family also owns nightclubs in Miami. Their new restaurant’s optimistic name should not be confused with the new Bluesky social media platform. The family created the name before the X competitor recently launched.
“We’re in Florida; the sky is always blue here,” Llabani said. “We were trying to get some catchy name that is easy to remember and to also match our decor.”
Blue Sky’s logo and modern decor inside and out are accented with shades of blue on awnings, chairs, light fixtures and menus. Two overhead doors can open the restaurant to the “blue sky” and turn the full bar into an indoor-outdoor bar with patio seating.
Blu Sky, 5926 Premier Way, Suite 100, is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and closed Mondays. Happy hour specials are available from 2 to 6 p.m.
