🍦 The Best Croissant You've Been Driving Past

Best Things To Do in SRQ: 7/9 - 7/12

Author

Carson B
July 07, 2026

Happy Tuesday!

There's a little French bakery hiding in a Gulf Gate strip mall that might just turn out the best croissant in Sarasota, and it's this week's Spotlight. Everywhere else on the calendar there's plenty to get into: a pro soccer match out in Lakewood Ranch, laser shows set to Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, and Christmas in July down in Venice. Here's the rundown.

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In today’s edition of the Sarasota Scoop:

Thanks for reading,

Carson

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📰 Local Headline Roundup

Sarasota's Canopy Tree Program Is Back, and a $500 Tree Costs You $100

The city's Neighborhood Canopy Program has returned, and it's a genuinely good deal: residents can have a mature shade tree, valued up to $500, planted in their front yard for just $100. Registration opened this month, so it's first-come while the trees last.

A Pinecraft Institution Just Landed on a National Best-Buffet List

Der Dutchman, the beloved Amish-Mennonite restaurant in Pinecraft, climbed to No. 2 on USA Today's list of the best buffet restaurants in the country, up a spot from last year. Forty years in, the all-you-can-eat comfort food is still doing the talking.

Food Trucks Could Be Coming to the Downtown Bayfront

City leaders are weighing whether to allow food trucks in the downtown Bayfront district, a change that could bring more casual, grab-and-go options to one of Sarasota's most-walked stretches. It's an early step, but one worth watching if you like a good taco with your waterfront view.

🔦 Spotlight: Lovely Square

Tucked into a Gulf Gate storefront on Gateway Avenue, Lovely Square is the kind of place you'd drive right past if you didn't know better. The exterior is nothing to write home about, a modest strip-mall front that gives away nothing. But that's not why you come. Step inside and it's warm, comfortable, and unhurried, the sort of small room where nobody's rushing you back out the door.

What it is, underneath the humble packaging, is a French breakfast-and-lunch spot run with real care. The croissants are the headline, flaky and buttery and quite possibly the best in town. From there the menu fans out into the things a good French-leaning kitchen does well: eggs Benedict, omelets and frittatas, crêpes both sweet and savory, French toast, and baguette sandwiches at lunch. It's scratch cooking at neighborhood prices, with beer and wine if you're making a morning of it.

Order the croissant, obviously, and don't overthink the eggs, which come out cooked exactly right, harder to find than it should be. Come for breakfast or an early lunch; the kitchen runs mornings into the early afternoon and then calls it a day.

Skip it if you're after a scene or a view, because there isn't one and there doesn't need to be. This is a hole-in-the-wall in the best sense: you're here for the food, and the food delivers.

The scoop: Lovely Square, Gulf Gate.

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Thursday, July 9

Jazz Thursday featuring Panama Drive

📍 Sarasota Art Museum, 1001 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
🕦 5:30 PM — 8:00 PM
🔗 Eventbrite

Andy Hendrickson

📍 McCurdy's Comedy Theatre, 1923 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota
🕦 7:00 PM (through Sun July 12)
🔗 McCurdy's

Summer Circus Spectacular

📍 Historic Asolo Theater at The Ringling, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
🕦 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM (through Aug 8)
🔗 The Ringling

Laser Light Nights: Laser Cosmic Chill

📍 Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
🕦 6:00 PM (doors 5:30 PM)
🔗 Bishop Museum

Little Giants

📍 Siesta Key Oyster Bar, 5238 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key
🕦 7:00 PM — 11:00 PM
🔗 Siesta Key Oyster Bar

Aloha Sharks

📍 Mattison's City Grille, 1 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota
🕦 7:30 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Mattison's

Friday, July 10

Classic Movies at the Opera House: Dead Again (1991)

📍 Sarasota Opera House, 61 N Pineapple Ave, Sarasota
🕦 7:00 PM — 8:50 PM
🔗 Sarasota Arts

Sights + Sounds at Waterside Place: Pops Orchestra Jazz Combo

📍 Waterside Place, 1560 Lakefront Dr, Lakewood Ranch
🕦 6:00 PM — 7:00 PM
🔗 Lakewood Ranch

The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition

📍 The Sarasota Players, 3501 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
🕦 7:00 PM (through Sun July 12)
🔗 Sarasota Arts

Venice Christmas in July

📍 Historic Downtown Venice
🕦 10:00 AM — 4:00 PM (through Sat July 11)
🔗 Visit Venice

Laser Light Nights: Laser The Weeknd

📍 Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, 201 10th St W, Bradenton
🕦 8:00 PM
🔗 Bishop Museum

The Shaelyn Band

📍 Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 7:00 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Motorworks Brewing

Chris Connolly Band

📍 Siesta Key Oyster Bar, 5238 Ocean Blvd, Siesta Key
🕦 8:00 PM — 12:00 AM
🔗 Siesta Key Oyster Bar

Saturday, July 11

Sarasota Paradise vs. Miami FC

📍 Premier Sports Campus, 5895 Post Blvd, Lakewood Ranch
🕦 7:30 PM
🔗 Sarasota Paradise

America250 Celebration

📍 Selby Library, 1331 First St, Sarasota
🕦 11:00 AM — 4:00 PM
🔗 Sarasota Libraries

FST Improv: Comedy Lottery

📍 Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 N Palm Ave, Sarasota
🕦 7:30 PM
🔗 Florida Studio Theatre

The Danny Bub Combo

📍 Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 7:00 PM — 10:30 PM
🔗 Motorworks Brewing

The White Crowe Band

📍 Mattison's City Grille, 1 N Lemon Ave, Sarasota
🕦 8:00 PM — 11:30 PM
🔗 Mattison's

Northstar

📍 Sharky's on the Pier, 1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice
🕦 7:00 PM — 11:00 PM
🔗 Sharky's on the Pier

Vital Groove

📍 Pop's Sunset Grill, 112 Circuit Rd, Nokomis
🕦 6:00 PM
🔗 Pop's Sunset Grill

Sunday, July 12

Remi Goode

📍 Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Ct, Sarasota
🕦 7:00 PM (doors 6:00 PM)
🔗 Fogartyville

Trinidudes

📍 Sharky's on the Pier, 1600 Harbor Dr S, Venice
🕦 5:30 PM — 9:30 PM
🔗 Sharky's on the Pier

Dave Fazio

📍 Pop's Sunset Grill, 112 Circuit Rd, Nokomis
🕦 6:00 PM
🔗 Pop's Sunset Grill

Tim Michael McCaig: Sunday Brunch

📍 Motorworks Brewing, 1014 9th St W, Bradenton
🕦 11:00 AM — 1:30 PM
🔗 Motorworks Brewing

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