Charley’s Steak House is opening a 14,000-square-foot restaurant in Lakewood Ranch, its first in the Sarasota-Manatee market and fourth Florida location for the family-owned chain, which currently operates in Tampa, Orlando and Celebration, according to newly filed development documents.
The restaurant is proposed for 6120 Exchange Way, just east of Interstate 75 and north of University Parkway, near Lakewood Ranch Town Center. Plans also show space for a possible 4,000-square-foot bank, although no bank is identified.
The expansion comes as Orlando-based Talk of the Town Restaurant Group prepares to relocate its longtime Tampa steakhouse, a Westshore fixture since 1998, to a building nearly 30% larger across from International Plaza. The new restaurant, expected to open in 2027, would have additional private dining space, while the current location would remain open until the move.
Lakewood Ranch has grown to more than 80,000 residents, with a median household income of approximately $116,000, according to Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the community’s master developer. The community recorded 1,035 new-home sales during the first half of 2026, ranking second nationally among master-planned communities, according to RCLCO Real Estate Consulting.
The proposed steakhouse would be near Market Square, where Publix, First Watch and other businesses serve the surrounding neighborhoods. The company has not announced a construction schedule, opening date or expected investment for the Lakewood Ranch project.
Charley’s is known for steaks aged on-site for four to six weeks and cooked over custom-built, 1,200-degree pits fueled by Florida citrus wood and oak. Its menu includes an 8-ounce filet mignon priced at $63 and a 50-ounce porterhouse at $155.
The Woodsby family’s restaurant history stretches back to 1968, when Charley Woodsby partnered with William Darden to open the first Red Lobster in Lakeland. Woodsby and his son Ron later established Talk of the Town in 1974, developing Charley’s and other Florida restaurant brands, including Texas Cattle Company and FishBones.