{"id":2368,"date":"2019-03-25T03:36:35","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T10:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2368"},"modified":"2019-03-25T03:36:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T10:36:35","slug":"lansing-classico-from-the-okemos-golf-range-to-sarasotas-sunshine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/offcourse\/2368\/lansing-classico-from-the-okemos-golf-range-to-sarasotas-sunshine","title":{"rendered":"Lansing Classico: From the Okemos Golf Range to Sarasota\u2019s Sunshine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Street

Street artist Lazaro Morera paints the scene at Clasico\u2019s intriguing corner. (Photo by Michael Patrick Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

Lansing has a de-facto embassy in downtown Sarasota, Florida: it is a bar and restaurant called Clasico on the corner of Main and Palm Streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one of the most iconic corners in town. It\u2019s a privilege to be on such an important corner and do business of any kind,\u201d said Raffaele Perna, the Lansing native who is managing partner of \u201cClasico,\u201d which he describes as an American bistro.<\/p>\n

Perna, who owns the Okemos Golf Range, moved to the scenic, snazzy West Florida city in 1999, and plenty of hometown people have found him since.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom Izzo and his family come into Clasico when they visit nearby Siesta Key,” Perna said. “There are a lot of Michigan snowbirds in Sarasota County. I like it when Lansing people turn up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lansing golf pro Gary Gazall and Kevin Helm, the Michigan PGA\u2019s executive director, are also fans of the man known as \u201cRaff,\u201d as is Tim Prichard, Perna\u2019s best friend at Lansing Catholic High School 40 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew then Raff had what it took to make it in life and in business. He helped run his families\u2019 grocery store as soon as he was old enough to reach the cash register,\u201d said Prichard, also an entrepreneur who owns Long Lake Bar in Hale, Michigan. \u201cI love that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perna said it has been important for him to reach out and be a part of the Sarasota community. As a result he has admirers there too, including\u00a0VisitSarasota.com<\/a>\u2019s Britney Guertin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at Clasico with a friend on a\u00a0Sunday morning\u00a0and Raff pulled up on a Vespa and gave my friend\u2019s little daughter a spin on the bike,\u201d Guertin recalled. \u201cHe mixes with the customers and locals. He\u2019s welcoming and charming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perna admitted he is a people person, but said it is Sarasota he finds charming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great, Midwestern-based town and Midwestern people are nice,” said Perna. “Sarasota is a small foodie destination with great shops, just like Traverse City and Elk Rapids, where I spend my time during the summers.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, Elite Airlines just announced non-stop service from Traverse City to Sarasota, and Delta has flights from Michigan into Sarasota and nearby Tampa; not to mention those who simply drive down I-75.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a cross-section of international demographics here,\u201d Perna said while he dished out a plate of fresh calamari prepared by his French chef Guillaume Dupont under an umbrella at one of Clasico\u2019s sidewalk tables. \u201cSarasota has people living and working here now – not just seasonal snowbirds – and the infrastructure is being set up for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A brand new innovative, stylish Embassy Suites Hotel just opened nearby and Clasico, like Rick\u2019s in the film \u201cCasablanca,\u201d carries an air of local importance and sophisticated excitement. The building began as the Hotel Sarasota in 1927 and then spent decades as \u201cCharlie\u2019s Newsstand.\u201d A regular customer whispered to me that the dirty books were in the back where two titillating pieces of art now hang in homage over the classic, mosaic subway tiled-floor. Other active vintage paintings of Sarasota \u2013 some of which came from Cuban street artist Lazaro Morera, often seen painting on the opposite corner \u2013 are displayed throughout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was like the corner grocery store where people came to hang out,\u201d Perna explained. \u201c\u2019RED\u2019 is our motto: Relax, eat, drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of place where a first date might be taking place at a corner table while a business deal is discussed at the bar. Two locals might be sipping mimosas street-side with their dogs while tourists stop for a bite before boarding the Le Barge tourist boat for a dolphin watching or sunset cruise. Guertin told me on Saturday nights a younger crowd takes over with dancing, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe magic of success is three things: good food, good service, and fair prices. A restaurant might be able to get away with two of those, but Clasico strives for all three. The typical consumer is educated. Just be nice to people and its amazing what happens,\u201d said Perna, who plans to attend Lansing Catholic\u2019s upcoming 40-year reunion. Maybe they should hold it in Sarasota at Clasico?<\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0Barclasico.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0VisitSarasota.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Contact<\/em>\u00a0Travel Writer Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0MShiels@aol.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His radio program may be heard weekdays at\u00a0MiBigShow.com<\/a>\u00a0or in Lansing on WJIM am 1240\u00a0from 9-noon<\/a>. His latest book is \u201cI Call Him Mr. President \u2013 Stories of Fishing, Golf and Life with my Friend George H.W. Bush\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lansing has a de-facto embassy in downtown Sarasota, Florida: it is a bar and restaurant called Clasico on the corner… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19164],"tags":[1003267,1023628,1023629,1023630,2834,606,895799,4998],"class_list":["post-2368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-offcourse","tag-sarasota","tag-visit-sarasota","tag-clasico","tag-west-florida","tag-michigan","tag-florida","tag-lansing","tag-michael-patrick-shiels"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/03\/image1-2.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368\/revisions\/2370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}