You may have seen some hints about changes happening at Adeline, the restaurant formerly known as Meliora. One of Sarasota’s best restaurants is going through a series of conceptual tweaks that the owners hope will elevate an already-refined experience that has won raves from Sarasota’s food community, as well as from nearby markets, like Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Along with those changes, chef and owner Drew Adams has welcomed Edie Zaki—best known for his downtown restaurant 1592—as his new business partner. Zaki is humble about his success, which includes operating several restaurants in his hometown of Montreal from afar. He is also working on other projects in the Sarasota area. (We will update you on those soon.)

“In terms of my hospitality perspective, I feel like I’m not bringing as much as Drew gives me credit for," says Zaki. "I’m just bringing some polish. Sometimes I think I might bring less than a 5 percent improvement to what was here before, because what Drew is doing has been so well-received.

“But I think those small tweaks make a huge difference to the consumer,” Zaki continues. “When you’re working at the level at which Drew is operating, it’s more noticeable when something isn’t perfect, versus a mainstream restaurant that may be just OK. At that kind of restaurant, you don’t pick up on those issues as clearly. For example, if you’re driving a Ferrari, and there is any sort of glitch, you’ll pick up on it right away. Adeline is a Ferrari and needs to be very precise. Any small mistake during service will be criticized.”

One major change that guests can anticipate from Adeline (named for Adams’ young daughter) is the addition of lunchtime service, during which sandwiches will be the star. After a brief hiatus for research and development, the restaurant will reopen on Tuesday, Oct. 1, with the goal of rolling out the new sandwich menu by the end of next month. Sandwiches will fall into the $16-$18 price point and be offered from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

“We have a couple of menu items finalized for lunch, but need to continue to test some others," says Adams. "Getting quality samples can be a bit of a process and we are working super-hard on the research and development process.

“You may see some crossover from our evening menu,” Adams continues. “We’re currently working on a schnitzel for the dinner menu and we’d like to also work that into a sandwich available during the day, where we can have a little more fun with it. I will likely be harder on the sandwiches, at least at first, than I am on the evening menu.”

Guests can also anticipate other small menu changes, including the addition of a few larger plates.

“We’re going to add five new dishes to the menu and may take off a couple,” says Adams. “It's hard to take things off, though, because so many of our guests return for specific dishes." (Don't worry: The restaurant's popular scallop and duck dishes will remain.) "Edie wanted a steak dish and because I love him, I told him I would,” Adams says with a laugh.

“If you are too niche, you may be an empty restaurant," explains Zaki. "In Sarasota, we have a smaller community and not everyone is a connoisseur. We need to offer something to those people, as well. And as your audience becomes larger and the restaurant fills up, you can concentrate on more niche dishes that reflect Drew’s talent.

“But overall, in terms of food, there is really no change, since the menu has always evolved throughout the year with Drew in charge," he adds. "The big change is going to be lunch."

Adams and Zaki both credit Adeline’s team with the restaurant’s success. They have maintained nearly all of Meliora’s staff.

“Our people want to make us better,” says Adams. “We always want our team to truly recommend the dishes they are most excited about so that they can continue to build trust with our diners. Maintaining honesty is what keeps people coming back and encourages them to try a variety of dishes in the future. Our team is great at that.”

“There is a lot of professional maturity and we are grateful," says Zaki.

Adeline will open on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The restaurant is located at 1920 Hillview St., Sarasota, and will be open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. for lunch and 5-10 p.m. for dinner Tuesday-Saturday. For more information, call (941) 444-7629 or click here.