Cooper Levey-Baker has written about food, politics, civic issues, the arts, and music in Southwest Florida for 15 years. His work has won multiple awards from the Florida Magazine Association and the Florida Society of Professional Journalists, as well as an honorable mention from the Julia Child Foundation. Follow him on Twitter: @LeveyBaker.

Worth the drive

Sebring Festival Lets You Explore the Sweet World of Craft Soda

Sample colas, ginger ales, root beers and cream sodas, with flavors like caramel apple, prickly pear, espresso, peach cobbler, candied bacon and more.

03/22/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Services

New Mobile Golf Cart Repair Company Launches

A Venice couple invests in a man profiled by Sarasota Magazine as part of a story about life after incarceration.

03/21/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Smells fishy

Report Finds Widespread Seafood Mislabeling

The D.C. nonprofit Oceana used DNA analysis to test 449 fish from 287 restaurants and retail outlets in 24 states and the District of Columbia.

03/12/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Diner league

New Metro Diner Opening in Bradenton Next Week

The new location will be the restaurant's third in the region.

03/07/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Overhaul

Louies Modern Is Closing. Here's What Will Replace It

The new Lemon Tree Kitchen is described as a casual, full-service eatery that will specialize in 'fresh, local ingredients, exceptional flavors and truly clean eating.'

03/06/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Big poppo

New Poppo's Taqueria Now Open on Main Street

The new location is the restaurant's fifth.

03/05/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

On tap

New Oak & Stone Location Opening This Spring

The new eatery will be located at 4067 Clark Road, Sarasota, in the former home of a Buffalo Wild Wings.

03/04/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Supermarket Sweep

A Roundup of Alternative Grocery Stores and Best Buys

Our selection of food stores has exploded in recent years. Here are some of our favorite finds at six of our go-to grocery stops.

02/28/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Restaurant Review

Grove Serves Up Good Food and Good Times in Lakewood Ranch

After Polo Grill closed last April, Hugh Miller and Greg Campbell, the partners behind Bradenton’s Pier 22, took over the space and gutted the building.

02/28/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

So Here's a Story from A to Z

New 'Modern Israeli' Food Truck Debuts

Owners Steven Schmitt and Carl Kolber call their cuisine "modern Israeli," citing restaurants like Shaya in New Orleans and The Palomar Restaurant in London and chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi as inspirations.

02/27/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker

Bang the Gavel

New Florida Senate President Bill Galvano Outlines His 2019 Priorities

Galvano, a Bradenton attorney and Republican first elected to the state Senate in 2012, was sworn in as Senate president last fall, making him one of the three most powerful officials in state government until he steps down in 2020.

02/27/2019 By Cooper Levey-Baker