FL Asian Street Food Chain Coming To UTC

SARASOTA, FL — Hawkers Asian Street Food, a Florida-born restaurant chain known for its Asian street food-inspired menu and shareable small plates, is coming to University Town Center.

The restaurant will occupy a 5,054-square-foot space along Cattlemen Road in UTC’s West District, according to a news release from Benderson Development, which owns and manages the property. The opening date hasn’t been announced.

This planned Sarasota location also will introduce a new concept for Hawkers: its first street food sweet shop. Details about the sweet shop also haven’t been released.

Founded in Orlando in 2011 by four childhood friends, Hawkers has grown to 16 locations across Florida and six other states, including Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia and Texas.

The restaurant’s menu draws inspiration from street food markets across Asia, with dishes including Malaysian roti with curry dipping sauce, Korean twice-fried chicken wings, pad Thai and Sichuan wontons, the news release said. The menu also features bao buns, dim sum, noodles, soups, rice and curry dishes.

Hawkers also serves craft cocktails and sake.

“We’ve been looking forward to bringing Hawkers to Sarasota for a long time, and there is no better home than what the Benderson team has built at UTC,” Kaleb Harrell, CEO and co-founder of Hawkers Asian Street Food, said in a statement.

UTC, located near I-75 and University Parkway on the Sarasota-Manatee county line, features more than 250 specialty stores and more than 80 restaurants, according to Benderson Development.

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