After being shut down for nearly a year, the popular Sarasota restaurant Libby's will reopen later this week, with a new name (Libby's Neighborhood Brasserie), a new look and a new menu—a dramatic makeover that freshens up the restaurant a decade after it first opened. The project has been in the works since last July and was originally set to reopen last fall, but the large structural changes made to the property and the difficulties of working with an old building caused delays.

Lisa Seidensticker, the chief operating officer of Tableseide Restaurant Group, the restaurant's parent company, says she and her brother, Joe Seidensticker, Tableseide's chief executive officer, wanted to make sure the new space is built to last. "We wanted to put a stake here for another 10 years," Lisa says. "This is our flagship." The relaunch coincides with plans for a second Libby's brasserie that is expected to open in Lakewood Ranch later this year.

The neighborhood brasserie theme governs the new Libby's menu, which emphasizes rich, satisfying flavors at prices that will allow diners to come in regularly. The offerings include classic appetizers like steak tartare ($15) and a duck and pork terrine ($16); a watercress, endive and roquefort salad accented with blanched and roasted walnuts ($11); rotisserie meats like chicken ($24) and duck ($29); steaks ($29-$42); and more. The space is lighter and brighter than before, with concrete floors, patio seating out front, blond wood accents and exposed wood in the ceiling.

The restaurant will offer lunch and dinner seven days a week, plus brunch on Sundays (always a hit at Libby's). No official opening day has yet been finalized, but the restaurant plans to open later this week. Follow Libby's on social media for exact details. Libby's is located at 1917 S. Osprey Ave., Sarasota.