Ford has been keen to focus on increasing the number and quality of its post-purchase experiences for Blue Oval customers in recent years, whether that be by offering mobile service or track day events for owners. At the same time, Ford’s Garage – which is its own separate restaurant chain not affiliated with the automaker – is enjoying tremendous success and a rapid expansion. In that sense, it somewhat makes sense that one FoMoCo dealership – Sarasota Ford in Florida – recently decided to open its own high-end restaurant specifically for its customers called the LeMans Kitchen, according to the Business Observer.
This rather unusual idea came from Matt Buchanan, president and managing partner of Sarasota Ford, who recently approached Michelin Star chef Jose Martinez wanting to team up and open a high-end French-focused restaurant inside of the dealership that’s only open to customers. As one might imagine, Martinez wasn’t quite sure he was being serious at first. “I told him this was a crazy idea,” he said, “but that I am up for the challenge.”
With help from additional parties, the duo soon had their concept figured out – LeMans Kitchen, which seats 38 people and is located at the front end of Sarasota Ford. With a mere six people on the payroll, the restaurant clearly isn’t expecting to host a ton of customers at once, but then again, the only people that can actually eat there are those that purchase a vehicle from the dealer and their colleagues, as well as service customers.
Those that do meet the first criteria are free to dine at LeMans Kitchen any time they wish, while service customers can visit once, though both will receive a meal and drink voucher. The food and service at the multi-million dollar expansion are said to be of the highest quality, however, and given the fact that nothing else quite like it exists anywhere else in the U.S. at the moment, we imagine that customers will find it to be a pretty good reason to do business there.
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