5-star restaurant in Ford dealership charges patrons $0
Unique deal with a Michelin chef has stolen business from Chevy, Jeep, Ram, Toyota, Tesla
A longtime reader called to tip me to buzz among automotive execs about a high-end restaurant in Florida run by a chef who earned a Michelin star in Paris. Not only is the restaurant located inside a Ford dealership in Sarasota but it’s so exclusive that only their car customers are allowed to eat there.
Then I learn through reporting that the dealership actually turns away potential diners who plead for the opportunity to order breakfast, lunch or dinner from the menu. Here’s a behind-the-scenes story about cars, innovative business strategy and great food.
To eat at Le Mans Kitchen, a patron must have a voucher from the adjacent Sarasota Ford dealership. No voucher, no access.
Only people who have purchased a car or traded a car — or have brought any car to the dealership for repair or service as minor as an oil change — have the privilege of eating at Le Mans Kitchen, a full-service restaurant that seats up to 35 guests.
The voucher provides for a beverage and a food item. Options may include French toast, smoked salmon eggs Benedict, salads, hamburgers or short ribs with mashed potatoes.
Customers eat for free. They may bring a guest or guests who pay the listed menu prices. When I called back the man who tipped me to the story, he thought I had misunderstood, that it couldn’t be true meals are complimentary.
Many diners come in solo while others set up meals with friends or family that are built around the automotive service department schedule.
“If I create a raving fan, that customer becomes my outside salesperson. If I built a regular restaurant, no one would talk about it. They’d say they had a nice meal,” Matt Buchanan, 41, president of Buchanan Auto Group and owner of Sarasota Ford, told Shifting Gears.
“I wanted them to leave the dealership taking pictures, sharing on social media and telling everybody they knew. We had Filet Mignon on the menu for awhile. It’s constantly rotating and seasonal. Now we’re a destination site. People will call and say, ‘Can you get me into Le Mans Kitchen?’ And we always say, ‘You can join a service guest. They can bring you in. That’s the only way.’”
The restaurant is named after the prestigious endurance race in LeMans, France that Ford Motor Co.-backed drivers have won multiple times — and the subject of the 2019 Hollywood film “Ford v Ferrari.”
People swing by Sarasota Ford “non-stop” trying to gain access to the restaurant, Buchanan said: “We offer them a coffee and croissant and welcome them with open arms. Then they consider becoming a service customer. We know if you come for service on your Chevy or Dodge that you’re going to buy a car from us.”
The restaurant at 707 S. Washington Blvd., which opened in January 2023, has driven nearly 25% in service operations growth at the dealership. And it has changed the culture of purchase, repair and service for car owners who drive everything from Ford, Toyota and Jeep to Mercedes, Ram and Tesla.
“This restaurant,” Buchanan said, “it’s insane what it’s done for us.”
A sample of the 642 reviews on Google for Le Mans Kitchen averaging 5-stars:
“Let’s just say if you’ve never had a delicious meal while surrounded by F-150s and Mustangs, you’re missing out on one of life’s finer joys. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and served with the kind of attention you’d expect at a five-star restaurant… not a place where people usually shop for tires. (August 2025)
“The atmosphere was warm and inviting, and the service was top-notch … We tried both the steak and the chicken, and they were absolutely delicious. Highly recommend for anyone looking for great food and a great vibe!” (July 2025)
“Simple yet delicious and charming. My wife had a Caesar Salad, which was half a lettuce head with chicken and a rich and flavorful dressing - unique. I had a perfectly cooked burger with gruyere cheese and fries. One of the best burgers I've had in a long time.” (2024)
A car dealership often sees 3% to 6% growth in gross fixed operations but Sarasota Ford is nearly 25% from a year ago, he said.
“I had a customer today in her 60s who came up to me and said they planned to buy a Lexus but now they can’t,” Buchanan said, laughing. “I asked why. She said, ‘Lexus doesn’t serve me Michelin-starred food. They give me coffee and a cookie.’”
Le Mans Kitchen is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and run by four chefs total — led by Jose Martinez, 60, a native of Morocco who spent much of his life in France and gained notoriety at Maison Blanche in Paris.
(In addition to overseeing Le Mans Kitchen, Martinez is known for his own Maison Blanche Restaurant in Sarasota. He may be found at the dealership at least once a week. Almost everything is made from scratch at both restaurants.)
Alcohol isn’t served at Le Mans Kitchen. But patrons may order a zero proof cocktail with smoke that mimics the burnout of a Ford GT, a nod to the 2020 heritage edition on display in the dealership showroom. And smoothies and custom coffee drinks? They’re popular, too.
The food is so good that Sue Egler of Bradenton, Fla., sets up mini dates during service appointments.
“Tom, my significant other, is from New England and grew up on halibut. He said the halibut at Le Mans Kitchen is the best he’s ever had … Tom just traded his older Ford Edge for a 2023 Edge.”
At age 75, Egler said she could buy anything and considered a luxury vehicle. But Le Mans Kitchen, along with mobile service, is concierge care she said she can’t find anywhere else.
So she traded her 2015 Ford Escape SUV for a 2025 plug-in hybrid Escape. “I bought my new car almost four months ago and had the shrimp pasta that was out of this world. I took a picture of it.”
Egler took two friends visiting from Indiana to lunch at Le Mans Kitchen. Another friend was thinking of getting a Kia, Egler said. “I told her about how they’ll give her lunch and she’s thinking about a Ford Explorer now.
Men who have purchased F-150 and F-250 pickup trucks are bringing their significant others to Le Mans Kitchen now, Buchanan said. When leases on BMW, Lexus or Mercedes come up, memories of Le Mans Kitchen may alter discussion.
“The dynamics of service have changed,” Buchanan said. “We’ve created a culture where people look forward to servicing their car.”
A decade ago, Sarasota Ford installed a no-frills cafeteria-style restaurant that seated maybe 8 to 10 customers, offering options such as panini sandwiches.
After installing $15,000 massage chairs and a movie theater for customers, Buchanan wanted to do something bold with food.
“When people come in, it blows their minds,” he said. “We have three full-time chefs plus our celebrity chef, Jose Martinez. The executive chef below him was at the Ritz-Carlton.”
Money that would be spent on traditional TV, print or digital advertising is, instead, diverted to running the restaurant,” Buchanan said. “When you spend money on customers, you’re blown away by the return you get back.”
When coming up with the idea, Buchanan didn’t know where to find the right chef. A friend suggested he email Martinez cold, which led to a hard-hat tour on site and talk of what was possible.
“He said, ‘I want to do something upscale,’” Martinez told me. “I said, ‘This is a crazy idea but maybe we are two crazy guys.’”
This years, the Tesla Diner opened to the public in West Hollywood, Calif., with charging stations for its electric vehicles and a movie theater. Ford’s Garage restaurants are a franchise unaffiliated with Ford Motor Co., but Bozard Lincoln Ford dealership has one at its St. Augustine, Fla., site that is open to the public.
Michelin doesn’t give stars in Sarasota now, but Buchanan hopes it’ll happen someday: “We aspire to create these types of dishes and experiences … We are the only place in the world (that I know of) where you can receive a Michelin star-quality type of meal while also servicing or buying a Michelin tire.”
Good Saturday morning, Ms Howard.
Here we are, enjoying a leaf filtered ray of sun, while sitting on my recently blown clean of leaves deck, listening to 73 on Serius, reading Substack, and here you come with another happy story. We all needed that!
While growing up on “the EASSIDE” Nevada and Van Dyke, there was a Ver Hoven Chevy dealership that housed a Mexican restaurant inside. That was around 1976. I heard it was good. Never tried it because eating out was not on the list of things to spend money on!
The Sarasota dealership and eatery condition to have a voucher from the inside is a great making of an exclusive club that has a simple entry ticket: Join the Ford Dealership family or head on out to McDonalds!
Thanks for adding bright to my day!
Gregg
PEACE
How clever, almost makes me want to live in Florida