Todd Morton did not set out to run Morton's Gourmet Market. He tells the hosts he is standing on the shoulders of giants, starting with his grandfather, a Nabisco salesman who befriended the owner of Marble's Market, the store's predecessor, back in the early 1950s. When that owner's sons showed no interest in the grocery business, Morton's grandfather took over as general manager and eventually bought the place outright. Todd's own path back to Sarasota came in 2007, after years working restaurant jobs around the country, when he and his wife decided their first child would not be born in Memphis, Tennessee, and he returned home to help run the family business alongside his father before eventually buying it themselves.
The store's shift from a standard grocery to a specialty gourmet market, and the addition of its now-famous catering arm, both trace back to unlikely origin stories. The catering business began when a film crew shooting the Karl Wallenda story at the nearby Wallenda House in the late 1970s asked Morton's family to take over catering after the crew kept sneaking over to eat from the deli instead. Today Morton's runs seven catering trucks and handles everything from office lunches to elaborate 100-plus person events, though Morton says the business is proudest of its work on medium-sized house parties and milestone birthday celebrations.
Morton does not shy away from the store's reputation for being expensive, comparing it to a fine dining restaurant that never apologizes for its prices. What he refuses to apologize for is bad quality or bad service, he says, while acknowledging the store's chronically tight parking lot has produced its share of chaos over the years, including fistfights, cars crashing through the back wall, and a dedicated parking attendant nicknamed either the hero or the villain of Southside Village depending on who is asking. The conversation also covers the Sarasota Firefighter Chili Cookoff, now in its 25th year and drawing roughly 3,000 people to two closed-off blocks, an event that grew from a modest gathering of 90 people in Morton's own side parking lot.
Morton also highlights the Morton Culinary Education Fund, established in 2010 through the Sarasota Community Foundation, which awards scholarships to graduating Sarasota County seniors pursuing culinary or hospitality careers. On roundabouts, he admits mixed feelings, recalling that his own business once fought off a proposed roundabout at Hillview and Osprey during a road construction project years ago, a decision he now second-guesses every time he tries to cross that intersection.
What you'll take away
- Morton's Gourmet Market traces back to Marble's Market in the early 1950s, when Todd Morton's grandfather took over as general manager before eventually buying the store.
- The store's catering business began by accident in the late 1970s, when a Hollywood film crew shooting the Karl Wallenda story asked Morton's to take over catering for the production.
- The store operates seven catering trucks and specializes in medium-sized private events like house parties and milestone birthdays.
- The Sarasota Firefighter Chili Cookoff, now in its 25th year, grew from about 90 attendees in Morton's parking lot to roughly 3,000 people across two closed city blocks.
- The Morton Culinary Education Fund, run through the Sarasota Community Foundation since 2010, awards scholarships to local students pursuing culinary careers.
“I feel like I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.”
“Don't make me apologize for bad quality and bad service. If we pull those two things off, it's worth it 100 percent.”
Places mentioned: Southside Village, Hillview Street, Osprey Avenue