The Vero Beach fine dining scene has a new player, thanks to developer Anthony DeChellis. 

Argentine-born Sebastian La Rocca, who has worked at several Michelin-rated restaurants in various parts of the world, started last week as culinary director for the upscale market, tiki bar and fine dining restaurant complex now in the final stages of preparation at 1410 South A1A in South Beach.

The three related culinary venues are the brainchild of DeChellis, a Vero Beach native who returned to town after culminating a career in finance in New York as president of Credit Suisse Private Banking. DeChellis now runs DeChellis Capital LLC, a Vero Beach real estate and investment firm with a hospitality arm, Windward Restaurant Concepts.

The Windward name is a tribute to Windward Way in The Moorings where DeChellis grew up and lives today.

The impressive, 27,000-square-foot mixed use development where La Rocca will display his talents is located next to the South A1A 7-Eleven convenience store and directly across from Johnny D’s Italian market and family restaurant on premises also owned by DeChellis.

The new restaurant location was originally destined to house island fine-dining favorite The Tides for a couple of years while its present location on Cardinal Drive was to be demolished and totally rebuilt. DeChellis custom-built the new space for Tides owner and chef Leanne Kelleher with her input. He also developed plans for a new building on Cardinal that also was designed to her specifications.

But Kelleher changed her mind late in the process, deciding to stay put at the central beach location, which DeChellis owns, and close only for a couple of months this summer for modest upgrades.

Despite the last-minute switcheroo, Kelleher and DeChellis say they are still good friends and that the change in plans was amicable. Both said there was too much emotion involved in leaving the quaint, old Cardinal location on the part of principals, staff, patrons and neighbors.

DeChellis found La Rocca through a headhunter and convinced him to move to Vero Beach because, as La Rocca said in an interview with Vero Beach 32963, “Vero Beach offers the best of two worlds for me. It gives me a great opportunity to pursue my life-long passion for cooking, as well as get the right work/life balance to do what I like.”

La Rocca, 48, describes himself as an avid sportsman and athlete who loves swimming, fishing and surfing.

“The beach is it for me,” La Rocca said. “I was working in the Midwest, but I was longing to be close to the ocean.”

La Rocca said he has gotten to know Vero Beach as a “nice, peaceful community with a laid-back, healthy lifestyle. The people here seem friendly and well educated – you can feel the hospitality. There are no high buildings and there’s no pollution. People have time to sit down and talk. It’s a small community with a big heart. I like the way they’ve protected what they have.”

La Rocca will oversee the management of all three venues – the Turtle Cove upscale market at the western end of the complex, closest to highway A1A, the Motley Cow tiki bar, a fun meeting place under a huge open palapa roof in the middle, and the Blu Fin fine dining, Mediterranean-themed restaurant with ample parking in the rear.

The establishments will open to the public in October, in stages rather than all at the same time, but the exact order of the three openings has not yet been determined.

La Rocca has started hiring and says he is looking for people with the right character and ethics, who are totally dedicated to providing guests with a memorable experience.

“I’m not looking so much for a specific skillset,” La Rocca says. “I can teach people how to open a bottle of wine, but I can’t teach ethics and character. I will build a team that can bring unique and amazing experiences to our guests. You come into my home – you’re my guest.”

La Rocca also plans to partner with local suppliers whenever possible, from fishermen to farmers, to support the local economy.

The menu for the restaurant, with both indoor and outdoor dining, is still being developed, although it’s a good bet that some entrée choices will have roasted tomatoes as a side dish. La Rocca says roasted tomatoes, with a crisp exterior and a soft inside, served over onions and sugarcane honey, are a simple, but at the same time complex creation that’s one of his signature dishes.

La Rocca says he’s not afraid of competition from existing restaurants, because his establishments will be unique. “Everyone sells food. You want a simple meal and a small bill, you go to McDonald’s. You want to buy a bottle of Heinz ketchup, you go to Publix – not our market. We won’t just sell food. Food is culture. We will sell an amazing experience.”

La Rocca was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a Spanish mother and Italian father. Cooking and sitting around the table as a family was a cherished central feature of daily life. He honed his cooking skills working with French and Japanese chefs and believes that people from different backgrounds coming together to break bread can be a healing experience.

La Rocca held executive culinary leadership roles at Michelin-recognized kitchens in the United Kingdom and Costa Rica, according to DeChellis.

“Sebastian brings a rare combination of global experience, entrepreneurial vision and operational excellence,” DeChellis said. “I have wanted to create something truly special for this community for a long time, and with Sebastian, I believe we are about to do exactly that.”