photo mosaic of Naples, Florida pier, Bayfront, Bayside, dolphin jumping, magenta orchid, water birds silhouetted against the sunset
Great Wolf Lodge to Open Soon in Southwest Florida

Great Wolf Lodge to Open Soon in Southwest Florida

Great Wolf Lodge has set date to open in Southwest Florida, bookings start now

Phil Fernandez | Naples Daily News

Many of you told me you would make reservations as soon as the first new Great Wolf Lodge in Florida began accepting them.

Now here’s your chance.

Great Wolf leaders announced the iconic retreat would make its debut in Southwest Florida on Oct. 1, 2024 but don’t be surprised if it opens even sooner.

The announcement came as Great Wolf Lodge South Florida in Naples reached a key milestone Wednesday in completing vertical construction of the family-focused indoor water park complex. Read the 14 things you need to know on naplesnews.com

Find a home in Southwest Florida. Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opening at Mercato in Naples

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opening at Mercato in Naples

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opening first Florida theater in Naples at Mercato: What to know

Dave Osborn | Naples Daily News

Naples soon will become home to Florida’s first Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

The Austin, Texas-based cinema eatery chain confirmed July 24 what has been speculated for weeks: It will replace Silverspot at Mercato in North Naples.

“We’re really excited not only to provide a great cinema experience for the area, but to introduce everything that makes us different from other theaters in the Sunshine State,” said Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kusterman in a news release.

Alamo Drafthouse officials are targeting an early 2024 opening, after it converts the space Silverspot has occupied since 2009. Silverspot ― which opened a year after Mercato did ― announced July 12 that it would close after July 23.

“Updates to the theater will include premium, reclining leather seats, a revamped bar experience, and a theme celebrating cinema’s greatest golf films,” the news release said.

The Naples location will be in 33,652 square feet of space, “with 11 auditoriums updated with approximately 650 newly-installed luxury recliner seats and 4K digital projection. Parking will be free and easily accessible at a parking deck located behind the theater.”

Alamo Drafthouse operates 39 locations in a dozen states.

Get the scoop on food and beverages, and no talk no text policy and more on napelsnews.com.

There’s so much to do in the Naples, Florida area! To find a home, contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

Waterfront North Naples restaurant reopens

Waterfront North Naples restaurant reopens

10 months after Hurricane Ian

Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News

What to know

BALEEN Naples, the exquisite waterfront restaurant with endless water views at the chi-chi LaPlaya Beach & Resort, announced its “soft reopening” Monday.

The popular restaurant had been closed for nearly 10 months since Hurricane Ian slammed the Southwest Florida coast Sept. 28. It’s been refurbished and a new menu is in place.

Despite being closed for so long, its rank has risen to TripAdvisor’s No. 2 restaurant in town among 626 listed. Baleen also recently maintained its “Best of Award of Excellence” from Wine Spectator in 2023.

What hasn’t changed? It’s still super expensive and splurge-worthy for the gorgeous Gulf vistas.

Read more about BALEEN with photos on naplesnews.com.

Find a home close to fine dining in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

10 Best dishes to try at new Naples, Marco Island and Bonita Springs restaurants

10 Best dishes to try at new Naples, Marco Island and Bonita Springs restaurants

Editor’s note: Condensed from JLB review on naplesnews.com. See the original mouthwatering photos and complete descriptions along with contact info for the restaurants.

Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News

This week, we’re rounding up JLB’s top 10 favorite dishes from Naples, Marco and Bonita’s new restaurants.

For those of you counting, we also list two honorable mentions whose inclusions come with caveats: one is new-ish to me, and maybe you too, but we’ve not featured it in the paper. The other features rotating menus, less an issue for summer, but when it first opened, its offerings varied weekly and by day.

Restaurants are listed alphabetically, not preferentially.

Boutique Sweet Couple
The dish: Hazelnut dacquoise, aka Kyiv cake, $15
Kyiv cake is a less refined version of a hazelnut dacquoise; most versions have two layers of baked nut meringue; French dacquoise usually three or four layers.

Casa Cotzelli
The dish: Spaghetti burro alici, $18
Sometimes, the simplest thing on the menu is the best. Spaghetti tossed with anchovy butter might be the comfort dish of the year.

Casa Neri
The dish: Salumi di Mare, $26 for a small size
…slices of succulent smoked swordfish, smoked tuna plus a beet juice-citrus marinated salmon…

DiGusto
The dish: Burrata, prosciutto and arugula salad, $22
Aside from vegans, who doesn’t love billowy burrata?

Fernweh Ice Cream
The dish: “Blueberry Vineyard” sorbet infused with wine, $10
Fernweh is different because it handcrafts each sophisticated flavor daily using premium ingredients, and you can taste the difference.

Kim-Chi Grill
The dish: Chicken bulgogi, $18
After biting each of the six components in this bowl ― all stand-alone delicious ― I broke the perfectly poached egg then slathered it over the rice..

The Med
The dish: Octopus a modo mio, $22
Meltingly tender and served in a sumptuous well-balanced puttanesca sauce chockful of the sea creature,

Old Vines Supper Club
The dish: Potato-crusted crab salad
If you see this dish posted as a course, book a reservation.

Ori’s Bakery & Cafe
The dish: Breakfast empanada, $4.50
Everything is baked from scratch and served fresh from the oven by Ori Reed

PJK Neighborhood Chinese
The dish: Dan Dan noodles, $24
Spicy but not incendiary and served in a gorgeous Instagrammable bowl that we were told was designed exclusively for PJK.

Wolfmoon
The dish: Vegetarian croque monsieur, $18
… delectable grilled-cheese-ish sandwich. Did I mention the from-scratch bread baked with premium flour

Yacht Club Subs
The dish: Waldorf chicken salad minnow, $12
Oh that bread! Each bite was better than the next but don’t just take my word for it.

Do you want to find a home near these wonderful restaurants? Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.

NABOR Market Report | June 2023

NABOR Market Report | June 2023

Naples Housing Market Prime for Summer Buyers

Naples, Fla. (July 21, 2023) – Broker analysts reviewing the June 2023 Market Report by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island), believe a surge in summer travel contributed to the reduction in home sales in Naples during June. The report showed a 13.6 percent decrease in overall closed sales for the month to 837 closed sales from 969 closed sales in June 2022. Though the dip in closed sales appears temporary and may not linger into July’s closed sales data as overall pending sales (homes under contract) in June increased 0.8 percent to 800 pending sales from 794 pending sales, and June’s showings increased slightly from showings reported in June 2022. Fortunately, slow sales in June did not impact home prices as the median closed price reported in June increased 0.4 percent to $602,494 from $600,000 in June 2022.

Overall inventory continues to rise compared to 2022 levels. June had an 8.2 percent increase in overall inventory to 2,659 homes from 2,457 homes. But according to the area’s top brokers, this increase was due to low sales for the month and not because of new listings, which decreased 28.2 percent to 860 new listings from 1,198 new listings in June 2022.

The NABOR® June 2023 Market Report provides comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the Southwest Florida MLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an overall market summary. NABOR® sales statistics are presented in chart format, including these overall (single-family and condominium) findings for 2023:NABOR Market Report June 2023 chart“Travel is the elixir that will make people feel inspired to buy again once they return home from summer vacations,” said Cindy Carroll of Carroll & Carroll Appraisers & Consultants, LLC. “It’s been 15 months since the market peaked [December 2021]. We’ve been through a pandemic and hurricane and still the monthly reports fail to indicate a market correction will happen anytime soon as median and average closed prices continue to hold steady.”

 

Breeze Airways expanding routes to RSW

Breeze Airways expanding routes to RSW

Breeze Airways increasing Southwest Florida footprint in a big way. See new options coming.

Mark H. Bickel | Fort Myers News-Press

Options are a good thing when it comes to air travel. People living in Southwest Florida or visiting here will have more options starting later this year when Breeze Airways adds nine new routes to its growing portfolio of destinations originating from RSW (Southwest Florida International Airport) in Fort Myers.

Breeze Airways, which is based in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, announced Tuesday that these new winter and spring seasonal nonstop routes from Fort Myers will begin in November. Fares will start from just $39 one way.

The special $39 one-way fare must be purchased by July 24, 2023 (11:59 pm ET), for travel by January 9, 2024.

Breeze Airways will offer these nine new routes from Fort Myers in November:

  • Akron-Canton, Ohio
  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Louisville, Kentucky
  • New Orleans
  • Norfolk, Virginia
  • Pittsburgh
  • Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
  • Richmond, Virginia
  • Syracuse, New York

Get all the details about Breeze’s new flights on naplesnews.com.

Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086 to explore homes in the area.