…including a local Food Network cheftestant
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
Local restaurateurs are shaking things up this summer. A Peruvian restaurant in East Naples has a new owner who’s also the top chef there. The town’s (arguably) most famous punk-rock pizza purveyor trades barbecue at Bayfront for a new brew-focused concept. His chef from another venture is now at the new spot.
And we have three more chef moves making news at high-end hot spots in Naples.
Read all the chef changes on naplesnews.com.
Find a home in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Naples, Fort Myers restaurants among OpenTable’s Top 100 in US for outdoor dining
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
Not too surprising, Naples and Fort Myers restaurants were well represented in the new OpenTable “Top 100” favorite outdoor finds in America.
The restaurant reservations platform, as determined by “verified diner reviews,” awarded Florida 17 total nods, with Naples and Fort Myers representing 5% overall ― more than any other destination in the state. Only California had more winners, with 31.
Alberto’s on Fifth
During season, the line to dine at Alberto’s can stretch down the street. Off-season, it’s less competitive. A recent visit with my college alumnae social group was outside, where we enjoyed the restaurant’s two-course al fresco deal with a glass of wine for $35 per person. True story: a bestie found love on a blind date there that she attributes to Torino-born chef-owner Alberto Varetto’s food.
Campiello
And the awards keep coming to Campiello, which earned a 2022 spot on OpenTable’s overall Top 100 best nationally in December, the only restaurant in town noted.
The Claw Bar at Bellasera Resort
Live like you’re on vacation at this glam spot that channels Beverly Hills and London’s late Le Caprice (IFYKYK) vibes, albeit sunnier and a tad more casually. Seafood towers, great burgers and potent martinis (make it gin for authenticity) paired with sunbrella seating on the patio adjacent to the hotel pool is an idyllic way to spend time.
See the other restaurants that made Open Table’s list on naplesnews.com.
Contact David to find a home in Naples near these noted restaurants. David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086
Ritz-Carlton, Naples, slammed by Ian, reopens bigger, better, on Vanderbilt Beach
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
The Ritz-Carlton Resort, Naples quietly reopened to resort guests last week, giving them the first peek at its major transformation.
Now, locals can see and experience the same.
On Monday, the Ritz rolled out the welcome mat to the community – and all visitors. The transformation includes several new restaurants, and a new lobby bar, with a champagne tasting menu, and “elevated light bites,” such a caviar and wagyu truffle sliders.
The world-renowned resort took a beating from Hurricane Ian, forcing it to close for more than nine months, and to lay off nearly 600 employees.
The coastal property on Vanderbilt Beach remained open in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation, until Ian hit in September, swamping it with water and sand, and lashing it with high winds.
Upgrades to the resort include the new Vanderbilt Tower, with an expansive new club lounge and more than 70 more spacious club-level guest rooms.
Read more about the Ritz Carlton and the club-level experience.
Find a home in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Plans for a new three-story mixed-used building on Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples have resurfaced.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
But they look much different than a few years ago.
The city’s Design Review Board got the first look on Wednesday, embracing the changes, but asking for a few more.
The building will include a new restaurant and four condos, which will operate as hotel rooms, rented by the night.
The proposed site for the new building is at 472 Fifth Avenue S. It’s now home to a single-story building, flanked by newer, taller ones that house the Del Mar and Osteria Tulia restaurants.
Read more about this new concept on naplesnews.com
Find a home in the Naples, Florida area! Contact David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
…with idea that began on Bonita Beach
What if we just stayed on vacation forever?
It’s something that many of us fantasize about, but this meditation on life was inspired during a Bonita Springs snowbird season decades ago, leading to the birth of Tommy Bahama.
Although Tommy’s not an actual human, the behemoth Floridian lifestyle brand encompassing products ranging from fashion and home furnishings to food and tropical cocktails is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2023.
The founders’ first foray was menswear, hitting store department stores in 1993.
Two years later, what was initially planned as the company’s first standalone retail store changed when a real estate opportunity in Olde Naples proved irresistible.
The brand’s CEO, Doug Wood, credits Barbara Walker of Neapolitan Enterprises for igniting an idea in 1995 when two of Tommy’s co-founders, Tony Margolis and Bob Emfield, wanted to open their first retail store.
It was Margolis, Emfield and their wives who were inspired on Bonita Beach years ago to create the brand.
The gents thought 1,000 square feet, but Walker showed them a space eight times that size.
The result? Two shops, one for menswear, a second for womenswear, both sandwiching what would become the brand’s first-ever restaurant.
From Naples to a National Presence – read the story on Naples Daily News
Contact David to find your home in the Bonita Beach area of southwest Florida. David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
By next year, swanky Fifth Avenue South could have its first rooftop restaurant.
Plans for a Prime Social on Naples’ unofficial “Main Street” are slowly advancing.
The project is winding its way through the city’s review and approval process.
Most recently, the Design Review Board got a second look at the conceptual plans, which continue to evolve.
The restaurant would be one of the largest on the avenue – at roughly 7,800 square feet. It would include outdoor dining, with sweeping views of the city.
Prime Social is a newer concept by Cameron Mitchell Restaurants. On the restaurants’ website, it’s described as a “lively and dynamic rooftop cocktail lounge designed for conversation,” where people can “gather to enjoy the moment.” The first one opened in Kansas City, Missouri in 2021.
The one in Naples will require a third story addition to a prominent commercial building at 837 Fifth Avenue S.
The building’s current tenants include Chops City Grill and Engel & Volkers Real Estate.
Read the full story including architectural design and concept.
Contact David to find your home in the best place to live – Naples, Florida. David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
