J. Kyle Foster | Naples Daily News
After months of conversations and arguments about an entryway befitting Naples and a five-star beach resort, the city’s Design Review Board has approved site and landscaping plans for the porte-cochere at the Naples Beach Club on Gulf Shore Boulevard.
The beach club, a Four Seasons resort, is under construction on the beach facing the Gulf of Mexico. Its 216-luxury rooms are replacing the 319-room Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, which stood on the site since 1946.
City manager tasked with decision on entry covering
City Council put the fate of the “porte cochere” in the hands of City Manager Jay Boodheshwar in January after members failed to come to consensus on a design during that meeting – and that was after considering three proposals in three months from Beach Club architect Hart Howerton. Council members couldn’t decide on whether to allow the developer to build the driveway cover because the designs all required encroachment on setbacks, which are minimum distances required around a building set forth in the city’s Land Use Ordinance.
Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
Southwest Florida is home to some of the fastest-growing companies in America.
Once again, a handful of private companies made it onto the Inc. 5000 list.
The 2024 list includes 27 companies from Lee and Collier counties. The rankings are based on revenue growth from 2020 through 2023.
With a median growth rate of 351% over the last three years, the local companies generated 1,114 jobs. Nearly half of them have appeared on the list before, so they come as no surprise to those who follow the annual rankings.
To qualify, companies must be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit and independent, with revenue of at least $2 million in 2023. Revenue figures are not disclosed in the list.
The local group of honorees includes businesses in diverse industries, from advertising to software.
Estero-based XIL Health ranks the highest – coming in at No. 117. It’s revenue growth rate? A whopping, 2,874%.
The pharma-tech company attributes the explosive growth to its sister company Visory Health, which offers a prescription discount card.
Read about other Southwest Florida companies that are on the list on naplesnews.com.
Jonah Hinebaugh
Jason Bays, general manager for the lodge, shows off teh adventure park area during a tour at the Great Wolf Lodge in Naples on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024.
View all the photos on naplesnews.com.
Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
Emeril Lagasse.
Nancy Oakes.
Charlie Palmer.
Bryan Voltaggio.
Those prominent names comprise merely four of America’s most recognizable celeb chefs secured by The Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF) who are heading our way for the Foundation’s 25th Naples Winter Wine Festival set for Jan. 24 to 26.
But wait, there’s more
Other top toques on this all-star power roster joining the Festival’s honorary “Chef de Cuisine” Angelo Auriana of The Factory Kitchen and Brera Ristorante include Michelin-star winners, food TV personalities and James Beard Foundation (JBF) Awards winners and finalists.
Angelo Auriana is ‘Chef de Cuisine’ for the Naples Winter Wine Festival’s 25th anniversary.
Josiah Citrin of the two Michelin-starred Citrin and Mélisse in Santa Monica, California.
“Chopped” Grand Champion Stephen Coe of Dangerous Eats and The Early Bird Café in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
JBF’s Best Chef in the Southeast Award finalist Cassidee Dabney of The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.
Read the rest of the list of power chefs who will be at the 2025 Naples Winter Wine Festival on naplesnews.com.
Laura Layden | Naples Daily News
For years, rumors have swirled about a second Costco in Collier County.
The wholesale club has shown interest in a forested site at the corner of Collier Boulevard and Rattlesnake Snake Hammock Road in Southeast Naples.
A map of the area on LoopNet, a commercial real estate website, even shows a Costco as “coming soon.”
Yet, there are rumblings the members-only warehouse has changed its mind. As is often the case with retailers in the exploratory or early planning stages for a new site, Costco isn’t commenting on its interest, or non-interest, in the location.
It’s never easy to track the comings and goings of retailers, as they expand, contract and evolve. They’re often a secretive bunch. This much is clear: Retailers big and small are looking to expand – or in some instances to establish a presence – in Collier County, through traditional stores.
Some stores are closing or relocating this year, making it even harder to keep up with the musical chairs of retail tenants locally.
As of May, major retail chains had announced plans to shutter nearly 3,200 stores across the country in 2024, a 24% increase over last year, according to research firm CoreSight. Experts blame the closings on several factors, including inflation and higher operating costs.
Family Dollar is among the biggest casualties, with at least 600 stores expected to close in the U.S. this year, and more over the next few years, as leases expire, due to a lackluster performance in 2023.
Here retail isn’t dying, but rather evolving.
Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
Buy a home in the evolving Southwest Florida area of Naples, Bonita Springs, and Marco Island, Florida, contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
Dave Osborn | Naples Daily News
If only Artis―Naples could turn back time. Actually, it has for the upcoming 2024-25 Broadway season.
The five productions at the Naples venue offer a variety, from shows that pay homage to hit films to musical tributes of legends Cher and Michael Jackson.
Tickets to shows are available now with a subscription only. Then they will be sold to everyone else starting at 10 a.m. Sept. 17.
Here’s what to know about the new Broadway season.
‘Some Like It Hot’ brings movie classic to the stage
Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe co-starred in the 1959 classic film “Some Like It Hot,” and the Broadway version has won rave reviews in recent years.
The play has won four Tony Awards, including Best Choreography and Best Costumes. Set in Chicago during Prohibition, “Some Like It Hot” tells the story of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit. They catch a cross-country train with gangsters on their heels.
See “Some Like It Hot” at various times from Dec. 24 through Dec. 29
Read about Mamma Mia!, The Cher Show, Moonwalks and Thrills, and Pretty Woman, the Musical on naplesnews.com.
Don’t miss the great entertainment in Naples, find a home in southwest Florida, contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
