Diana Biederman | Naples Daily News
On a hot summer day in 2004, I remember standing in line with my ’21’ Club colleagues at the first Shake Shack in New York City’s Madison Square Park.
Nowadays, it’s famous for its burgers and shakes, but during that visit, I don’t recall any burgers or crinkly fries because it was all about hot dogs and soft drinks.
In those early days, it resembled a kiosk with an assembly prep line with different staff responsible for different toppings.
Following a 40-minute wait, it was my first (and last) bite into a Chicago-style wiener.
Several years later, another location opened in my neighborhood across from the Museum of Natural History. The ever-present line around the block made the sidewalk tricky to maneuver.
Anyone working in the restaurant industry has always paid attention to anything Danny Meyer (the hospitality legend behind the concept) opens because he is among the world’s most successful restaurateurs. Whether dining at Union Square Café, the game-changing restaurant that made him famous in 1985 — or Shake Shack — you’re in for a special experience.
Twenty years and more than 400 Shake Shacks across the globe later, Naples is getting its first outpost at Mercato Shops. It’s set to open in 2025 and is taking over 3,000 square feet in what was formerly Charming Charlie’s and, subsequently, the pop-up Hand & Harvest Artisan Market.
Read the full article on naplesnews.com.
The I-75 at SR 951 Project began in 2023 and aims to reduce traffic delays and congestion. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is proposing enhancements for the I-75 intersection at State Road 951 on Collier Boulevard, which is currently under construction.
Crews are busily constructing bridge structures for a new bridge across Beck Boulevard, east of Collier Boulevard, which you may have seen on your commute, taking up space on either side of Collier Boulevard and causing lane closures. Motorists should proceed with caution and keep an eye out for workers and construction vehicles approaching and exiting the roadway, according to a recent article by Sophia Lowrie of Coastal Breeze News.
To get the details on road closures, etc. red the full article on naplesnewsnow.com.
Opus Stone, a gated neighborhood in north Naples, has released its price ranges.
According to a statement, homes in the 50-acre complex will cost at least $2 million. The project includes 51 residences located at Vanderbilt Beach Road and Massey Street, according to a recent article by Mark Gordon of Business Observer.
Seagate Development Group, the corporation behind the project, has recently released additional data regarding the Opus Stone, including:
The project will include three groups of new homes, each built on “oversized homesites.”
There will be 11 floor designs, with sizes ranging from 3,200 to 5,550 square feet under air.
Read the full article on naplesnewsnow.com.
For more information about new construction luxury homes at Opus Stone, contact David at David at David@DavidFlorida.com or 239-285-1086.
The developers of a 160-room boutique hotel along the Cocohatchee River in North Naples say the building will open this autumn under the moniker The Perry, which launched in Key West in 2017.
The $80 million project is located at 12155 Tamiami Trail N., Naples. The hotel, according to a release, has seven stories. The hotel has spacious guest rooms, most with balconies, a ground-floor pool and adjacent activity lawn, a poolside tapas eatery, a lobby coffee bar, a fitness center, an open-air deck with a rooftop pool, a poolside bar specializing in craft cocktails, and the rooftop Tigress Restaurant, a full-service venue serving chef-driven Asian-fusion cuisine and panoramic views, according to a recent article by Mark Gordon of Business Observer.
“The Perry Hotel Naples’ opening will significantly change the landscape for destination hotels available to travelers visiting Southwest Florida,” says Mike Raymond, CEO of FOD Capital, the project’s developer, in the release.
The hotel’s mood and surroundings, according to the developers, are heavily influenced by the local native ecology, which includes a riverine estuary, a mangrove forest, and an upland forest of native pines, oaks, and palm trees.
Read the full article on naplesnewsnow.com.
WMG Development has broken ground on The Shoppes at Orange Blossom, a new retail center near Naples. The shopping center, located at the crossroads of Oil Well Road and Big Corkscrew Drive, will be anchored by Publix and will span over 60,000 square feet. Other long-term tenants at the complex include Great Clips and Le Nail Salon.
The project, which is scheduled to be completed in late summer 2025, will be located at the entrance to Big Corkscrew Island Regional Park, a 150-acre outdoor park and entertainment attraction, and adjacent to the Emblem at Orange Blossom apartment neighborhood.
Read more on naplesnewsnow.com.
Here’s a guide for summer.
Chad Gillis |Naples Daily News
Brown pelicans crash into tiny rolling waves as black skimmers use their sharp bills to slice through the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.
Shiny shells and salmon-hued bits of sponge tumble in the frothy white waters that lap along the shoreline.
Golden rays from the sun blast across the sky, breaking through the palm trees, sea grape trees and mansions and create huge shadows on the white sand.
This is it: Naples Beach. That place that so many people write about online.
Everyone from U.S. News and World Report to Dr. Beach himself have glamorized Naples-area beaches as being among the best in Florida, the best in the nation, the tops in the world.
And these are your beaches: it says so on the parking signs. Only residents with parking passes may use the lots here. If you live outside the area and can’t get a permit, you’ll have to race down to park near the old Naples Pier.
And while almost all beaches were impacted by Hurricane Ian in 2022, many renourishment and beach-rebuilding projects are already underway or completed.
Some beaches still lack the accommodations and facilities they offered pre-storm, but the beaches themselves are as beautiful as always.
They range from quaint, untouched shorelines to the old Naples Pier, where fisherman, swimmers, sunbathers and surfers flock during all times of the year.
But summertime is really the time to celebrate local beaches as the water temperatures are finally warm enough for a comfortable dip in the Gulf.
Here is a look at five of the best beaches in the Naples-Collier area:
- Barefoot Beach State Preserve Park ― Top Nature Preserve
- Vanderbilt Beach ― Best Family Beach
- Naples Pier ― Best Beach for Water Recreation
- Keewaydin Island ― Best Boating Beach
- Marco Island’s Tigertail Beach ― Best Birding Beach
Get the details on these 5 beaches on naplesnews.com.
