Most Southwest Florida restaurants told Gulfshore Business that the 2026 off-season was slower than usual. Even so, July, August, and September brought a steady run of openings and closings. In Naples, many of the summer's openings share one idea: dinner shouldn't be the end of the night. A pizzeria now stays open past midnight. A Bayfront restaurant was designed for the hours after dessert. Waterside Shops is building three major restaurants into a center long known for retail.
All of it opened, or got close to opening, while traffic was light and seasonal residents were up north. Season is about to test it.
Downtown Now Stays Open Past Midnight
The clearest sign is at 304 Ninth St. N. Sicilian brothers Luca and Valerio Di Falco already run Mercato Italiano there. On September 1 they opened La Pizzeria next door in Trinity Plaza, serving Neapolitan-style red and white pies, calzones, pasta, and salads. Naples News Now called out the hours as "something Naples doesn't have enough of." La Pizzeria is open until 1 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The brothers eventually hope to connect the two restaurants inside.
About a mile south at Bayfront, Ce Soir pushes the same idea further. Aidan Hospitality, the Canadian group behind the original Ce Soir in Ontario, opened the Naples location in May. The 7,000-square-foot space has 165 seats inside, and 48 more were planned for the patio this fall. Partner George Gill told Gulfshore Life that "what we felt was missing was the next part of the night."
The kitchen is built around a Josper, a Spanish charcoal grill and oven that reaches just under 700 degrees. Executive chef Alex Malinowski, who previously cooked at Café Boulud Palm Beach, uses it for dishes like bone marrow with escargot and a smoked lobster spaghetti. Local craftsmen built part of the room. Naples' Charro Custom Welding made the gold trim, and Bonita Springs' Black Mangrove Woodworks made the booths.
Gulfshore Life reported that the dining room stayed busy all summer and that weekend nights already run until 2 a.m. The October grand opening adds DJs and live entertainment.
The third downtown change is a relocation. Brooks Burgers has been at 330 Ninth St. S. for more than 15 years and has to leave by November 30 because the property was sold for redevelopment. Owner Todd Brooks signed a lease about half a mile away at 1200 Central Ave., in the former Alley and Mini Bar spaces. The restaurant will reopen there as Brooks Burgers & Bar. He's aiming to move around December 1, though construction could shift that date. So the move adds "& Bar" to the name, and it opens just as season gets busy.
Waterside Is Building Around Its Restaurants
Waterside Shops has made the same change on a bigger scale. Owner the Forbes Co. has been reworking the tenant mix all year. The biggest projects are restaurants, and each one is a different kind of evening out.
Eddie V's Prime Seafood opened June 7 in a 9,991-square-foot former bank at Seagate Drive and Myra Janco Daniels Boulevard. Its V Lounge has live jazz every night. On the northwest corner, Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond is building a Restoration Hardware campus of nearly 30,000 square feet where Nordstrom used to be. It's a group of showroom galleries linked by landscaped walkways, with an RH restaurant in a glass atrium at the center. RH hopes to open near the end of the year. As of September, Waterside's own shopping and dining directory still listed RH as coming soon.
The third restaurant is taking longer. Brio Italian Grille closed April 12 after 20 years on the north end of the center. Arizona-based Buck & Rider is renovating the 7,617-square-foot space into a seafood restaurant that mixes locally sourced and international seafood. It was first expected in late 2026, but Gulfshore Business's most recent update says early 2027.
The store changes around those restaurants are spread across the property, so they're easier to follow space by space:
| Space | What was there | What's there now or planned | Status per latest report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outparcel, US 41 at Seagate Dr. | Former Barnes & Noble | Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma, two stories | Open |
| Inline suite near Saks | Part of former Williams Sonoma | Dior standalone boutique | Opened June 11 |
| Suite A7 | Part of former inline Pottery Barn | Vuori, 4,000 sq ft | Opened Sept. 4 |
| Former Ann Taylor plus part of Pottery Barn | Ann Taylor, Pottery Barn | Anthropologie, 8,500 sq ft, moving from the north end | Targeted for fall |
| Eastern edge | Häagen-Dazs and L'Occitane, closed end of May | Love Shack Fancy | Targeted for fall |
| Former White House Black Market | White House Black Market | Peter Millar | Announced |
| Unit across from Dior | Gulf Coast International Properties | Piranesi fine jewelry | Targeted for fall |
| Omega's former unit | Omega, now in a temporary space near True Food Kitchen | Van Cleef & Arpels | Omega moves near Santa Fe Café late 2026 or early 2027 |
The "targeted for fall" dates come from a midsummer report. If you're heading over for a specific store, check that it's open first.
North and East Naples Added Breakfast, Coffee, and Wine
Away from downtown and Waterside, the summer's openings were mostly morning and daytime spots. Gulfshore Business noted that bagel shops, bakeries, bars, and burger joints made up most of the region's new arrivals.
- Sour & Dough Artisan Bakery opened its second location in September at The Pavilion, 893 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Unit 58. The family-owned bakery sells sourdough, croissants, and cruffins.
- Another Broken Egg Cafe opened September 19 at Triangle Shoppes, 6917 Collier Blvd., Suite 701, near US 41. It's the first of four locations the local operator plans across Collier and Lee counties.
- Empire Bagel Factory opened in September at Meridian Marketplace. GLDN Hour Coffee Co. closed on Sixth Avenue South in July and reopened on Fourth Avenue South in September.
- Just Salad opened two locations in September, one at Granada Shoppes and one in Naples Plaza across from Coastland Center.
- The Good Pour soft-opened September 3 in a 7,200-square-foot wine and spirits marketplace at the Shoppes at Vanderbilt, 2373 Vanderbilt Beach Road. It holds tastings and has a private event room, and shoppers can direct part of each purchase to participating nonprofits. The ribbon cutting is October 15, followed by a grand opening October 16 to 18 with tastings and live music.
The summer also left some empty storefronts. Moe's Southwest Grill closed at Berkshire Commons and Granada Shoppes after a large franchisee filed for bankruptcy. McAlister's Deli closed its North Naples location in July after more than a decade.
The biggest change in evening plans is at Mercato. Alamo Drafthouse closed September 9. WINK News reported that the building will stay a cinema under Paragon Theaters. According to Naples Press, Paragon hopes to reopen by mid-December, but that depends on reaching a tenant agreement. Until it does, North Naples has no dinner-and-a-movie option at Mercato.
Where the New Lineup Gets Its First Real Test
The busy part of the calendar starts this week, with The Good Pour's ribbon cutting on October 15. Many of these events are close enough to downtown, Bayfront, and Waterside to pair with dinner, and some run well into the evening.
- October 15 to 18: The Good Pour's ribbon cutting and grand opening on Vanderbilt Beach Road.
- October 20 to November 22: The World Goes 'Round at Gulfshore Playhouse, 100 Goodlette-Frank Road S.
- October 22 to 25: The Naples International Film Festival at Artis—Naples, with an opening-night film and party and a closing-night awards event.
- October 24 and 25: The free Stone Crab Festival at Tin City, with live music, vendors, and food trucks.
- October 29 and 30: Beethoven and Brahms, the Naples Philharmonic's Masterworks season opener, in Hayes Hall.
- October 31: The Halloween Spooktacular at Cambier Park from 3 to 5 p.m., then Evening on Fifth on the avenue from 5 to 8 p.m. Fright Night in the City runs 5 to 7 p.m. at Fleischmann Park, 1600 Fleischmann Blvd.
- October 31 and November 1: Día de los Muertos at Naples Botanical Garden, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with music, dance, and artisan vendors.
- November 14: The Fine Arts & Craft Show at Cambier Park, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. That listing was posted in June, so check it before you go. The same day, the USA TODAY Wine & Food Experience runs noon to 4 p.m. at 3940 City Gate Blvd. N.
- November 17 to December 24: A Christmas Carol at Gulfshore Playhouse.
- November 24 to 29: The Broadway tour of Hamilton at Artis—Naples.
Two weekends will show how well the new late-night spots work. On October 24 and 25, the Stone Crab Festival and the film festival's closing nights fall on the same days. On Halloween, Evening on Fifth ends at 8 p.m., and La Pizzeria and Ce Soir stay open for hours after that. By the time Hamilton closes, Brooks Burgers should be getting ready to open on Central Avenue.
At The Kelly Schmidt Group, we track how Naples changes between seasons, including for our Illinois clients who spend part of the year here. If the past few months have you wondering what your Naples home is worth heading into season, we'd be glad to put together a free home valuation for you.
