The highly anticipated Pan-Asian restaurant Blackbird launches June 6 at Naples Bay Resort as the first venture on Florida’s west coast for Three Amigos Hospitality Group.

The West Palm Beach-based restaurant group’s partners — Scott Frielich, Angelo Abbenante and Cleve Mash — are more than investors in the second location of Blackbird, following their first award-winning location in Jupiter. A peek inside the stunningly transformed space of the former Bonefish Grill in Naples provides enough to know that these three amigos are serious about creating an unforgettable dining experience.

“We are hands-on. We’re the operators. We’re there day in and day out,” Frielich said. “All of us have been friends forever — over 20 years of friendship.”

Blackbird’s partners eat, drink and breathe restaurants, so owning and managing dining spots are not merely a pastime but a true passion.

“The three of us have opened over 30 restaurants and we currently have 16 restaurants, bars and nightclubs open on the east coast,” Frielich said. “We’re hoping we can duplicate what we’ve got on the east coast on the west coast.”

Frielich, who had operated three locations of Kapow Noodle Bar on the east coast, had the idea to launch another Asian concept, which ended up being the critically acclaimed Blackbird, the most successful restaurant the three had ever opened. Hurricane Ian gave them the opportunity to build out the Naples Bay Resort space that was gutted by storm surge. The team follows the Florida east coast dining ventures of Rocco’s Tacos, Warren, Lola 41 and Waxin’s that recently found success in Naples.

“So, we knew a lot of restaurants from the east coast were starting to migrate over there, so we were kind of keeping an eye on it,” Frielich said. “Then, when this came available, we fell in love with the space.”

The one-story, 5,425-square-foot space has more than 200 seats, banquettes and a cocktail bar and lounge. Its three independent dining areas include a 1,452-square-foot patio with a Japanese awning system that provides weather protection for al fresco meals overlooking Naples Bay Marina.

Diners familiar with Blackbird in Jupiter will find both similarities and differences between the original and the Naples newcomer. The menus will be the same, which includes the popular Chinese specialty Peking duck.

“Right when you walk into our location, you’re going to see a giant window of all the ducks hanging,” Frielich said. “It’s a three-day process and it’s a labor of love. They do say that Peking duck is one of the oldest recipes known to man. First, they marinate it. Then, they hang it in room temperature for 24 hours. So, you’ll see all the ducks hanging in the window when you first walk in. Then, we put it in a special duck oven that cooks it at 360 degrees. It gets the skin really crispy, and then they cut it up and put it on a beautiful platter.”

Blackbird offers a Cantonese-style menu with a fusion of Asian cuisines.

“It’s heavy Chinese with influences of Korean and Thai and Vietnamese,” Frielich said. “We don’t have sushi, and we have a few Japanese-style dishes, but that’s probably the least of our influences.”

Frielich, who grew up on Chinese food and helps create new menu items with executive chef and Three Amigos partner Tim Nickey, has his personal favorites at Blackbird.

“I would say my two go-to favorites are definitely the Chinese barbecue beef short ribs; it’s like three short ribs off the bone with a honey glaze on top that are cooked in a smoker for 12 hours. They’re amazing,” he said. “My second go-to would have to be the miso black cod.”

Blackbird’s surprisingly simple menu features sections for dim sum and small plates, as well as dishes based on vegetables and various proteins — beef, pork, poultry and seafood. Highlighted in red in the center of the menu are Old School Chinese dishes — vegetable spring roll, chow fun, dan dan noodles, barbecue duck fried rice and steak lo mein; and the splurge-worthy Emperor’s Selection — Peking duck, Wagyu tomahawk and Japanese seven-spice lobster.

“One thing that we kind of pride ourselves on is that we’re definitely affordable,” Frielich said. “If you look at our menu, it really appeals to all demographics. You can come in and have entrees in the 20s and appetizers all in the teens, and we have a section called the Emperor’s Selection, where you can go up to $100 on Wagyu and tomahawk and lobster; we offer big fresh Maine lobster, too. The price point appeals to everybody.”

The menu includes a half-dozen decadent desserts made for sharing. They are creations from executive pastry chef Denise Elrod, an award-winning chocolatier. Also available are dessert drinks, signature cocktails, domestic and imported beers, sake bombs and a selection of bottled Japanese sake.

Blackbird’s decor can’t be overlooked. The same interior designer created the Jupiter and Naples spaces, so they share Kat Solomon’s striking design style but still are noticeably different. The single-story Naples location doesn’t have the grand two-story space with a mezzanine that’s in Jupiter, so it’s a different layout designed for views of the marina.

“We really spent time and research putting in a really cutting-edge design into the restaurant,” Frielich said. “It’s really beautiful. We have a cherry blossom tree and the art and design is as cutting edge as you can get. It has a Miami-style feel to it that you don’t see very often in Naples. So, I think between our focus on the details and our Chef Tim with his ability of Asian cuisine, and our design, we’re hoping will set us a little different than the rest.”

The exterior of the restaurant welcomes guests with a colorful new mural of cherry blossoms, peonies and butterflies popping from the stark white walls of the resort at 1500 Fifth Ave. S.

The restaurant and full bar will be open 4 to 10 p.m. daily. Happy hour is 4 to 6 p.m., and entertainment with a live disc jockey will be featured in the bar and lounge Friday and Saturday nights.

Blackbird is not taking reservations during its first few months, but the offseason opening may give locals the opportunity to sample the new dining spot this summer.