Brad Cozza, a longtime Fort Myers restaurateur, has developed two new restaurant and bar concepts and is taking them international.

But first, he’s taking them to Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

The first Escondido Lounge opened December in downtown Fort Myers, “hidden” behind what looks like a walk-in cooler door at the back of Taco Works at 1617 Hendry St. It opens at 5 p.m. and harkens back to the 1920s days of Prohibition, when alcohol was illegal and bars were hidden, with vintage-looking books lining shelves, a grand piano elevated on a viewing platform and an upstairs loft area that overlooks the rest of the bar and a chandelier — and a lot of mirrors.

“Speakeasies are very popular throughout the country right now,” said Cozza, a Bishop Verot High School and Florida Gulf Coast University graduate. “In every major metropolitan center, it’s kind of a new vibe. It’s bringing back that ’20s, easy era. And we wanted to take advantage of that.

“The downtown Fort Myers location is doing extraordinarily well. We wanted to expand that to Cape Coral.”

The second Escondido Lounge should open by June, if not sooner, Cozza said. The word Escondido means “hidden” in Spanish. Like the first, the new one will be accessed from another walk-in cooler door.

“It’s amazing what you can find on Facebook Marketplace,” Cozza said.

This one will have more than twice the 800 square feet of the original, allowing Cozza to bring in his bar patrons with multiple food options. The Taco Works, co-owned by Cozza, at 1017 Cape Coral Parkway E., Suite B, is located adjacent to the second Escondido Lounge. This one has similar decor to the first, plus a stage, its own grand piano and 1920s-style atmosphere.

Oise Ristorante, a new Japanese sushi concept, developed with chef Brad Kilgore and co-owned by Cozza, is under construction there, as well, to be located in what used to be Ollie’s Pub Records and Beer at 1019 Cape Coral Parkway E. Cozza said he hopes it will be ready by the end of summer. In the meantime, there will be a cordoned off area, separating the construction area from the entrance to Escondido.

In front of that building, fronting Cape Coral Parkway, Cozza is developing The Garden, an outdoor bar.

Despite Escondido being “hidden,” Cozza and his team are making sure patrons will be able to find it.

“We are businessmen,” Cozza said. “We still market the heck out of it. But everything is true to a speakeasy brand. It’s funny how people actually find it.

“It says ‘Employees Only’ (on the door). So, it really looks like you’re not supposed to be in there. That’s a wow factor for a speakeasy.”

Oise Ristorante will have another Lee County location at 2262 First St., at what used to be Blu Sushi. Cozza’s team is busy renovating that space and hoping to open it by August.

In Puerto Escondido, Mexico, Cozza has invested in OCN Resort and Residences, a 124-unit hotel that will have its own version of Escondido Lounge.

“We flew down there, absolutely fell in love with the area,” Cozza said of the Oaxaca region of Mexico, on the west coast.

The popularity of Escondido in Fort Myers, so far, has fluctuated among different demographics, depending on the time of the evening.

“From 5 to 7 p.m., we have a little older crowd that really truly enjoys it,” Cozza said. “Fridays and Saturdays, we’ll have that late-night energy, DJ, so the age group just fluctuates throughout the night. It’s that nostalgic feel that you’re seeing in every major market.”