Longtime Punta Gorda restaurants Harpoon Harry’s and The Captain’s Table are staying put at Fishermen’s Village after all.  

Smuggler’s Enterprises General Manager Patti Allen confirmed the restaurant group, which owns the two restaurants at the end of the pier facing open water, agreed on a lease with Fishville. 

Smuggler’s Enterprises’ partners are selling the land across Charlotte Harbor, where Harpoon Harry’s was to be relocated.  

The fate of the two popular eateries was initially unknown after the former owner of Fishermen’s Village announced plans to build condos and a hotel where the restaurants have been operating for decades. Prior to that, the restaurants’ owners were embroiled in a rent dispute with the waterfront dining and shopping destination. 

That prompted partners Ron Evans and Kelly Evans Liscum, Bruce and Barbara Laishley and Rick Treworgy to buy land for the future home of Harpoon Harry’s. In 2023, they sought approval from Charlotte County Commissioners to build on 16.27 acres at 22801 Bayshore Road along Charlotte Harbor, west of Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor. 

Commissioners granted the final site plan in May 2023. 

The site plan included development for a 33,354-square-foot restaurant and 24,589 square feet of retail space. 

The plan unraveled when Fishermen’s Village former owner Jonathan Larmore was charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission in November and Fishermen’s Village was placed in a receivership. U.S. Bank, the mortgage holder, took over and filed a notice of foreclosure against Larmore. 

After plans to demolish the restaurants to make way for condos and a hotel, Harpoon Harry’s and The Captain Table saw a pathway to staying. Allen would not reveal details of the lease and rent amount, citing “proprietary information.”  

Lyn Bevis of RE/MAX Harbor Realty is the listing agent for the 16.27 acres on Charlotte Harbor with a $12.5 million asking price. The land abuts Charlotte Harbor and is nestled among development and close to U.S. 41.