It took Erik Lebsack and Kyle Sherman 72 days from signing a lease to renovating what had been Big Storm Brewing Co. into Hooked Island Grill in south Cape Coral.
The restaurateurs plan to pull off a second conversion at the same location, the northwest corner of Southeast 10th Place and 47th Terrace by mid-summer. Until then, Lebsack and Sherman are enjoying their latest creation as they inch closer to their original Hooked location, which was destroyed on Matlacha on Sept. 28, 2022, by Hurricane Ian.
Hooked in Cape Coral, 4721 SE 10th Place, will open for the first time at 4 p.m. March 12. Hours will expand and include lunch beginning at 11 a.m. March 15. They hired about 75 employees to get Hooked started.
“We’re just really, really excited to be in Cape Coral,” Sherman said. “Getting closer to Matlacha, moving back out here and seeing so many people who are excited for us to be here, it’s really a blessing we weren’t prepared for. We’re really excited to capitalize on that.”
The new Hooked has almost all the same seafood dishes on the menu that are at the Gulf Coast Town Center location. But with a bigger kitchen, Lebsack said he was able to add to the menu a Tomahawk steak, which feeds two and costs $100.
Most menu items fall in the $20 to $30 range.
Restarting the restaurant wasn’t easy, he said, especially considering the distance to the original on Matlacha.
“I guess roller coaster is probably the right way to phrase it,” Lebsack said. “We always had the intention of going back to Matlacha. But so far, the puzzle hasn’t come together. This opportunity came around, and we couldn’t pass. Because it’s 47th Terrace. Right in the heart of the entertainment district in south Cape.”
The next step will be taking about 1,800 square feet of space in the back of the same building and transforming it into a pizzeria with ice cream. They are still toying with concept names, but “Bingo Slices and Sweets” is in contention, as the space used to be a Bingo hall.
“It’s a really happening spot,” Lebsack said. “We couldn’t pass it up. We didn’t necessarily plan to do one this big right after Gulf Coast Town Center. But when the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to jump at it.”
