Tim Aten Knows: Heyday Cookshop launching this month in Naples

Q: Do you know what is going in next to Amore? We used to love going to D’Amicos. Thank you! – Geri Hertig, Naples 

A: Heyday Cookshop is set to launch later this month in the Neapolitan Way restaurant space in Naples that used to be home to Ziggy D’Amico’s Whiskey Bar & Diner and D’Amico & Sons for many years. Heyday, a second restaurant from Kayla Pfeiffer, the acclaimed executive chef and founding partner at Bicyclette Cookshop in North Naples, promises New American cuisine with a rotation of top national chefs in residency amplified by a hi-fi listening room. 

“This isn’t just another restaurant opening. It’s Naples stepping into its heyday – a space where food, music and creativity come together in high spirits and good company,” according to an invitation to preview the restaurant. 

Reservations for Heyday are live for April 27, and a soft opening may precede that date. Diners familiar with Pfeiffer’s distinctive chef-driven style and out-of-the-ordinary creations at Bicyclette will find more of the same and then some with Heyday, which will be open only for dinner. 

“The format is going to be a little bit different, but the menu itself – the style – it’s going to be my food style. It’s going to be even more different,” Pfeiffer said. 

A preview menu last month and recent daily specials at Bicyclette have sampled some of the items that will be on the Heyday menu, giving staff valuable research-and-development feedback from diners. Expect variations of entrees such as smoked duck meatloaf, chicken schnitzel with watercress pesto, and hanger steak with bone marrow chimichurri. Pfeiffer had restless nights trying to perfect a trotter dumpling with smoked pork jowls in a house-made collard green wrapper. 

“It’s going to be Kayla’s style – a one-of-a-kind menu again – but it will be totally different than this [Bicyclette],” said Louie Mele, co-owner of Bicyclette and Heyday. 

“What she’s all about is putting flavors together,” Mele said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chef – ever – and I’ve been in the business 50 years – put flavors together like she puts flavors together.” 

Heyday’s endcap at 4691 Tamiami Trail N. has been vacant since Ziggy D’Amico’s permanently closed there in late 2023 after operating for three years. A few other well-known local restaurateurs previously had their sights set on that highly-visible space that hosted D’Amico & Partners restaurants for 25 years. The space has received a complete overhaul except for its outdoor garden, and diners can expect an open kitchen, Pfeiffer said. 

“We tore down past the studs,” she said. “The bathrooms are different. The layout is different. Everything inside will be completely different.” 

Enhancing the new restaurant, a newly rebuilt Publix supermarket in that Neapolitan Way center is targeted to open in late May after being closed for demolition and construction since November 2024. Heyday’s 2,838 square feet of restaurant space comes with a 2,295-square-foot patio and a lot of opportunity. 

“We have a little more room to work with. We have an actual kitchen. There are a lot more things that we can do,” Pfeiffer said. “We’re still going to tell the story of the food I was inspired by, like the meatloaf, but then we’re going to have a high-end steak, which we haven’t done before.” 

The fresh concept with visiting chefs from around the nation popping in for culinary residencies will bring their twists on dishes from foodie destinations such as Los Angeles, New York and Miami. Some of the chefs are those Pfeiffer met in New York or while competing on Food Network shows, while others have eaten at Bicyclette while visiting Naples during the winter wine festival or while on personal vacations. 

For instance, Pfeiffer met Phoenix chef Angelo Sosa while taping Guy Fieri’s “Flavortown Food Fight,” which debuted March 4 with their episode. Sosa was the victor and Pfeiffer placed second of the three chefs, who faced a variety of difficult, fast-paced culinary challenges.  

“Angelo is a really great chef and he was on ‘Top Chef.’ He knows what he’s doing,” she said. Sosa will be one of the chef’s coming to Naples for a residency at Heyday. Pfeiffer said she plans to host 11 chefs a year for approximately three-week residencies with a two- or three-week break in between. 

“It’s a lot,” she said. “It’s a lot of planning.” 

Expect a question-and-answer event with each chef and, while in residency, the hi-fi listening room at Heyday’s bar will feature music accustomed to each chef’s style. 

“We want them to feature what Southwest Florida has, whether it’s the water and fishing, the local produce,” Pfeiffer said. “We’ll have a static menu, and then when they come on, we’re going to shorten our menu and highlight their’s, and then there’ll be two or three pop-up tasting menus people will be able to buy tickets to.” 

Intended to expand the Naples market, the idea originated from Naples’ off season when restaurant traffic slows. Pop-ups were created last summer to attract more customers. The idea just evolved, Pfeiffer said. 

Pfeiffer’s talent and expertise have attracted national attention to her restaurant and Naples. Not only has she won the Food Network’s “Chopped” chef competition, but the James Beard Award semifinalist was invited to participate in the James Beard Foundation’s Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change this May. Naples is on the road to becoming a foodie town with hopes of hosting a Michelin-star restaurant eventually. 

“There are so many great spots in this area and I think it’s continuing to evolve. It just takes time,” Pfeiffer said. “I think it needs more risk-takers, honestly, and needs more people to get involved. Success is all over Naples, but sometimes success isn’t just determined by money. You can be successful by defining yourself by a lot more than what your revenue is.” 

Pfeiffer has been successful in boldly defining her cutting-edge career. 

“I tell my story every day and I pour my heart out,” she said. “The food here, the staff here, this restaurant means a lot to a lot more than just me. So, if we continue what that is here, we’re going to bring a lot more talent. If there’s one or two more people that do it, then this place is going to be the next Tampa. It has the potential.” 

Diners know that Pfeiffer has the potential and that they can always expect something special when she is in the kitchen.  

“I don’t want to copycat,” Pfeiffer said. “I want to challenge myself. There’s more reward to that.” 

The Tim Aten Knows weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at Tim.Aten@NaplesPress.com.