New Mexican restaurant replacing Two Fillets in Naples Park 

For the second time in about three years, Phelan Family Brands is replacing one restaurant concept for another at the same Naples Park location.

A new modern Mexican restaurant concept, Caiman Cantina, will be introduced next month to replace Two Fillets, which closed Aug. 31 on the southwest corner of U.S. 41 and 104th Avenue North in North Naples.

“We’re shooting for Oct. 15,” said Grant Phelan, CEO of Naples-based Phelan Family Brands. “We’re at work in there. The restaurant doesn’t need much. It’s more paint and decorations than anything, so we’re shooting for Oct. 15.”

Phelan has considered that space at 10395 Tamiami Trail N. to be a test kitchen. The local restaurant group started Deep Lagoon Seafood there and grew the concept to five restaurants in Florida. Caiman Cantina could become Phelan’s next Pinchers, the company’s Florida-style seafood restaurant brand that has 10 locations operating from Tampa to Marco Island.

“It’s really exciting to see how this concept grows,” Phelan said. “Trying to take a more value-conscience effort toward Southwest Florida and then, hopefully, be able to open up more stores from Marco to Tampa.”

A new value proposition is behind the rebranding plan.

“The consumer is looking for value. Value is super important to them right now,” Phelan said. “That’s one of the reasons we decided to move away from Two Fillets and go to Caiman Cantina because I can offer a lot more value with a Mexican concept than I can with steak and seafood.”

Plus, a modern Mexican concept fills a niche in the local market and the restaurant group’s lineup, Phelan said.

“Honestly, I think there’s a big hole in the North Naples market for Mexican,” he said. “With Two Fillets, we were competing against Capital Grille and Fleming’s and J. Alexander’s opened and Connors is coming across the street from us. There’s just a very, very competitive market there.”

Although Two Fillets permanently closed, Phelan considers it a good concept that is merely being shelved for now.

“I might put it back out there again someday,” he said. “A lot of people enjoyed Two Fillets, but I want to try something different. I own that building there on the corner of Naples Park on 41. I’m looking forward to launching a new concept and a new market segment for us.”

The latest transition is the second change to the Phelan Family Brands restaurant lineup this year. The local company acquired Hogfish Harry’s on March 1. In addition to Pinchers, Deep Lagoon Seafood, Hogfish Harry’s and the future Caiman Cantina, other Phelan dining brands include The Bay House, Chops City Grill, CJ’s on the Bay, Keewaydin's, Pazzo, Phuzzy’s Boat Shack and Texas Tony’s Rib & Brewhouse.

Two Fillets launched in early March 2022 after the original Deep Lagoon Seafood relocated less than 2 miles south in North Naples. Before Phelan purchased the property, the longtime restaurant space on the edge of Naples Park previously was home to Randy’s Fishmarket Restaurant for 13 years. The 3,868-square-foot restaurant space includes a lounge with a full bar on its northern end.

Expect Caiman Cantina to lighten the mood. The restaurant’s logo features a winking caiman wearing a festive sombrero. A caiman is a type of crocodilian related to alligators that is native to Central and South America.

While a modern Mexican restaurant is new for Phelan, Tex-Mex was part of the family’s Texas roots about 40 years ago.

“We had a restaurant in Texas called the Mesquite Brand in the early 1980s, my dad [Tony Phelan] did, and it served Tex-Mex. It was in Wichita Falls, Texas,” Phelan said. “So, we’re pulling from our roots there, but we also have some incredibly talented Spanish chefs that work with us that are really driving the menu for me.”

Beyond Tex-Mex, expect a menu of modern Mexican items and dishes made with local ingredients.

“We’re going to go more traditional Mexican,” Phelan said. “We’ll have some seafood items on the menu, but it will be more focused on fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, tacos, tamales, chimichangas, empanadas, those kind of things. We have chips and salsa when you sit down. We have killer salsa that you’re going to get for free. We’ll have a full tequila bar and margaritas.”

With Phelan Family Brands’ foundation built on Gulf fishing, it’s not surprising that Caiman Cantina will include local seafood on its Mexican menu. Some of Phelan’s other restaurant brands also feature menu items such as tacos and nachos.

Deep Lagoon’s tacos feature a choice of fried, grilled or blackened chicken, shrimp or tripletail in flour tortillas with shredded cabbage, avocado, cheese and chipotle sauce. Keewaydin’s has mahi mahi tacos for lunch topped with fresh slaw and drizzled with black garlic aioli and cilantro aioli.

Pinchers and Phuzzy’s both have soft tacos with chicken, grouper and fried or sauteed shrimp with chipotle aioli, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato. Phuzzy’s also has coconut shrimp tacos. CJ’s on the Bay on Marco Island features “upside down” nachos with black bean and sweet corn relish, pico de gallo, peppadew peppers, shredded lettuce, tri-color corn tortilla chips, melted pepperjack cheese.

Texas Tony’s in East Naples even has a Redneck Taco with slow-smoked chopped pork on a soft cornbread flat cake, topped with coleslaw, baked beans and a sweet barbecue sauce. Tony’s BBQ Nachos have tortilla chips smothered in house-made chili and queso blanco, diced tomato, sliced jalapeno, refried pinto beans and shredded lettuce, plus options for brisket, burnt ends, chicken or pork.