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A longtime pizzeria with roots in Ohio, North Naples and Bonita Springs relaunched this month in Bonita with new owners in a new location nearly a year after its restaurant on Bonita Beach Road was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.  

The new Gatsby’s Pizza opened Aug. 4 near the Collier-Lee county line in the former space of Lil’ Italy Bistro, which operated for nearly a decade in Shops at Hidden Lakes, 28811 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 5, Bonita Springs.  

New owners Tim and Robynn Douthit of Naples offer the same popular, tried-and-true Gatsby’s Pizza—known for its Midwestern-style thin-crust—but have expanded the restaurant’s menu with an option for cauliflower crust pizza and the addition of appetizers, subs, hand-cut fries, homemade coleslaw, desserts and beer and wine.   

“I think the customers are really excited for the expanded menu, definitely for the beer and wine options that we have for now. So, people are very pleased with it,” Robynn Douthit said. “We’ve changed a little bit of the business model because we haven’t been able to do some things that we’ve wanted to do, but we’ll try it and, if it works, great. If it doesn’t, then we’re willing to listen to what customers want and we’ll make modifications.”  

The Douthits were passed the Gatsby’s torch by longtime Naples residents Greg and Jackie Chapin, who opened the first area Gatsby’s Pizza 20 years ago at Wiggins Pass Crossing in North Naples.   

Greg Chapin opened the original Gatsby’s in Gahanna, near Columbus, Ohio, in 1977. Since relocating to Naples in 2000 and initially launching Gatsby’s here in 2003, where Mykonos Kucina is today, the Chapins bounced to three subsequent locations in Bonita Springs. After a brief partnership at the Island House, the Chapins landed in 2013 in the Bonita Oaks Square space off Bonita Beach Road where Corner Spot Diner + Drink is today.   

Beset by serious health issues since 2010, Greg Chapin persevered and opened his last Gatsby’s in November 2018 in Beach Plaza. That retail strip on Bonita Beach Road was underwater last September by Hurricane Ian’s storm surge that also damaged the neighboring unit for the 8-Bit Hall of Fame retro video game store. The Chapins lost their livelihood.  

“I was just devastated when I walked in,” Jackie Chapin said. “Sludge was everywhere.”  

Greg Chapin was in a coma in the hospital when Ian hit, so he didn’t get a chance to look at the damage until two months later, Jackie Chapin said. “Finally, he got the courage for me to drive by it and he couldn’t believe that it was all gone,” she said. “He still thought he had a restaurant, and I said, ‘Greg, it’s gone. It’s gone,’ and he just didn’t believe it.”  

The Chapins lost a lot of the Ohio State gear they had collected over the years as a local hub for OSU fans. “Brutus [the Buckeye mascot flag] survived the storm, and some footballs and helmets and some pictures and stuff,” she said.  

The Douthits plan to display some of that Ohio State memorabilia in the new Gatsby’s but they also intend to represent other Big Ten Conference schools since he went to Michigan State and she went to Indiana University.  

“We are supporting Ohio State alumni and they’ve been really supportive with us picking other Big Ten alumni, and so it’s been really very encouraging and supportive and everybody’s really happy about that,” Robynn Douthit said. “I’ve got some Ohio State paraphernalia coming from Greg that I want to put in here first before I put in any other Big Ten paraphernalia. That’s the first thing that I’m putting in because that’s very important to us.”  

Gatsby’s Pizza is open 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The pizzeria is closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for now, but hours and days may be expanded soon. 

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