Florida-based Miller’s Ale House launched its second Collier County location with the opening of its Naples South restaurant and sports bar Monday in the middle of Restaurant Row.

Opening day was a success for the new venue, which fronts Collier Boulevard near its intersection with U.S. 41 East.

“The community was very welcoming. Everybody was very nice. It was a lot busier than we expected,” said General Manager Tyler Amador.

The 7,382-square-foot freestanding restaurant with a full bar includes 1,447 square feet of dining space in a climate-controlled Florida room that has overhead doors to open it to the outside. Although it’s slightly smaller than the location that has operated for 15 years about 13 miles north off Naples Boulevard in North Naples, the biggest difference is that the new location is more modern, Amador said.

“The first one in Naples was built in 2008. We’ve come a long way since then,” he said.

The casual restaurant chain’s menu is best known for its signature, hand-breaded chicken tenders called Zingers, served with a choice of sauces, Amador said, noting that other favorites include the Zingers Mountain Melt, a pile of loaded fries topped with Zingers; and pork osso buco, a marinated, slow-cooked pork shank served with a vegetable medley, mashed potatoes and brown gravy. The full menu features a variety of entrees, burgers, sandwiches, salads and appetizers as well as a full-service bar with signature cocktails, wine and more than 35 beers on tap.

“We have a brand-new, late-night menu we are kicking off, as well, so we are super excited about that,” Amador said.

Miller’s also has two destinations in Lee County. More than half of the chain’s nearly 100 locations are in Florida, where the first one opened in Jupiter in 1988 with a concept that has expanded to nine other states.

The new Miller’s Ale House, 6827 Collier Blvd., is open daily for lunch, dinner and late-night hours from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.