Two more hospitality venues opened in late spring at small retail strips in the city of Naples. A new bar and restaurant in town reimagined an old hangout, and a popular sandwich shop has spread out into bigger digs. 

Old Town Saloon 

The old Bambusa Bar & Grill in Naples has new life as Old Town Saloon. 

“I would describe our place as a neighborhood bar and restaurant with a country feel and an Old Florida vibe,” said Mike Bono, who opened Old Town Saloon in early May to anchor Empire Plaza on Goodlette-Frank Road. 

A former bartender at Tavern on the Bay, Bono became managing partner of that Naples Bayfront destination in 2013. He also owns Flip Flops Beach Grill, the food-and-beverage concession he started in 2022 at Lowdermilk Park in Naples. His new Old Town Saloon anchors the southern end of Empire Plaza, which has The Rooster Food + Drink on the northern end of that commercial strip. 

After entertaining guests for nearly 20 years, Bambusa closed Feb. 25. Bono bought the space from Bambusa partners Mel Biondi and Steve Soutner. The new owners of the center gave Bono a long-term lease for the 3,400-square-foot end unit.  

“I have a five-year lease with a three-year option, so I could have eight years there and that’s what I was looking at,” he said. 

Bono feels highbrow Naples needs more approachable places such as Old Town Saloon. 

“It has a neighborhood feel, not as expensive for people, not as pretentious — because all these high-end places, not everybody wants to or can afford to do them often,” he said. “That’s why I’ve done well at the Tavern. I’ve tried to keep it casual and everyday dining.” 

Subsequently, Bono said, he had a good year for business, better than many local venues. 

“People don’t want to go out and spend $150 a head,” he said. “I think that helped us a lot last year. People want somewhere to go where they can wear flip-flops and shorts and not have to feel like they’re underdressed.” 

Old Town Saloon’s menu includes handhelds such as burgers and pulled pork and club sandwiches; and Southwest favorites such as nachos, mahi tacos and green chile enchiladas. OTS Baskets, which are served with fries and slaw, include a choice of fried shrimp, chicken tenders, baby back ribs, shrimp skewers, beef brisket and gator tail. The restaurant’s appetizers are especially popular. 

“People really like the frog legs and the gator bites,” Bono said. “Chicken enchiladas are awesome. We make those from scratch. Our boom boom shrimp are really good and our barbecue shrimp skewers are awesome. They’re jumbo shrimp; we grill them and flash-fry them with bacon wraps and a little barbecue sauce. They’re awesome.” 

Old Town Saloon also has daily and weekly specials with entertainment and food discounts. Happy hours are 3-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Not open now until late afternoon, the Saloon may start earlier hours this fall with lunchtime pickup and delivery, Bono said. 

A major two-month renovation of the venue created a rustic look with Western décor framed in wood. The new bar top is brown with white streaks and black marks in it — almost resembling cowhide — with alligator vinyl around the bar to give it a country look. 

“It came out really good. I’m really happy with the buildout,” Bono said. “We have a bunch of cool animal mounts in there and some Old Florida stuff, too. I’ve got a really cool alligator in there and kind of stuff like that. There’s a little side room that I’m going to put some dart boards in and a Golden Tee [golf game].”  

For a bit of local nostalgia, the barstools came from the Old Naples Pub, which closed last year.  

“They’re really neat,” Bono said. “They’re the old diner-style ones that swivel.” 

Old Town Saloon, 600 Goodlette-Frank Road N., Suites 111-113, is open 3 p.m.-1 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday, but closed Monday and Tuesday. 

Yacht Club Subs  

Yacht Club Subs owners Frank and Lizzie Paladino knew they needed a bigger boat. It just took them longer than anticipated to ship out and sail through shark-infested waters.   

“We finally made our move,” said Frank Paladino, who closed the original location of their artisan sandwich shop on June 7 and reached their new destination June 11. Although their new berth in Old Naples is less than a nautical mile away from their first site, a rocky voyage prevented them from getting there more than six months ago as initially planned.  

“After eight months of hell with permitting and everything, it came out incredibly well,” Paladino said. “This is just an opportunity for us to really shine down here a block off of Fifth, so that’s why we decided to make that move.”  

The new Yacht Club Subs — at 835 Fourth Ave. S. next to PJK Neighborhood Chinese in the same retail strip — more than doubles the size of the small unit where the Paladinos launched their local business in March 2021 in Central Square on the other side of U.S. 41. Initially, they planned to keep their original spot open, too, but they changed their minds midstream.  

“After some deliberation, I just thought that we were going to be duplicating in a small area and this would give the opportunity to look up north [for another location] — maybe Vanderbilt or Pine Ridge or something like that,” Paladino said. “My thoughts are still to grow this into multiple locations in addition to this.”   

A fresh, 850-square-foot space affords them more room to navigate.  

“We had 325 square feet at the first location. It was amazing we did what we did,” he said.    

What they did — and do — is serve made-to-order sandwiches in a variety of vessels: the 16-inch Torpedo, the 9-inch Submarine, the 6-inch Yacht and the 3-inch Minnow, as well as croissants, salads and gluten-free wraps. Box lunches are available for beachgoers and others.  

The sub shop is open 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, but expect the business to eventually open earlier and later.  

“Soon, hopefully before season, we will extend hours to 7:00 [p.m.] with our new sunset menu to include some flatbreads and some wine and beer specials,” Paladino said. “I’m also working on a handheld breakfast menu, probably five or six sandwiches for breakfast. I probably won’t roll that out for another four weeks.”

The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim. aten@naplespress.com.