The sixth Naples restaurant to appear this year on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” is ready for its close-up with Guy Fieri on The Food Network TV show. The 239 Naples at Mercato will be featured on Triple D’s “Barbecue, Beignets and Barbacoa” episode that is scheduled to first air at 9 p.m. May 23.
The 239 launched three years ago in North Naples and is the last of a half-dozen area restaurants that celebrity chef Fieri stopped in last fall to film episodes for shows that aired during the first half of this year. The restaurant follows shows featuring The Rooster Food + Drink and Molto Trattoria in Naples; Cracklin’ Jacks in Golden Gate; and The Local and Mykonos Kuzina in North Naples.
“There’s farm-and-boat-to-table with a West Coast influence in Naples, plating gangster grouper ceviche and a gluten-free twist on beignets,” reads the promotional chatter for The 239 Naples on the Food Network’s website for Episode 10 of Season 41 for “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
The 239 Naples’ brunch and all-day menus feature GF Better Than Ben-YAYS. Its version of the deep-fried French pastry is dusted with house freeze-dried strawberry “pink” sugar and served with a variety of dipping options. The unique “Ben-YAYS” were created as a brunch item for one of three courses last year for the annual Sizzle Dining fundraiser at local restaurants.
The recipe for The 239’s beignet recipe is already posted on the Food Network’s website with the ingredients and directions for making the gluten-free dough. Accompanying the recipe for the dessert are recipes for strawberry sugar and two dipping sauces. The three-berry sauce is made with fresh strawberries, blackberries and blueberries, while the toffee sauce features heavy cream, brown sugar and smoked sea salt.
Obviously, The 239 Naples is neither a diner, drive-in or dive, but it’s thankful for the spotlight from a national TV show that has expanded its scope since debuting 18 years ago. The featured restaurants still are small, locally owned venues with scratch menus.
“They’re looking for unique concepts that do a lot of work behind the scenes in making the items that they’re showing. We fit that bill,” said Ray Corallino, the general manager and beverage director for The 239 Naples.
The restaurant team had been working for quite some time to be featured somewhere on the Food Network because they know they have created a unique brand, Corallino said.
“Everything on our menu is available gluten-free. We don’t use seed oils. Everything is locally sourced. Fresh seafood is bought six days a week; fresh produce seven days a week. We just have a very uniqueness to us,” he said.
Being on the show was a lot of fun, but it also involved a lot of detailed work, Corallino said. The restaurant was closed during the two days of shooting but was able to open for dinner those nights. Fieri was there for only about 2½ hours on the first day.
“He actually came in with Rocco [Mangel] of Rocco’s Tacos. He’s on the episode with us,” Corallino said. “We had to bring in guests for both days.”
The airing of the episode is good timing to boost restaurant traffic after coming off the busy season and transitioning into slower summer months in seasonal Southwest Florida.
“To have any bump in business is going to be very good for us and very helpful for us to keep pushing forward,” Corallino said.
Steve Sinchek
Sadly, The 239 Naples owner Steve Sinchek won’t be there to celebrate his restaurant’s shining moment in the national spotlight. Sinchek, 65, died this month from head injuries he sustained in early February when an electric bicycle he was riding was hit by a vehicle in his East Naples neighborhood.
“Obviously, it was a very sad week for us. The best thing we can do is be strong and carry on his legacy here and do the best we can. The show is a huge tribute to him,” said Corallino. “I’m going to reach out to the producers of the show to see if they can do some sort of ‘in memory of’ for him.”
An owner of multiple hospitality ventures for decades, Sinchek was an active owner in his restaurants and bars. He has a similar concept, Local Union 271, in Palo Alto, California.
“We’re working out details with his family to keep the restaurants going,” Corallino said. “That’s kind of what he wanted, and his family knows that he wanted that. We have a chief financial officer who runs the restaurant out in Palo Alto and he and I are going to take over all the operational duties for the restaurants moving forward.”
The 239 Naples, 9108 Strada Place, Suite 14110, is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday, 10 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
