Q: Do you know what’s going in the old Stein Mart space by Publix? Thanks! – Dana Laskowsky Bilicki, Pelican Bay
Q: What’s going on at the Sunshine Ace at Pelican Bay Marketplace? Work seems to have come to a halt. – Larry Hughes, Naples
A: Sunshine Ace Hardware will take the majority of the space Stein Mart vacated in 2020 after operating for nearly 25 years in The Marketplace at Pelican Bay on the southwest corner of U.S. 41 North and Vanderbilt Beach Road.
“Our plan is that we will hopefully be open by the first week in September,” Sunshine Ace Hardware President Michael Wynn said.
Work is progressing inside the 20,190-square-foot space at 8811 Tamiami Trail N., said leasing agent Andrew J. Saluan of AJS Realty Group.
“Everything is moving full tilt on Ace,” Saluan said. “Things just took longer at the county [level] than anticipated.”
Another tenant has not been signed yet for the neighboring 15,800-square-foot space remaining from the Stein Mart vacancy in the Publix-anchored center.
Elsewhere in Marketplace at Pelican Bay, Regatta opened a new gift shop April 4 at 8799 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 101. After operating in downtown Naples for 40 years, Regatta moved uptown to a space recently vacated by New Balance shoe store, which just relocated next door to a remodeled space. Promoting itself as specializing in “fun things for fun people,” Regatta offers nautical items, gifts, home accents, resort wear and accessories.
New Balance moved at the end of December to an adjacent unit that formerly was a travel agency. The new store is the same size as its longtime space there.
“We needed to renovate. This spot was open, so we never had to close,” store manager Amy Kidney said. “We just renovated, and when it was done we moved everything over and left the old place.”
Winchester fully leased
Before opening in Pelican Bay this fall, Sunshine Ace Hardware is targeted to open a new store this summer in Golden Gate Estates. Under construction to anchor the future Winchester Center at Immokalee Road and Orange Tree Boulevard, the hardware store is shooting for a July opening, Wynn said.
Sunshine Ace will be the first of 10 businesses to open this year in the new center, which is now fully leased, said Rod Castan, a principal of Metro Commercial Real Estate and president of Barron Collier Investment Partners, which is developing the project.
“Things popped quickly,” said Castan, noting that there hasn’t been that much retail development in the Estates compared to the many residential rooftops built east of Collier Boulevard.
The hardware store will be on the northern end of a retail strip that also will include That NY Bagel Place, Anytime Fitness, Orangetree Hibachi & Sushi, Cold Stone Creamery, Little Caesars Pizza, Family Foot & Leg Center and Luxury Nails. A separate outparcel building on that corner across from McDonald’s will be split by Heartland Dental and Maruto’s Cuban Café & Bakery.
Castan expects the new businesses to open this fall.
“They are going to add a little variety to the area,” he said.
East Naples eateries coming
Q: Any updates on Denny’s and Dairy Queen here in East Naples? – Ken French, East Naples
A: After years of delays, franchises of the popular restaurant chains Denny’s and Dairy Queen are readying for prime time along U.S. 41 East in East Naples.
Denny’s has announced an opening date of May 12, the day after Mother’s Day, for its new restaurant at 3871 Tamiami Trail E. in Naples Towne Centre South. Shortly after franchisee Vic Cuda provided the May 12 date with a tentative “fingers crossed” disclaimer, a sign on the door of the restaurant confirmed the opening date.
Cuda is vice president and chief operating officer of RREMC Restaurants LLC, a longtime West Palm Beach company that operates 60 Denny’s restaurants in five states, making it the third largest Denny’s franchisee in the nation. The new location in East Naples will be its 24th in Florida, Cuda said.
Its freestanding outparcel in Naples Towne Centre has hosted restaurant chains for decades. Rib City closed there in mid-2020 after operating for more than 20 years in a 4,200-square-foot building that previously was Wag’s Restaurant, a defunct causal chain operated by Walgreens in the 1970s and ’80s. Built in 1987, the East Naples building still resembles the façade created for Wag’s 24-hour family restaurant concept, which was similar to Denny’s.
The local launch marks a return to the Naples market for Denny’s after an 18-year gap. Denny’s closed in early 2007 after operating for more than 15 years at 3350 U.S. 41 N., now home to Blueberry’s restaurant.
DQ breaks ground
Q: What is going in the lot next to Texas Tony’s on the East Trail?
A: Land clearing began in April to build DQ Grill & Chill on the vacant commercial lot next to Texas Tony’s Rib & Brewhouse on U.S. 41 East between Lakewood Boulevard and Rattlesnake Hammock Road.
The Dairy Queen restaurant with a drive-thru window is targeted for completion in September at 4535 Tamiami Trail E., said Marco Island resident Jim Dolan, who co-owns the fast-food franchise with his wife, Cathleen.
“We’re hoping to have an October open,” Dolan said.
The construction project is being handled by Tampa-based QDI Construction, which recently rebuilt many of the region’s Burger King restaurants.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim. aten@naplespress.com.
