Here’s the latest news about the scheduled openings of new area locations of Lake Park Diner and Twin Peaks and the relaunch of The Turtle Club restaurant.
Peak interest
Q: When will Twin Peaks open in Naples? —Jim Hadden, Naples
A: Twin Peaks restaurant and sports bar is set to open April 15 in a new outparcel spot on the north side of Coastland Center mall in Naples.
The Dallas-based hospitality concept with “scenic views” is best known for its Twin Peaks Girls, waitresses clad in midriff-baring, buffalo plaid tops to serve the brand’s 29-degree draft beers and scratch-made comfort food such as its signature Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, Avocado Smash Burger and “The Hottie” Jalapeño Popper flatbread pizza.
“We can’t wait to bring the ultimate man cave experience to more Twin Peaks fans in the Naples area,” said CEO Joe Hummel. “This new sports lodge is ideal for beer lovers enjoying an ice-cold brew, family and friends getting together for dinner, and fans of all stripes cheering on their favorite teams.”
Founded in 2005, Twin Peaks has about 115 restaurants in the United States and Mexico. The Naples location will be the chain’s 12th in Florida.
Its menu for lunch, dinner and late-night features appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, flatbreads, tacos, wings and hot dishes such as ribs, pot roast, lobster mac n’ cheese, steaks, fish and chicken. The restaurant will have a full bar with hand-crafted cocktails and 40 frosty beers on tap. Florida college games and all pro sports will be featured on 90 TV screens.
The local “lodge” will be staffed by about 175. Interested candidates may apply online at twinpeaksrestaurant.com/careers or text TPFloridaJobs to 85000. Walk-in interviews are welcomed; managers are on site 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The chain’s franchise has been a long time coming to Naples. A multi-unit development agreement originally called for launching Twin Peaks in Naples about 10 years ago but the first location in Southwest Florida opened in 2015 in south Fort Myers. Then, a Twin Peaks franchisee acquired land in 2017 next to Dick’s Sporting Goods on Naples Boulevard in North Naples, but those plans fell through, and it was years before the Coastland Center site was available for Florida-based DMD Ventures, which has the chain’s exclusive development rights in southern Florida.
Twin Peaks Naples, 2078 Ninth St. N., will be open 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Diners on deck
Q: What’s happening with the Lake Park Diner in Bonita? Is it ever going to open? —Barbra Eisenberg Hertz, Bonita Springs
Q: Any updates on when Lake Park Diner will open in Founders Square? Thanks for the updates! —Dessie Leff, Naples
A: Although the Founders Square location of Lake Park Diner broke ground a year after the Bonita Beach Road location of Lake Park Diner started construction, the new Collier County location will open before the Naples-based dining concept’s first location in Lee County.
Lake Park Diner Founders Square is targeted to open in late April near the southeastern corner of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard, while Lake Park Diner Bonita Springs on the south side of Bonita Beach Road west of U.S. 41 lags months behind because of unspecified delays. The Bonita project’s delay is not a city permitting issue, said John Dulmer, director of Bonita Springs Community Development Department.
“Both a development order and a building permit have been issued for the site,” Dulmer said. “At this point of construction, we are waiting for the applicant/contractor to call in for final inspections from the Building Department and the Fire District.”
The applicant for the restaurant—owned and operated by Paul Fleming Restaurants and Smith Organics—is not waiting on a response for any requests submitted to the city’s Community Development Department, Dulmer said, but a few minor site-related items associated with the project’s development order are left to be completed.
“When this is complete, we expect a letter from the engineer certifying the site has been constructed consistent with all approvals and would schedule a final inspection to either receive a punch list of outstanding items for a certificate of completion if all items are found to be complete,” he said.
The original Lake Park Diner opened in October 2019 in the Lake Park neighborhood of Naples after the casual dining concept grew from a food truck, Smith Organics, named for its late founder and local developer Adam Smith. Featuring a retro-modern atmosphere with a walk-up order counter and a large outdoor patio, the popular restaurant has a menu of small plates, salads, bowls, handhelds and signature favorites: whole or half rotisserie chickens, braised short ribs, miso-glazed salmon and classic British fish and chips. It also features over-the-top milkshakes and a full bar of craft cocktails and mocktails.
Naples resident Paul Fleming, who launched PJK Neighborhood Chinese last year and previously created and lent his name to popular national dining chains such as P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, plans to grow the Lake Park Diner brand throughout Florida and perhaps beyond the state. The next location will be Lake Park Diner Lakewood Ranch in northern Sarasota County.
Lake Park Diner Founders Square, nearing completion by Naples-based construction management firm DeAngelis Diamond, expands the concept and design of the original Naples restaurant with enhancements that include more space for dining and parking. This freestanding restaurant serves as a prototype for future locations.
Building anticipation
Q: When will The Turtle Club begin taking reservations? —Fred Pammer, Naples
A: Because some uncertainty remains, reservations are not being taken yet for The Turtle Club restaurant, which now is projected to relaunch in early April, said Mick Moore, co-owner of The Turtle Club and Vanderbilt Beach Resort, 9225 Gulf Shore Drive, North Naples.
“We’re not going to take reservations before we open,” Moore said. “We are going to wait to take reservations until we open because the date is very hard to pin down and we don’t want to disappoint people. So, for the first week probably it will be walk-in, first come, first served until we start having a lot of reservations on the books.”
In a mid-March video post on the Facebook pages for both the restaurant and resort, Moore said they can’t wait to serve people again at the beachfront restaurant but the popular dining spot damaged by Hurricane Ian won’t relaunch until the end of season.
“So, we originally thought that we might be able to open at the end of March, but now because of a few delays, it looks like it’s going to be probably in the first week or so of April,” Moore said. “We are making good progress. We’re down to the finishes and the finishing touches on the inside of the restaurant, but construction still remains fairly unpredictable—little problems cropping up here and there and other delays, so we know we’re not going to be open before Easter.”
Moore thanks everyone for their continuing support. “We look forward to opening and serving the community and we hope to see you all soon at the beach,” he said.
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com.
