Q: Just wondering if there has been any update on The Turtle Club. Just curious about our favorite special occasion restaurant. Thanks. —Dana Hilmoe, North Naples
A: The Turtle Club, an iconic beachfront restaurant for 25 years, is being readied for its relaunch in February after being temporarily shuttered for 16 months. The popular upscale dining destination at 9225 Gulf Shore Drive N. in North Naples was destroyed in September 2022 when Hurricane Ian sent a wall of water crashing through its space on the ground floor of the Vanderbilt Beach Resort, one of the last family owned beachfront hotels in Collier County. The 34-room hotel was able to fully reopen last year and is back to its normal 93% to 94% occupancy rate for February and March.
Although only the structure of The Turtle Club remained intact after the storm, the co-owner of the resort and restaurant was thankful to see that he had something to rebuild.
“It takes storms like this for you to really appreciate what you have. And I think that we all appreciate what we have a little more now—this little slice of paradise that we call home,” Mick Moore told WINK News during a first-anniversary report on Hurricane Ian. “We want to thank everybody who’s been out there rooting for us and supporting us, because we work on it every day—the recovery—and knowing that there are people behind us, even though we may not meet them, it means a lot.”
The Turtle Club means a lot to a lot of people, especially those who think it’s the perfect place for special occasions.
“We have people who have been coming for generations,” Moore said this week. “We have new people, too, but we have a lot of repeat guests.”
Traditions—engagements, anniversaries, birthdays and other celebrations and remembrances—are truly important to the local community. The Turtle Club certainly obliges, always emphasizing tradition over trends.
“The place means a lot to people. It’s kind of become a thing; it’s bigger than what it is. We’re so happy to be a part of that,” said Peter Tierney, who co-owns The Turtle Club with Moore. “We have this legion of followers. They want to make reservations for the entire year.”
For instance, local resident Betsi Burden had hoped that The Turtle Club, a personal favorite restaurant, would have reopened last fall. “We’ve gone there every year for our anniversary since we came to Florida, and want to go again the first of October,” said Burden, who moved to Naples in 2003 but now lives in the Gateway community of Lee County.
Tierney bumps into fans of the restaurant everywhere, even seeing people wearing hats or shirts for The Turtle Club while in Italy and on airplanes.
“It’s a great thing to be a part of,” said Curtis McCreary, general manager of The Turtle Club. McCreary said the iconic local restaurant will be back soon and stronger than ever.
“We’re about a month out yet. We’re getting close. Walls are going up and everything’s ready to go,” McCreary said during a preview party for The Syren Oyster & Cocktail Bar that Tierney launched Jan. 18 at Naples Boat Club on Naples Bay.
“Towards the end of February—mid-February to end of February,” he said.
“I think it’s going to be the end of February,” Moore said. “We are not going to take reservations before we open. Because it is so unpredictable, I don’t want to guess wrong and have people mad at me.”
Nevertheless, Moore knows that the end is finally near for the renovation project, which experienced construction delays.
“We’re in the fourth quarter of the game,” he said. “We’re not at the two-minute warning but we’re in the fourth quarter.”
Drywall finally went up this month at the restaurant. As soon as the walls are finished, decorative elements can be quickly brought in from storage to complete the process, Tierney said.
“We have this giant shipping container that’s like a restaurant in a box,” he said.
Fortunately, because the restaurant typically closes for two or three weeks in September for a deep cleaning, all the interior furniture was being stored off-site when the hurricane hit Sept. 28, so it wasn’t damaged. Some of the exterior furniture—which was moved inside the restaurant before the storm—was able to be saved. All the kitchen equipment and computer components were lost when the restaurant was filled with water that Moore estimated to be chest high.
Architectural plans show the renovated 3,477-square-foot restaurant will have 74 seats inside and 84 outside along the Gulf beach. The electrical system had to be replaced, giving the business an opportunity to upgrade its lighting and air conditioning, but the plan is to retain its Old Florida decor.
“The layout will be the same, but the interior design will be different,” Moore said. “It will be lighter. The color palette will be white and blue with some brown. We’re coming back with a lighter, fresher look.”
A symbolic namesake for the restaurant—a large sea turtle shell—was found after the hurricane and will be returned to its spot as a prominent wall decoration. When Tierney was originally planning the restaurant in the late ‘90s with Moore’s dad and resort co-owner, Michael J. Moore, they named the restaurant after the turtle shell that had been given to the elder Moore by the hotel’s original owner, who found the shell washed up on the beach there in the ‘50s.
“It will be there right when you come in the front door,” Moore said.
Tierney said most of the changes are internal, so they only will be noticed by the staff. “You’re going to see it’s going to look like it did,” he said. “You’re going to walk through those doors, you’re going to go through that beautiful, manicured hall with the gas lamps. You’re going to go to the beach, and it’s going to be the same. And that was our goal. We wanted to just recreate it the way it was.”
That includes the restaurant’s staff, which is part of the family culture.
“I’m probably retaining 80% of my staff,” McCreary said. “A lot of them are coming back. They worked for me for a long time. We created a good environment.”
The Turtle Club’s staff, much like its loyal guests, are excited about the restaurant relaunching soon.
“Nobody wants it reopened more than we do,” Moore said. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.”
The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com.
