Just Hatched: Summer 2018 Openings Around The State
Debuts to Peruse
North
GILBERT’S SOUTHERN KITCHEN & BAR /
GILBERT’S HOT CHICKEN, FISH & SHRIMP
JACKSONVILLE BEACH
An audience favorite during his run as a contestant on season seven of Top Chef, Kenny Gilbert brings decades of culinary expertise to his newest eateries, doubling down with a pair of new beachfront concept establishments. The Southern Kitchen offers a contemporary take on classic Southern victuals, complemented with—what else—moonshine and whiskey favorites. A few steps downstairs at the same location, Hot Chicken delivers on the promise of its name, plying diners with regional comfort food, including catfish sandwiches and a signature biscuit laden with a mouth-watering multitude of treats like smoked chicken thigh, pork belly, pickled green tomato and remoulade. gilbertssouthern.com & gilbertshotchicken.com
HAPPY MOTORING
TALLAHASSEE
Once the shell of a 1950s Esso service station, this novel gathering place ties together Tallahassee’s past and future as part of an initiative to spark new community life south of the Florida Capitol. The site has been recast as a social hub, with white picnic tables gracing an AstroTurf lawn and the distressed interior spruced up with colorful accents, additional seating, a beer-and-wine bar and a tea-and-coffee sidebar run by Catalina Coffee and the Tallahassee Tea Co. There’s no kitchen, so the parking lot hosts some of the city’s most popular food trucks on a rotating schedule (currently Thursdays–Saturdays). Amanda Morrison of Social Catering, who collaborated with local entrepreneurs (and neighbors) Lucas Lindsey and Jake Kiker of the Foremost group to launch the enterprise, took a cue from similar operations in Miami’s artsy Wynwood District. The partners are mindful of history. The restored, original signage echoes Esso’s cheerful slogan, which once greeted customers at what was Tallahassee’s only black-owned gas station. happymotoringtlh.com
PESCADO ROOFTOP BAR AND SEAFOOD
ROSEMARY BEACH
Pescado is the latest enterprise to open at Rosemary Beach, a development launched in 1995 that brings ideals of new urbanism to a 107-acre Gulf-front community. The restaurant overlooks the water and was designed by Smith Hanes of Atlanta, with a focus on “subtle coastal colors, clean lines and soft lighting,” all aiming to enhance the Emerald Coast vibe. The menu, put together by Chef Ken Duenas, boasts an eclectic range of surf and turf, raw and cooked, from blue crab and steak tartare to Moroccan-spiced lollipop lamb chops and seared diver scallops. rooftop30a.com
WYATT’S COFFEE
GAINESVILLE
This intimate java hut is in a prime spot to serve students at the University of Florida. What they’ll get is a richer experience, with nitro cold brew and pour-over coffee, than at name-brand grind houses. The new spot relocates Wyatt’s from midtown, where rampant construction had become a hassle. With the move comes change, and some new additions to the menu: specialty teas, pastries and a full range of espresso-based drinks. The smartly designed interior accommodates more than 30 patrons. wyattscoffee.com
Central
FOXTAIL’S FARMHOUSE
WINTER PARK
Much more than a mere coffee joint, the Farmhouse concept greatly broadens the offerings of the Foxtail coffee brand. The new shop, dubbed Store 1004, is a gathering place for artisans in central Florida’s craft-driven community. Specialty coffees are roasted on-site, with single-origin brews and blends available. There’s also a bar serving wine, champagne and cocktails. Find freshly squeezed fruit juices and a lively menu of small bites and pastries, with options for vegans and those with a sweet tooth. Patrons can also grab items to go and investigate the world’s largest coffee siphon bar. foxtailcoffee.com
HEIGHTS PUBLIC MARKET AT ARMATURE WORKS
TAMPA
Once upon a time, 1910 to be exact, the site was the streetcar warehouse for the Tampa Electric Street and Railway Company. Modes of transportation changed, and in 1960 the voluminous barn became the home of Tampa Armature Works, a phosphate machinery company. More recently, it was transformed into a sprawling mixed-use space, whose latest addition is the Heights Public Market, a 22,000-square-foot industrial market with an appetizing array of restaurants with culinary creations for every kind of palette. Whether you’ve got a yen for ramen (Ichicoro Imoto), Cuban cuisine (Hemingway’s), cold-pressed juices (Swami Juice) or all-day gourmet breakfast (Graze 1910), you’ll find it here. armatureworks.com
HARD ROCK HOTEL DAYTONA BEACH
DAYTONA BEACH
The hospitality brand you can crank up to 11 launches its fourth Florida franchise on a beachfront stage. The 200-room hotel features amenities sure to deafen the competition. Guests can jam on guitars from a selection of 20 different Fender models jacked into a Mustang amp, or spin vinyl from an in-room LP library on a Crosley turntable. The musical theme defines a range of experiences, from drinking and dining to fitness and spa services to shopping and kid-oriented fun, including a guitar-shaped splash zone in an oceanfront pool, also equipped with an underwater sound system pumping tunes. hrhdaytonaBeach.com
WATERLINE MARINA RESORT & BEACH CLUB
ANNA MARIA ISLAND
Boasting beaches of “sugar-white” sand and a tropic-kissed climate, Anna Maria Island sits an hour south of Tampa on the Gulf of Mexico. This new resort makes the most of that blissful geography with its airy suites and decks with aquatic views; ample seafood and Southern flair at Eliza Ann’s Coastal Kitchen; swimming pool; and gigantic sun deck reaching into the marina, where 50 slips await boating parties eager to dock and dine or stay for the night. waterlineresort.com
South
THE ROYAL POINCIANA PLAZA
PALM BEACH
History goes deluxe at this signature Palm Beach shopping center. The site first opened in the late 1950s, famously designed by John Valk in an architectural style that echoes the Palais Royal in Paris. The 180,000-square-foot property was restored both to its former glamor and given contemporary touches by Smith and Moore Architects and Nievera Williams Landscape Architecture. The Plaza has drawn a host of more than 20 retail shops offering everything from fresh produce to doggy treats and Hermes scarves to motorbikes. Dining options include restaurants such as Sant Ambroeus, the Palm Beach Grill and Coyo Taco, with award-winning Mexican fare. Even if you’ve maxed out your credit cards, you can still enjoy the lush life in one of the Plaza’s pair of courtyards, sipping a coffee amid the beautifully cultivated gardens. theroyalpoincianaplaza.com
GRANDVIEW PUBLIC MARKET
WEST PALM BEACH
Groovy warehouse districts aren’t only for the gentrified urban cores of faded industrial cities. They’re springing up in tony beach towns, too. Witness Grandview Public Market. The renovated mid-century warehouse sprawls across 14,000 square feet in West Palm Beach, offering a wide array of appetizing options from some 15 vendors, including the Hawaiian-style fare of Poke Lab Eatery and full-service butcher Grace’s Fine Foods. There is a weekly night market, a roster of ongoing events for children, and workshops on such topics as pickling and gardening. grandviewpublic.com
SAILS
NAPLES
Co-founding entrepreneurs Veljko Pavicevic and Corinne Ryan opened Sails on Valentine’s Day, expressing their mutual affection for food and wine around the globe. The coastal cultures of Europe aren’t too remote from that of the “other” Naples on Florida’s own coastline. Guests are invited to select their own fish and choose from multiple styles of preparation, whether that’s a seafood tower of raw delights, crudo with a Sails twist, or specialties cooked over a wood-burning grill. Steak and pasta dishes are also on the menu. As for ambience, decor elements were directly influenced by artisans of Greece, Portugal, France and Italy. sailsrestaurants.com
BEACH HOUSE
POMPANO BEACH
Infusing Pompano Beach with a megadose of boho-chic, this two-story oceanfront restaurant and bar, situated next to the soon-to-be-revamped Pompano Beach Pier, offers a quintessential Florida experience. Bamboo lanterns sway in the breeze, which flows from the porch through the open first-floor dining room. Upstairs, bungalow-style alcoves offer private perches from which to overlook the ocean. Cocktails like the all-natural pops and prosecco come garnished with mini house-made fruit pops. Stir up tropical magic to go with fresh Florida seafood. beachhousepompano.com
