If you are just back in Pelican Bay and wondering where the new tables are, how many of the restaurants you've heard about can you actually book this month? Over the summer, Waterside Shops lost one restaurant, gained one and announced two more. The Foundation hired a new dining leadership team and set a start date for a new Sunday brunch. Only some of that is ready now. The changes with firm dates are on the beach. Most of the changes across Seagate Drive are still behind construction fences.
The beach restaurants go to seven days on October 15
The first date on the fall calendar is a practical one. The October 2026 Pelican Bay Post lists Marker 36 as closed October 1 through 14. Sandbar is open on a reduced schedule over the same two weeks. Mondays and Tuesdays are lunch only. Wednesday through Sunday adds dinner from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Beginning October 15, both restaurants run seven days a week on the same schedule:
- Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Dinner from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Bar from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., called the bar and lounge at Marker 36
At Sandbar, dinner moves up an hour from its early-October 4:30 start. The Nest gets longer hours too. It is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for now, and from October 15 it stays open until sunset, weather permitting.
So from mid-October, the beach has three Foundation venues serving every day, with no gap between lunch and dinner. For anyone timing a first beach dinner after the summer, the 15th is the date to know.
A new team behind Marker 36, Sandbar and The Nest
The same October issue introduces the five people now running Foundation dining. One leads the whole program, and each beach area has its own culinary and operations pair:
| Role | Name | Venues |
|---|---|---|
| Director of Food and Beverage | Marco Garnica | All Foundation dining |
| Director of Culinary, North | Chef Fabio Bermudez | Marker 36 |
| Director of Operations, North | Christopher Wright | Marker 36 |
| Director of Culinary, South | Chef Rushaune "Rush" Thompson | Sandbar and The Nest |
| Director of Operations, South | Kevin Adames | Sandbar and The Nest |
According to the Post, the team will focus on more consistent food, service and quality while keeping each restaurant's own character.
The new team comes in alongside a larger planning effort. Over the summer, the Post reported on a Foundation planning project whose findings came in a Connors Group presentation. The priorities it listed included the Community Center's space and equipment needs and better visibility into tram arrivals and service disruptions. The July/August/September Post says the project is now turning those findings into specific design and capacity requirements. A later phase will give management and the Board several implementation options. No construction scope or schedule has been announced. For this season, the visible changes are the new staff and the new meal.
Sunday brunch is the first new thing on the menu
The Foundation describes the debut of Sunday Brunch at Marker 36 on November 15 as "the beginning of something new at Pelican Bay." On opening weekend, Foundation leadership and management will join the Marker 36 team to welcome members at a special brunch buffet. The debut seating, from 9 to 11 a.m., is already listed as sold out. The October issue doesn't yet give the recurring brunch schedule or a regular menu. Members who missed the first seating can check later issues of the Post for details.
The brunch closes out Welcome Back Weekend, and most of that weekend is already booked:
| Date | Event | Location | Status per the October Post |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 13, 5 to 9 p.m. | Welcome Back Beach Bash with DJ Bam and Never Stop Believin', a tribute to Journey | South Beach | Registration required |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 9:30 a.m. to noon | Tennis and Pickleball Kickoff | Racquets | Sold out |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 3:30 p.m. | Tuika's Polynesian Island Magic | Sandbar, South Beach | Reservations closed, show open to watch |
| Sun., Nov. 15, 9 to 11 a.m. | Sunday Brunch debut | Marker 36 | Sold out |
| Sun., Nov. 15, afternoon | Beach Bocce | Beach | No registration required |
The Beach Bash includes a complimentary welcome drink, chef-attended food stations, a cash bar and a stage set on the sand. The Polynesian program ends with a Samoan fire knife dance. Anyone getting back after mid-November can still go to the bocce and watch the Sandbar show without a reservation.
Across Seagate Drive, one new restaurant is open
Waterside's dining changes have been under way for a while. The one finished project is Eddie V's Prime Seafood, which opened June 7 at 765 Seagate Drive. Gulfshore Business reported it as the first Southwest Florida location for the Darden concept and its sixth in Florida. Darden kept only the steel frame of the former Bank of America Private Bank building on the southwest corner of the center. The new building is a 9,896-square-foot restaurant with patio dining and three private event rooms. Plans filed with the county showed seating for 361.
Darden also owns The Capital Grille, which has been in North Naples since 2008. Darden describes Eddie V's as the more contemporary, seafood-forward sister, with live jazz and a lounge scene. Signature dishes include Chilean sea bass steamed Hong Kong-style, Parmesan sole and crab fried rice. Managing partner Bob Bacastow singled out the jumbo lump crab cake. A glass walk-through wine tower holds more than 300 labels of wine and champagne.
At opening, Gulfshore Business listed these hours:
- Dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
- V Lounge happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. daily
- Live trios starting at 6 p.m. on Sundays and 6:30 p.m. the rest of the week
Reservations were recommended but not required, and valet was available. Those were launch-period hours, so check with the restaurant before planning around them.
The two dining projects still on the way
The other half of Waterside's dining plans won't be ready for Welcome Back Weekend, and probably not for the holidays.
In the first half of 2026, Waterside lost both Brio, which closed in April, and Häagen-Dazs. Waterside announced Buck & Rider as its next restaurant. Gulfshore Business reported that it will take the place of Brio Tuscan Grille, which had been at Waterside for nearly 20 years. The restaurant's Naples page gives its address as 5415 Tamiami Trail N. The seafood concept comes from Scottsdale, Arizona, and is run by Hi Noon Hospitality, whose founder and CEO is Adam Strecker. Naples is its first location outside the Southwest. For the Naples menu, Strecker named stone crab claws, yellowtail snapper and grouper. The wider menu includes diver scallops, shrimp scampi risotto, crab cakes and sushi. Waterside's April announcement said late 2026. A Naples Daily News report from Aug. 22, 2026 moved the target to early 2027.
RH is going into the site of the former Nordstrom and, before that, Jacobson's at 5489 Tamiami Trail N. Architectural plans show six skylit galleries connected by landscaped courtyards. In the center is a 4,143-square-foot, 174-seat restaurant and wine bar under a long glass atrium. Waterside lists it as "Opening late 2026." A representative for RH told Gulfshore Business that the company had not formally announced its opening timing.
| Waterside site | What's there | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 765 Seagate Drive | Eddie V's Prime Seafood | Open since June 7 |
| 5489 Tamiami Trail N | RH gallery with restaurant and wine bar | Projected late 2026, no confirmed date |
| 5415 Tamiami Trail N | Buck & Rider | Targeting early 2027 |
Retail is following the same staggered pattern. Vuori is now open near Sephora. Dior's Waterside page now lists regular hours. Waterside says TWP will open near Tory Burch in early 2027.
Between now and spring, the dining changes come in this order. Marker 36 and Sandbar go to seven days on October 15. Sunday Brunch at Marker 36 starts November 15. RH's restaurant is projected for sometime late in the year. Buck & Rider is targeting early 2027.
If you're settling back into Pelican Bay for the season, or thinking about a second home close to Marker 36, Sandbar and the new restaurants going up around Waterside, I'm glad to talk through what's opening and when. Let's connect. Linda Kennedy
