"With the recent closings of two restaurants on Coastland Center mall property, I hope it won't be a restaurant that will fail." That was a reader writing to the Naples Press in May. He was asking about the fencing and barriers that had gone up in the southwest corner of the Macy's parking lot. In the same column, another reader asked about the Brazilian steakhouse going in at the mall.
From The Moorings, Coastland Center sits just across U.S. 41. Its western edge is where Ninth Street North, Golden Gate Parkway and Fleischmann Boulevard meet the highway, and it's the closest cluster of sit-down chain restaurants. This fall, that edge looks like a set of empty buildings and construction fencing. Each site has a plan, though, and the plans have a lot in common. The casual Mexican, Caribbean and pizza concepts that used to fill these addresses are being replaced by a Mediterranean steakhouse, a raw bar and grill with a firepit patio, and an all-you-can-eat Brazilian churrascaria. Every one of those openings is pinned to a window that runs into 2027.
Three Closings at One Intersection
The changes began with three closings around the U.S. 41 and Golden Gate Parkway intersection, all within about a year:
- May 2025. Dorona, a modern Italian steakhouse run by the Aielli Group, closed for good at 2110 Tamiami Trail N. after more than seven years. The 7,380-square-foot space had earlier been a TGI Friday's and Midtown Kitchen & Bar.
- May 2025. Darden Restaurants shut 15 Bahama Breeze locations, and the Coastland Center building at 2088 Ninth St. N. has stood empty since.
- February. Uncle Julio's moved out of its freestanding building at 2096 Ninth St. N. after about three and a half years.
Uncle Julio's and Bahama Breeze were two of the five freestanding chain restaurants built on the mall's western end. The other three are the Cheesecake Factory, the first and longest-running of the group, CMX CinéBistro and Twin Peaks. That left two of the five buildings dark, which was the subject of that reader's question. Inside the mall, the Aurelio's Pizza space near the CMX CinéBistro entrance had also emptied out.
Address by Address, What's Going In
As of the latest Naples Press updates in May and September 2026, here is the plan for each site.
2096 Ninth St. N., former Uncle Julio's. Atlantic Forge Mediterranean Steakhouse is renovating the building, which is nearly 11,500 square feet and sits on the mall's northwest corner at U.S. 41 and Golden Gate Parkway. The large, colorful mural on the west wall will be painted white, with the restaurant's name in gold letters. The ironwork near the patio is coming out. Italian cypress, bougainvillea and podocarpus will replace the current agave and umbrella plants. The Naples Design Review Board gave final approval to the façade, landscaping and signage changes on Aug. 26. Menu details have not been released, and the restaurant is expected to open in early 2027.
2094 Ninth St. N., new outparcel in the Macy's lot. Oar & Iron Raw Bar & Grill is under construction in the southwest corner of the lot. Plans call for 5,899 square feet indoors and an 1,833-square-foot patio with a firepit under a louvered pergola. The patio will sit closest to the main entrance, at the corner of Fleischmann Boulevard and U.S. 41. This will be the sixth chain restaurant outparcel on the mall's western end. Oar & Iron is a Florida version of 110 Grill, a Northeast chain. It uses lighter nautical colors, more outdoor seating and a menu weighted toward seafood and steaks. The first Oar & Iron opened in late 2023 at Founders Square, at Collier Boulevard and Immokalee Road, so the Coastland location will be the company's second in Naples.
2048 Ninth St. N., inline space near CMX CinéBistro. Rodizio Grill is building a 9,160-square-foot Brazilian steakhouse that combines the old Aurelio's space with a vacant unit next door. The space was home to Pate's House of Prime Rib and Ted's Montana Grill before Aurelio's. The restaurant will be considerably larger than the Rodizio Grill that has operated at Coconut Point in Estero since April 2016, and it will have no outdoor seating. Rodizio's format is all-you-can-eat rotisserie meats carved at the table by gauchos, along with a hot and cold salad bar and a full bar.
2088 Ninth St. N., former Bahama Breeze. No plan has been announced. Darden is retiring the Bahama Breeze brand next spring and converting the remaining locations to its other restaurants. The south Fort Myers Bahama Breeze is set to become a Yard House. As of Sept. 25, Darden still had no plans for the Naples site.
2110 Tamiami Trail N., former Dorona. This space is leaving restaurant use. Northwestern Concierge Clinic is building out the former restaurant at the southern end of the Centre Pointe retail center, on the northeast corner of U.S. 41 and Golden Gate Parkway. Its services haven't been announced. Northwestern Medicine already runs a concierge practice on Fourth Avenue North in Old Naples.
The Replacements Run on Fire and Meat
Taken together, these projects change what kind of dining the corner offers. The buildings are being refilled with formats built around grilled meat, open flame and long dinners.
Two of the three new restaurants are planning fire features outside. Oar & Iron has its firepit under the pergola. At Atlantic Forge, Jason B. Taylor of Bradenton-based Taylor Studios told city staff and the Design Review Board that the patio plans include "firepit tables, freestanding firepits, some planters and a built-in gas fireplace feature." Rodizio is the exception, with all of its seating indoors.
The new concepts are also larger and more committed than what they replace. Rodizio is combining two units into one. Atlantic Forge is changing the landscaping, the signage and the color of the most recognizable wall on the corner. Oar & Iron is putting up a new building from scratch. Across the highway, the Dorona space has now gone through three restaurant operators, and its next tenant will be a medical office.
Every Date Is a Window
Here is the timing, measured from today, Oct. 4, 2026.
Oar & Iron is the closest to opening, and its schedule has already slipped once. The original sign on the outparcel said "Coming late 2025." In May, Rob Luzzi, senior director of marketing for RAVentures Hospitality Group, which owns Oar & Iron, put the new target this way:
"[We] would love to be open by the end of 2026, but otherwise early 2027, based on construction."
That gives the best case about three months from now. The September 25 update still listed the building as under construction. Rodizio Grill has a similar window of late 2026 or early 2027. Atlantic Forge is projected for early 2027. None of the three has announced a firm opening day.
So the corner probably won't look much different for the rest of 2026. The new restaurants are more likely to open in the first few months of 2027, and possibly over several months rather than all at once.
What's Already Open Across the Highway
The one new opening near this stretch so far is smaller. Just Salad opened at Naples Plaza in September 2026. Its address is 1993 Tamiami Trail N., Unit 0004A. It's open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and takes online orders. It's quick and casual, the opposite of the long dinners being built across the street. For now, the mall's western end still has the Cheesecake Factory, CMX CinéBistro and Twin Peaks.
The Other Edge of The Moorings Is on the Same Timeline
The Moorings has a 2027 finish date on its Gulf side too. The City of Naples issued the Notice to Proceed for the new Lowdermilk Park playground on July 22, 2026, and expects to finish in April 2027. The playground will have a multilevel lighthouse, large climbing structures, a new shelter and shaded swings, all at the park's south end. The Nommensen Family donated $250,000 toward the project. The equipment has been ordered, and the manufacturer is working through permits. In the meantime, the city's beach access table lists Lowdermilk Park as open.
That puts two construction projects on opposite sides of the neighborhood, a playground by the beach and a restaurant corner on U.S. 41, both scheduled to wrap up in roughly the same few months of 2027.
When a tenant changes along the U.S. 41 corridor, it also changes how nearby properties are described and compared. At Mauceli Grech Group, we follow these openings address by address, so our advice reflects what is actually at the corner. If you would like to talk through what the coming changes at Coastland Center could mean for a home in The Moorings, Schedule a Private Consultation.
