| Will Stout has built it. Now
he’s hoping they will come.
The restaurant and boathouse at the Marina at Cape Harbour,
originally called Meta, will open in approximately 60 days.
Stout, the upscale project’s developer, hopes the attractions
will make his Marina a place where people come to take a stroll,
walk their dogs and watch the sunset.
“This is the first waterfront entertainment district
in Cape Coral. It’s not just about docking your boat,”
Stout said.
The restaurant, called Rumrunners, already has booked 10 parties,
according to co-owner Todd Johnson, 33. Most are Christmas
parties.
“It practically sells itself,” said Johnson, who
has walked potential clients through the building, which is
in the final phases of construction. The restaurant will seat
about 200.
“The whole back of the restaurant is glass; from just
about every seat in the restaurant you can see water.”
Johnson and Jeff Gately are the team that opened Bistro 41
at the Bell Tower Shops in 1997. After selling the restaurant
last February, the duo took several months off, looking for
their next venture.
Cape Harbour appeared to be what they were looking for.
Most of the home sites at the development are now sold. Residents
have begun to move into its multimillion-dollar homes and
lower-priced villas.
The focus at Cape Harbour is now turning to
|
attracting nonresidents to the
Marina. Shops and other restaurants are expected to open there
in the future.
The boathouse, which will open at about the same time as
Rumrunners, will offer boat storage, but it also will be a
place where people can shop for boats. Stout hopes to include
a bait-and-tackle shop later.
Johnson and his partner are counting on cashing in on the
boat traffic that comes in off the river.
“We were a little hesitant at first, to be honest, because
of the size of the building,” Johnson said. “The
way Will Stout has set it up, it’s going to be a home
run. He (Stout) is taking absolutely no short-cuts.”
The question on some people’s minds is, will customers
take the long route to the southern end of Chiquita Boulevard
in southwest Cape Coral to walk and have dinner?
“We need business in this area, we need some action,”
said Farhad Tavangar, who lives across from Cape Harbour.
Tavangar, who manages the Applebee’s restaurant in Fort
Myers, isn’t sure Rumrunners will pull in business necessary
to stay open.
“People who live in Cape Coral, especially the central
part of Cape Coral, their income is not so high,” Tavangar
said.
The menu at Rumrunners will focus on seafood, and entrees
will cost between $10 to $18.
“I think the biggest challenge is for the public not
to think that we’re a private club. We are 100 percent
open to the public,” Johnson said. |
