Waterfront restaurant opens: Rumrunners gets rave reviews from first customers

Cape Coral Daily Breeze, Monday, November 10, 2003

By Christine Brubaker

Fried oysters and free-flowing spirits gave employees and friends a taste of appreciation Saturday night, as the owners of Rumrunners Restaurant expressed their gratitude to the hundreds of helping hands that brought Cape Coral’s newest waterfront restaurant to life.

A kickoff celebration held to thank the individuals responsible for creating Rumrunners as well as to announce the restaurant’s grand opening this Wednesday at 5 p.m., city officials, Cape builders, and restaurant employees gathered inside the multi-colored paradise to pay tribute to a job well done.

“Look at this place – it’s amazing!,” John Jacobsen of Intergraphic said of the restaurant’s casually elegant décor.

Built to accommodate every customer, from boaters just off the water to business people with clients to impress to those with romance on their minds, owners stress that everyone should feel comfortable within Rumrunners’ coral-hued walls.

“This is a high-quality dining experience in a casual environment,” said Jeff Gately, one of four co-owners of Rumrunners.

Quartered into four different sections, Gately says each of the four rooms is tailor-made to fit every individual’s dining needs.

“We have the deck out back for the boaters, the more elegant dining room for the businessmen

or the big room for banquets and larger parties,” he said.

Built to seat up to 300, the partitioning belies the restaurant’s size.

“Even though this is a large facility, it still has an intimate feel because it’s broken into these four sections,” Gately said.

There is also a large bar with comfortable seating, and the outdoor patio features a gas fireplace and tropical plantings. The effect is comfortable Caribbean.

Combining nautical motifs (boat replicas adorn the walls) with subtle elegance (dim lighting and furniture made from mahogany and white ash) and a bold tropical twist (oranges, yellows and pinks make up the décor), some guests feel the multi-purpose restaurant embodies the identity of Cape Coral itself.

“Cape Coral has been looking for something it can call it’s own. They’ve certainly found it in this. I think this reflects the past, present, and future of the city,” county manager Don Stilwell said.

Rumrunners will take food orders from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and stay open until 2 a.m. for patrons of the bar. It is located within the Marina at Cape Harbour along the Southern end of Chiquita Blvd. Reservations are accepted. For more information on the restaurant, call 542-0200.