| New Cape Harbour dining, shopping area well received Cape Coral Daily Breeze |
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| Quaint little shops with unusual gifts and reasonable prices are now open in Cape Harbour, and both a restaurant and a coffee/ice cream specialty shop also opened their doors in December. Still more businesses will be coming as their stores are finished. Cape Harbour is off Chiquita Boulevard, south of El Dorado Parkway. The businesses line both sides of a walkway within this new development by the Caloosahatchee River. The atmosphere has much more than just residences and shopping. The development is more like a village where people get to know one another and have fun doing so. The Joint A second block party will ring in the New Year on The Promenade, according to Bob Mulroy, a managing partner of The Joint. The first was held when the business opened in early December. The restaurant can accommodate 80 people inside, and 70 outside on the porch overlooking the water and large yachts docked nearby. In addition, a gazebo bar outside seats another 24. The gazebo faces The Promenade, a round area not open to traffic, with palm trees and benches in the center. For the New Year’s celebration, the Cracker Blues Band will be featured, and there will be a Champagne fountain, Mulroy said. “What is going to be unique,” he added, “is a ball drop like they have in Times Square. We’ll have a crane, and the ball will descend from the 14th floor.” The crane is already on site since one of two residential high-rise buildings on each side of The Promenade still is under construction. The completed one has two levels of parking in addition to shops on the lower level, and 14 floors of residential units. People started to move in last summer. The New Year’s Block Party will start at 6 p.m., Mulroy said, but when asked when it will end, he did not have a set time. “Until the neighbors call the cops,” he quipped. Regular hours for The Joint are from 11:30 a.m. until midnight. Some 45 people work there, and the restaurant specializes in “noshing.” Mulroy explained. “Noshings are two or three smaller portions, and you make that your meal, as opposed to one entree.” he said. You get a lot of different tastes.” Each Tuesday, there is live music. “We have been well received by the community,” Mulroy said. Run Aground All the merchants who have opened their doors, some only a week ago, expressed the same opinion about the warm welcome of customers, many of whom have returned since their first visit. “We are really excited to be here,” said Stacy Murdock, one of the managing partners at Run Aground — Premium Coffee & Ice Cream. They offer 24 flavors of Gilato, an Italian ice cream made on site. They are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, and offer a wide choice for breakfast, including bagels, croissants and other pastries. They also have quiche and a choice of flavors for coffee. They have Coffee of the Week, Flavor of the Day, and both a mild and a bold coffee every day, according to Murdock. Run Aground can seat 27 people inside and 24 on the waterfront patio. “Isn’t it beautiful,” she remarked, pointing to the outside. “You can’t beat the view.” Patrons can join the Coffee Club. They can purchase a Run Aground gift card, and they receive 10 percent off. Murdock said they also offer wireless Internet service, television, and they are building up their offering of newspapers. On the same side as The Joint, several businesses soon will move in when the indoor construction is completed, and also on this same side, past Run Aground, more will be located in the future. This part of the building is across the walkway from the residential building still under construction. According to Murdock, the occupants of this “South Tower” are expected to move in around early spring. Ship to Shore Home Decor Across from the shops bordering the water, on the bottom floor of the “North Tower,” four businesses are already in operation. While their front glass doors announce: “Thursday-Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m. & for special occasions,” they may have different schedules. For instance, in Ship to Shore Home Decor, John Bicking said he will be open Thursday through Monday because his customers who come on the weekend return on Monday after they have measured in their home the size of a location for a certain item they like.
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“I have sold some pieces to people already in the condos,” he said. Business has been very good since he opened Dec. 1. Bicking has a similar store — but much bigger — in Matlacha on Pine Island, which remains open. It is called “Island Decor & More. In Matlacha, he also owns Tropical Island Wear, a clothing store for men, women and children. At Cape Harbour, Bicking mostly has items on a tropical/nautical theme, and they can accommodate all budgets, ranging in price from $5 to $500. Carried Away At Carried Away, Toni Halvatzis offers mostly handbags and jewelry, and among the handbags, no two are the same “I only have one of each,” she said. “When my customers buy handbags from me, when they leave, they can be sure nobody else will ever have one like it.” Barbara Oster of Cape Coral had come into the store with two friends. “Very nice stuff she has here,” Oster said. “She has beautiful things. I think it is wonderful, and these bags are so reasonably priced.” Oster reached into her shopping bag and unwrapped the small handbag she had just bought. “It is snakeskin,” she said, passing a finger on the shinny material. This bag is for myself, and it is only $20. It is really amazing.” Halvatzis said she owned a tennis store in Orlando years ago, but she always had a passion for handbags. “I only opened Dec. 2, but already I have a lot of repeat customers,” she said, “and they are telling their friends, and their friends come here because the quality is good, and they are very unique and different — and the prices are very reasonable.” The prices range from $20 to $300, according to Halvatzis, who said she will be open every day during the tourist season. Rising Stars Art Studio Next door, in the Rising Stars Art Studio, Lois Johnston has her own art work and those of other artists. Her art is fused glass and jewelry, which she teaches at the Cape Coral Art Studio on Fridays. “I have been wanting to open a gallery for a long time and have been waiting for the right location,” she said. She finally found it. “It is just beautiful,” she said of Cape Harbour. “I just love the architecture, the atmosphere, and the people are just great, and of course, the food is great too, and the coffee at Run Aground, which just opened. So, we are happy about that because we can get good coffee.” The items at Rising Stars Art Studio range in price from $10 to $2,000. The art work consists of paintings, seashell sculptures, clay, wood and more. Treasure Chest Candles & Gifts Lisa Holmes opened Treasure Chest Candles & Gifts Dec. 7. Asked how business has been, she said: “Fabulous! The people are friendly. It is already wonderful.” Previously, she owned Candlelight Gifts on Del Prado Boulevard. She offers many items, including home fragrances and Woodwick Candles. “It is the No. 2 seller in the nation,” she said of this brand of candles. “They crackle like a fireplace.” She also carries the effusion lamp, which delivers a fragrance without a flame. The candles are made in the U.S.A. She also has a display of delightful Austrian crystal. Three upcoming shops still are being constructed inside and their front doors announce “Coming Soon.” They are Pignoli - An Epicurean Market Place, Islands and
SIM Gallery of Fine Arts. |