The foodie scene is off to a strong start in 2025.
The New Year was just nine hours old when LadyCakes held a grand opening for its new Cape Coral location.
Five days later, Sip & Sizzle followed suit by officially opening in downtown Fort Myers on Jan. 6.
And those are just the beginning.
Here are nine restaurants, from Cape Coral to Captiva, that we are looking forward to in the upcoming year (hopefully) …
Fresh Catch Inland, Estero
Why are we so excited for the late January opening (hopefully) of this landlocked 2.0 version of Fresh Catch Bistro coming to Coconut Point? For starters, it’s a Franco Russo restaurant.
“I think of it as Junkanoo meets Fresh Catch meets Stones Throw,” Russo said of the new location taking over the space previously occupied by TGI Fridays and T42. “It’s my twist on Fresh Catch (on Fort Myers Beach).”
In 2012, the original Fresh Catch replaced Anthony’s on the Gulf, an Italian restaurant owned by Russo’s father Alfredo Russo and his business partner, Tony Scialdone.