Is Bayfront really a revolving door of restaurants? A look back

When I first visited Naples 10 years ago, I considered Bayfront a breathtaking gateway to what makes downtown special.

I still do.

I was so intrigued with Bayfront that among the first restaurants we visited was EJ’s Bayfront Café .

Since 2012, Eric Becker , the proprietor of this successful spot, continually makes this breakfast and lunch cafe a destination for locals and nearby hotel guests.

How popular is it?

TripAdvisor ranks 632 restaurants in Naples; Becker’s spot is currently 14th.

According to NDN's archives, EJ's replaced Chrissy's at Bayfront.

Tavern on the Bay opened in 2011. This year, we named it one of Naples's top five places to watch the Super Bowl. This Bayfront restaurant ranks on TripAdvisor 's top 100 restaurants in town .

Some restaurants have walls of wine. This reporter remembers K-Rico's Mexican Grill 's impressive tequila display from its April 2019 opening when it replaced Roy's Restaurant, founded by James Beard Award winner Roy Yamaguchi.

Roy's Bonita Springs location remains open.

The plaza’s location was also a draw for Charles Mereday, chef-proprietor of Alto's Jazz Kitchen , a USA Today 10Best selection, which closed nearly a decade ago.

Mereday's publicist Beth Preddy remembers it as "ultra hip and cool," where Southwest Florida's best musicians and full jazz bands played.

“My experience at Bayfront was pleasant. The location is beautiful and very well maintained. Closing there had more to do with an overall seasonal swing of business in Naples at the time, which made it hard to sustain financially. I wish I had it back now," Mereday said via email.

Well, now there’s room to return, just not at 403 Bayfront Place.

What's coming?

On July 16, Stoney’s Steakhouse posted notice of its July 15 closing on Instagram.

According to Kevin Stoneburner, who owns the plaza, the space is already spoken for.

Via email he said the next restaurant is Saluna Steakhouse.

Bayfront's revolving door of restaurants

I miss Southern Style Kitchen and Raw Bar , which was open for four years and closed in 2023. It was a group brunch destination for my neighbors who liked food in their Bloody Marys.

Before it was Southern, it was Stoney's Stone Crab, a favorite of Features Editor Dave Osborn. And even before that, an earlier iteration was Bianchi's.

Industry Beer & BBQ took Southern Latitudes' space in 2020 and was another critic's favorite at the News. In 2023, Industry owner Chris Jones of LowBrow fame transformed the space into PizzaJones!

Review: At 2 iconic Collier County waterfront restaurants, who does it better?

That, too, closed this January.

Diana Biederman is Naples Daily News' food & restaurant writer. Connect via dbiederman@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Is Bayfront really a revolving door of restaurants? A look back