Founders Square mixed-use development is on the southeast corner of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard. COURTESY PHOTO

Q: Saw your post about space in Founders Square still open. Back in April, you said they had a lot of interest. Nothing coming soon?

Q: Is Lake Park Diner really opening at Founders Square? Anything else in the area anticipated? It’s so nice having things by me for once!

Q: Do you have an opening date for South Street in Founders Square?

— Bri Bo, Golden Gate Estates

A: Many more businesses plan locations at Founders Square, the mixed-use development on the southeast corner of Immokalee Road and Collier Boulevard. The joint effort by Barron Collier Companies, Trinity Commercial Group and Metro Commercial includes The Pointe at Founders Square restaurant-centric retail hub, a self-storage business, Physicians Regional Medical Group offices and The Pearl Founders Square 400-unit apartment community.

The Plaza at Founders Square, anchored by Sunshine Ace Hardware, is now under construction. FOUNDERS SQUARE RENDERING

Still under construction in the center of the development is The Plaza at Founders Square retail strip that will be anchored by Sunshine Ace Hardware, while a 7-Eleven convenience store, gas station and car wash are being built on the first of six outparcels along Immokalee Road.

Opening next front and center in The Pointe will be South Street City Oven, Bar & Music. A few inspections must occur still before it can open, but the grand opening is expected on Sept. 15, said Diana Pleeter, who co-owns South Street with her husband, Bruce. “We got approval for our seating license, which is a huge hurdle,” she said, noting that concerts featuring The Black Moods, an Arizona-based rock band, are already planned there for Sept. 16 and 17.

“We’re super close. I’m so excited,” Mrs. Pleeter said. “It’s absolutely amazing. It’s my husband’s vision. It is a really, really awesome place.”

Serving American cuisine in a trendy, casual setting, 101 Grill will anchor the western end of The Plaza at Founders Square. RAVENTURES

It will be the second location for South Street, which has a full bar and restaurant on the corner of Goodlette-Frank and Pine Ridge roads in Naples. The new 6,100-square-foot venue is similar in size to the original but seems bigger because it is one large open area instead of the initial location’s separate spaces for the bar and the Tippling Room.

The Pointe unit between I Heart Mac and Cheese and Fuji Sushi Bar & Asian Bistro originally was going to be Slicers Hoagies, but that unoccupied unit is still available to lease. “We’re close to making a deal on that last space at The Pointe,” said Eric Mallory, executive vice president of Metro Commercial.

The Plaza, the adjacent retail strip under construction, also is nearly fully leased. “We have about 9,000 square feet left,” Mr. Mallory said.

Sunshine Ace remains on target to open its 12th store on the eastern end of The Plaza in the first quarter of 2023. “The shops should be shortly thereafter,” Mr. Mallory said. “I think Ace is going to be about a month ahead of the shops.”

South Street City Oven, Bar & Music plans to open its second location this month in The Pointe at Founders Square. TIM ATEN / FLORIDA WEEKLY

Other units leased in The Plaza include two restaurants, a fitness studio and a wellness center. Anchoring the western end of The Plaza will be 110 Grill, a restaurant serving modern American cuisine in a trendy, casual atmosphere. It will be the first of many Southwest Florida locations for a Northeastern dining concept named after Route 110 where it launched in Massachusetts. The 6,200-square-foot restaurant will have a horseshoe-shaped bar and a large patio with a fire pit. The 110 Grill probably will open in July or August of next year, said Jeff Doward, regional director with the RAVentures franchise group.

Havana Libre Cuban Cuisine, a local restaurant owned by Angel Madera and his family, also is coming to The Plaza. The Maderas, who immigrated from Cuba to the United States in 1995, have operated Havana Libre in Golden Gate Center on Golden Gate Parkway since 2017. Their new 4,000-square-foot location, which Mr. Madera expects to open near the end of January or in February, will have a full bar and outdoor dining. “Basically, we are going to double the size,” he said. “I’m very excited.”

Specializing in roast beef sandwiches, Boston-based Kelly’s Roast Beef will have a freestanding drive-thru restaurant at Founders Square. RAVENTURES

Restore and Spenga are two self-improvement businesses coming to The Plaza. Restore is a hyper wellness center with cutting-edge services such as cryotherapy, IV drip therapy and an infrared sauna. The chain has a location on Naples Boulevard in North Naples and another coming soon to Estero Town Commons.

Spenga plans its second area fitness studio after opening a location last year in Neapolitan Way in Naples. Its workout sessions include a combination of spin, strength training and yoga. Spenga plans as many as three more locations in Lee County.

Four of the six outparcel lots fronting Immokalee Road in Founders Square are already claimed. 7-Eleven is the only one that has broken ground so far. It is targeted to open in late October. Also previously reported, but yet to begin construction, is a branch of Dallas-based First Foundation Bank, which acquired Naples-based First Florida Integrity Bank in December.

Two restaurants will have freestanding locations on either side of 7-Eleven. Building on its original location in Naples and a second under construction on Bonita Beach Road, Lake Park Diner will be built on the outparcel nearest The Pointe.

Adjacent to the Immokalee Road entrance into Founders Square, Kelly’s Roast Beef plans a drive-thru restaurant. It will be one of the first franchises for a popular fast-casual concept in the Boston area known for its roast beef sandwiches and lobster rolls.

Two more outparcels are still available along Immokalee Road. “We just have a few more spaces in The Plaza and a couple of outparcels, so limited spaces are available,” Mr. Mallory said.

This summer, Outback Steakhouse, Crisp & Green and Gulf Coast Orthodontics opened at The Pointe while Salon Bellezza plans to relocate this month from across the street in the Shoppes of Pebblebrooke. They joined a half-dozen businesses that already opened this year in The Pointe that includes Collier Urgent Care, Fuji, I Heart Mac and Cheese, Luxury Nails & Spa, Skillets and Tacos & Tequila Cantina.

Some confusion has been generated by many people assuming that The Pearl Steak & Seafood Restaurant is coming to Founders Square because they see The Pearl listed on the monument sign near the main entrances on Collier Boulevard and Immokalee Road. But it’s The Pearl Founders Square luxury apartments not The Pearl restaurant, which has operated for four years near the southwest corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach Roads in North Naples. ¦

— “Tim Aten Knows” is published each week in Naples Florida Weekly. Email questions to TimAtenKnows@floridaweekly.com. Follow @TimAten- Knows on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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