Ian-destroyed Matlacha restaurant opens in heart of Cape Coral's entertainment district
It may not be in Matlacha, but South Cape is pretty darn close.
Hooked Island Grill opened a new location on Tuesday, March 12, at the intersection of SE 10th Place and SE 47th Terrace in downtown Cape Coral near Club Square.
“I’m excited about being closer to home, although we’re not quite back to Matlacha,” co-owner Erik Lebsack said. “I feel like there is so much hype surrounding us here. We’re right in the heart of the entertainment district. It’s a great atmosphere, a great vibe.”
The original Hooked site off Pine Island Road was destroyed when Hurricane Ian tore over the island in September 2022. Lebsack and co-owner Kyle Sherman were able to open another Hooked four months later in the Gulf Coast Town Center (GCTC).
Now they’ve partnered with local restaurateur Franco Russo — who owns five other restaurants, including Stones Throw and Two Meatballs in the Kitchen nearby — to open the newest Hooked in the spot vacated by Big Storm Brewing last September. It was also home to JoAnn Elardo’s Big Blue Brewing from October 2016 to August 2020 and a bingo hall before that.
Customers no longer get a glimpse into what was once the brewery thanks to a wall constructed out of the same wood used behind the bar in Hooked Fort Myers.
“I didn’t want anyone walking in and thinking about Big Storm or Big Blue,” Sherman said.
Mission accomplished.
An elevated modern, industrial feel
The new indoor space has been completely redone, and it’s stunning.
Glowing blue globes suspended above dining room tables move up and down on tracks “making wave patterns on the ceiling.”
“It’s hard to describe,” Lebsack said. “You just have to see it.”
Those lights are reflected in the ultra-shiny, epoxy floor made of the same material — but a different color — as the one installed in Fort Myers.
“This one looks copper,” Lebsack said. “It’s basically crushed pennies.”
Ropes with drop lighting and vines hang from wood pallets overhead, casting light onto a wall of barrel staves.
The impressive indoor bar has LED lights and the same mesmerizing cool blue epoxy you’ll find at their other restaurant.
The same artist painted the murals in both locations and if you look closely at the new one, you’ll see a nod to the old Matlacha spot.
Super heavy-duty Amish-made tables and chairs from Pennsylvania help tie it all together.
“Everything in the building is brand new,” Lebsack said. “It was either purchased or we made it. Nothing was here.
We wanted to incorporate a lot of those things from Fort Myers. But we started doing more here. It has a different spin, a different feel.”
What’s on the menu?
The revamped menu is new(ish) too.
“We just released a new menu in both locales,” Lebsack said. “About 95 to 98 percent of it in the Cape will be on Fort Myers’ menu. We added twin lobster tails and two different scallop items to replace the existing one. And we’re going to have snow crab on the menu full-time at both.”
Hooked is known for its sushi dog, Hooked Oscar (with blackened mahi, lump crab and house hollandaise), blackened tripletail and “anything that says grouper.”
“Those are the big things,” Lebsack said. “We’re also known for our clam chowder. We call it New England-ish. It’s generally a little thicker. It was a Matlacha staple that we continued at Gulf Coast Town Center. It’ll be a staple here.”
The new kitchen, meanwhile, “allows for more space under the hood, so the equipment is bigger.”
“The charbroiler is twice the size,” Lebsack said, “which allows us to do a 46-ounce Tomahawk.”
The magnum bloody mary will always be available in the Cape, while it’s only offered during brunch at GCTC.
“But we’re working on changing that,” Lebsack said. “We are trying to streamline it so it’s always there too.”
Chef Matt Djerf, who previously worked at CRaVE and with Shannon Yates at Nevermind, Cru and Lush, mans the kitchen.
“He knows what sells in the area,” Lebsack said. “He knows what people want and has good local knowledge. I wish we had more of him. I’d never worry about a kitchen again.”
The staff of 50-plus trained at the Fort Myers location. And some of the Fort Myers staff will work in the new restaurant.
“In general, it should be a smooth opening,” Lebsack said. “We have a great bar staff too. I’m not going to be nervous about it.”
According to Sherman, they’re already gearing up for happy hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily and brunch on the weekends.
“We’re dinner only for the first few days,” he said. “But by Friday we will open for lunch. Brunch will come in a couple of weeks.”
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Sherman is also looking forward to getting the restaurant’s 24 taps going.
“We’ll do seven cocktails and 17 beers, many local craft beers,” he said.
Pizza and Matlacha in the future too?
Eventually, the walled-off brewery space will become a separate pizza and ice cream joint for lunch and dinner. Then late night, there will be “a slice window until 3 in the morning.”
“We have that on hold because we didn’t want to slow the opening of the main restaurant,” Lebsack said. “So maybe in the summer we will open for pizza and ice cream.”
A return to Matlacha is not quite as planned out.
“We’re exploring other concepts if the building does get rebuilt,” Lebsack said. “We’re not in control of that now. Plus we’re focused on getting this place together.
“To get this one open and see how excited everyone is makes you feel like you’re doing something right.”
Hooked Island Grill, 4721 SE 10th Place, Cape Coral, is open at 4 p.m. for dinner-only the first few days, then it should be open for lunch at 11 a.m. as of Friday, March 15. Weekend brunch is coming. Follow the Cape Coral location on Facebook for updates; also open at 9924 Gulf Coast Main St., Suite 130, Fort Myers in the Gulf Coast Town Center, (239) 313-7142, follow Fort Myers Hooked on Facebook
Robyn George is a food and dining writer for The Fort Myers News-Press. Send news to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hooked Island Grill opens in Cape Coral's entertainment district
