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Naples bar to be torn down, rebuilt bigger and better
By KATY BISHOP - Naples Daily News
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Shane's Cabana Bar at Bayfront is set to get a makeover.
The waterfront bar is currently a 1,000-square-foot chickee on the Gordon River, but Bayfront developer Kevin Stoneburner wants to tear it down and expand the building to a two-floor, open-air building with bathrooms, totaling about 3,600 square feet.
Naples' planning advisory board approved the request for a rezone to the planned development and a residential impact statement on Wednesday, allowing Stoneburner to move forward with his plans to expand.
"I think it will bring more people to Bayfront," Stoneburner said after the approval. "In the past, Bayfront has suffered from a lack of daytime activity. So hopefully we can stimulate ... more daytime activity and take advantage of the waterfront."
Adding bathrooms, which the existing bar lacks, will stop people from walking on the street to the community's public bathrooms and the removal of seating outside the bar area will keep customers more contained, said Richard Yovanovich, Stoneburner's attorney, at the meeting.
Business owners in the Bayfront Merchants' Association support the expanded Cabana Bar, said Roger Weatherburn, owner of The Weatherburn Gallery. He was speaking to the board and on behalf of the merchants' association and the Downtown Naples Association, a group that includes merchants from Bayfront, Fifth Avenue South, Third Street South and more.
Bayfront's position on the water is what makes it stand out from Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South, so capitalizing on that waterfront by building a larger Cabana Bar makes sense, Weatherburn said.
Nearly 250 letters were sent out to residents within 500 feet of the property twice in the last few months. Five residents wrote letters protesting the expansion, saying it would block their condos' water views, encourage noisy motorcycles and drinkers to come to Bayfront, and generally disturb the community's quiet atmosphere.
"A 2-story Cabana Bar with bathroom(s) is completely unacceptable," wrote Karen and Bill Confoy, owners of a Bayfront condo. "The noise of the added crowds, cars, motorcycles, etc. will increase tremendously. The views of some residents will be impeded."
Two residents spoke to planning department staff in favor of the proposal prior to the meeting, and at the meeting, year-round Bayfront resident Tary Kettle spoke in favor of the expansion. Kettle said he lives in one of the buildings closest to the bar and it will not block his view of the water.
"I think that ... what's contemplated and planned ... will be a substantial improvement," Kettle said. "It will really add to the waterfront location and the waterfront lifestyle."
The current bar is "a little bit tired" looking, Kettle said. "I'd rather look at a more aesthetically pleasing structure like this."
Board members were concerned about whether the two bathrooms, one for men and one for women, would be sufficient; they recommended that Stoneburner consider adding more on the second floor.
Stoneburner said he was "quite sure" they would do that, he said.
The approval for the rezone passed on a 5-2 vote with three conditions: that the top of the roof be no higher than the planned 30 1/2 feet, that the bar be required to have 36 parking spaces and that they follow code requirements for charter boats at the dock.
Board member Margaret Sulick opposed the two-story bar because "it's too large and ... is opening a Pandora's box by allowing bars or lounges on the second floor and it could be a slippery slope," she said.
David Ball agreed with Sulick, he said when casting his dissenting vote.
"The condo association is not here," said Chairman Richard Klaas.
"If they had any problems ... I think they'd most certainly be here. Bayfront ... has been a real pioneering effort. ... The commercial component needs all the energizing that it can possibly get and I think that this will probably draw a higher class of people. I support the project."
The plans are set to go before City Council for a first reading on Nov. 7.
Chrissy's at Bayfront
Downtown's best kept secret
By Sarah Feldberg
Friday, September 14, 2007
When you find a tasty cafe that serves breakfast late on Saturdays and Sundays, you've pretty much struck gold. When said joint is a mere two-minute walk from your front door, stumbling distance at 1:30 p.m. on a hung over afternoon, you can thank the breakfast angels for sending you a dear, precious gift.
For me, Chrissy's at Bayfront is that gift. Hidden away in the Bayfront property on Goodlette Frank Road in Naples, Chrissy's is a well-planned, well-executed hole in the wall that serves an extensive menu of breakfast and lunch dishes ranging from classic to creative and from comfort to couture.
When I stop in for a weekday lunch on a Monday afternoon, Chrissy's is peopled with its usual mix of families, tourists and local professionals. Although I usually order off the breakfast menu, sampling items like smoked salmon on a freshly toasted bagel or a hefty plate of scrambled eggs tossed with goodies like avocado, tomato and crisp bacon, today I'm feeling lunch.
My companion and I look over the menu of sandwiches, salads, hamburgers and even a few entrees - weighing options like the Santa Fe chicken salad with blackened chicken, beans and corn ($8.50), Crissy's Reuben and a few enticing daily specials. Indecisive and getting steadily hungrier, we finally pick out two dishes to share: an herb-crusted salmon salad ($9.00) and the Monterey roast beef sandwich with seasoned curly fries ($8.50).
Our food arrives a few minutes later, and we immediately dig into the generously sized portions. My salmon salad is a refreshing bed of mixed greens thrown with large tomato wedges, cucumber slices, red onions, artichoke hearts and fresh grated Parmesan cheese served with Parmesan peppercorn dressing on the side. Atop it all a nicely cooked salmon steak adds a lovely touch of pink to the dish. The salmon has indeed been crusted with some herbs, mostly dill it appears, but assuming you don't drench it in dressing, it is the fish's flavor that stands out best.
While the salad is a fairly light and even borderline healthy lunch, the Monterey roast beef sandwich is not. Served on a large, soft sub roll, the sandwich consists almost entirely of roast beef and Monterey jack cheese. A leaf of romaine lettuce, a tomato slice and a few circles of onion are placed awkwardly off the side, relatively useless as the sandwich has already been grilled and the cheese melted into a glue. Despite the clearly good quality roast beef and delicious bread, the sandwich tastes surprisingly bland. It's missing the Dijon mustard that was listed on the menu as a condiment, we realize.
While we eat, we take in the sights and sounds of this quaint locally owned cafe. Bright kelly green walls are hung with a few large foodie paintings and a large wooden shelf on one side holds a few bottles of red and white wine. Something is sizzling on the grill at Chrissy's the smell wafts out of the tiny open kitchen built right into the dining room and drifts over the restaurant's dozen or so tables. Meals here are a casual affair - the servers attentive but relaxed and the pace gentle.
As I'm about to reach my stomach's full capacity, the front door opens and a man wearing a Bayfront maintenance uniform walks in. He eagerly addresses the servers, asking what treat owner Chrissy has prepared today. The answer is white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, and he munches on one happily, before advising my friend and I that we simply have to try the freshly baked dessert. In a second a pair of homemade cookies have been dropped off on our table, and we break them apart in large scrumptious chunks that manage to be soft and crunchy all at the same time.
We get another sweet surprise when I ask for the bill. Our total is a mere $18.55. I pay up and stroll into the sunshine, full and content with the taste of sugar and macadamia nuts lingering on my lips.
Want to go? Chrissy's at Bayfront, 469 Bayfront Place, Naples. 239.649.8807
© 2007 coastalbeat.com and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.
Taste of Collier: New place, same crowds
Event draws 10,000 to sample scallops, bruschetta and other savory offerings
By Jeremy Cox
Sunday, May 6, 2007 - Naples Daily News
When Taste of Collier emigrated from downtown Naples to the tangerine-hued backdrop of Bayfront,
the crowds followed.
The atmosphere was spiced, just as always, with enticing whiffs of quesadillas, seared sea scallops,
yellow fin tuna bruschetta, filet mignon and other offerings served up by more than 30 restaurants.
The promise of good food for a good cause beckoned the large crowds that the event’s organizers have
grown to expect. More than 10,000 people strolled sunburned shoulder to sunburned shoulder Sunday
afternoon along the new location’s narrow thoroughfares.
“It’s always a well-attended event no matter where we put it,” said Wendy DeJonge, head organizer of
the event, sponsored by the Collier chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.
During its previous 23 years, Taste of Collier had bounced between the Fifth Avenue South and Third
Street South shopping and dining districts. The move to Bayfront a few blocks away saved organizers
from having to rope off streets and struggling with controlling access to the event, DeJonge said.
Between noon and 2:30 p.m., volunteers tending the entrance had blazed through 10,000 wrist bands,
which went for $5 apiece. DeJonge estimated that the event would raise at least $20,000 for charity.
On the receiving end of that payday will be the Collier County Red Cross and the Multiple Sclerosis
Center of Southwest Florida.
Taste of Collier has raised money for the MS Center since the center’s inception in 2000, said cofounder
Lisa Luthringer. The center offers therapy and support for MS sufferers and their families, said
Luthringer, who has battled the affliction for the past 15 years.
Taste of Collier is more than a fundraising opportunity, she added. On Sunday, several passer-by
inquired about becoming volunteers.
“It allows us to continue to establish ourselves in the community,” Luthringer said of the event.
Near the group’s booth, a chainsaw ate into huge chunks of ice, transforming them into dripping
depictions of dolphins, eagles and swordfish. Lines at beer stands grew long and restless. Street curbs
doubled as benches.
“We don’t get a lot of opportunities to come down to this area, so it’s good to get a taste of everything,”
said Sarah Yeagle of Estero, who had plunked down for a rest on a curb with her three children.
Rosemarie Silverman, who sat in a proper chair at a table with her husband Perry, summed up the
event’s merits this way: “The food, the people, the great day.”
Some of Silverman’s friends had told her they were unaware of the event’s new location. But that
confusion didn’t seem to hinder the crowds, she said.
“And,” Silverman added as she negotiated her way through a basket of chips and guacamole, “it’s not as
hot as it is on Third Street. Probably because of the buildings.”
PREVIOUS PRESS
Art Gallery Row Livens Up Bayfront Place
By Staff of Gulfshore Life Magazine - June 2006
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