The October issue of the Pelican Marsh Brief opens with a headline from Foundation President Joe Mulcahy: "While you were away, we've been busy." The Welcome Back Party is tonight, Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Community Center. The entrance there was relandscaped over the summer, and the work runs from the flagpole along the common areas toward Courtside.
Outside the gate, along Vanderbilt Beach Road, a movie theater went dark, a 23-year-old raw bar signed for a new building, and a market that had been at the Shoppes at Vanderbilt since 2014 is closing. Almost every one of those exits has its successor already scheduled, often in the same plaza and sometimes timed to the day. This season is a series of handoffs.
The Theater That Went Dark, and the One Keeping All Its Screens
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema closed its Mercato location, its only one in Florida, on Sept. 9. It had run the 11-screen space since Silverspot Cinema left in 2024.
Paragon Theaters, which already runs 10 screens at The Pavilion across U.S. 41, is working to take over those 11 screens. Co-CEO and co-owner Michael Whalen told Gulfshore Business that the plan is to "rationalize the screens in the marketplace," with 11 at Mercato and six at The Pavilion, "for a total of 17 screens." The deal was still described as a likely lease, not a signed one, and Paragon's current site lists Pavilion showtimes only.
What matters this season is the order of events. Whalen said all 10 Pavilion screens will keep running "through the holiday," because Mercato "probably won't open until December or January." The Pavilion only shrinks once the bigger room is ready. The target date for Mercato is Dec. 18, when the Avengers and Dune sequels come out. Whalen said he won't open without Paragon's Lux Box seating, though, and if the seats are late, "it's probably a beginning of January event now."
The four Pavilion screens that would close sit in a 9,850-square-foot rear building at 833 Vanderbilt Beach Road, the former Tuesday Morning space. The theater has already gone from 10 screens to six and back to 10 once. Whalen has floated six or so golf simulators for the space, since it already connects by hallway to the kitchen and bar.
This week also showed how the two-theater setup works. The Naples International Film Festival, presented by Artis—Naples Oct. 22 to 25, screened at Paragon Pavilion Oct. 23 to 25. Whalen said next year's festival could go to either location, possibly with the whole six-screen Pavilion rented for the festival.
At the Shoppes at Vanderbilt, Most Empty Spaces Already Have Tenants
The same pattern runs through the Shoppes at Vanderbilt on Airport-Pulling Road. "We're trying to curate an eclectic mix of tenants there," leasing manager PJ Hill told Gulfshore Business. Line up the departures against the arrivals, and nearly every empty space already has a lease:
| Former tenant or status | What replaces it | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Imperio Taqueria, closed in February | Big Daddy Smash Burger, a new brand's first location | Targeted for November |
| Crazy King Burrito, closed in February | An unnamed new quick-service concept | Leased |
| Kitchen Social | Art of Fudge, fudge and confections plus group events | Coming |
| The Axe Lodge's large space | Split into three units: Paradise Coast Mahjong, Serenity Medical Spa, TG Hair Salon | Mahjong now open |
| Neighborhood Organics Market & Cafe, at the center since 2014 | Lola Moda opens next door in Suite 130 | Organics closes in November |
| Rusty's Raw Bar & Grill, Uptown Center | Rusty's Rooftop Raw Bar & Grill, Building 1100 | Early 2027 |
Rusty's is the clearest example of the handoff. After 23 years at Uptown Center on Immokalee Road, it is moving into a new two-story building fronting Vanderbilt Beach Road at 2343 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 1102. It plans bars on both floors and indoor/outdoor bar seating upstairs. As quoted by Gulfshore Business, its own announcement says, "We'll close one day here and open there the next." The original location stays open through January.
Two of the new arrivals are already open. The Good Pour moved into a new 7,200-square-foot building at 2373 Vanderbilt Beach Road in early September. It's a wine and spirits shop that partners with more than 300 nonprofits and gives part of its profits to a charity each shopper chooses. Managing partner Ivo Atanasov told Gulfshore Business that it pours 16 wines by the glass in 1-, 3- or 6-ounce tastes, plus seven spirits from a separate machine, including "very allocated bourbons and tequilas." It also has a Reserve Room for private events and a build-your-own gift bar. It's open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Paradise Coast Mahjong opened at 2371 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 705, and held its free-play grand opening Oct. 20. According to the Shoppes at Vanderbilt directory, it's open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Beyond open play, it offers lessons, leagues, memberships and a shop for mahjong sets and accessories.
A Bakery Fills the Quieter Corner of The Pavilion
Across U.S. 41, Sour & Dough Artisan Bakery opened in September at 893 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Unit 58, in The Pavilion. It's the bakery's second location. The first is in Miromar University Village near FGCU. Gulfshore Business reports that it sells French-inspired loaves, pastries, sandwiches and specialty coffee, and that co-owner Marcel Itzcovich runs it as a family business. Its opening hours were listed as tentative, and Florida Weekly noted a schedule change starting Nov. 8, so check the current hours before a weekend run.
The bakery is a few doors from the theater about to give up four screens. The Pavilion is losing part of its evening draw and gaining a morning one.
Inside the Gate, the Foundation Used the Same Schedule
The Foundation of Pelican Marsh timed its own projects around the season. Mulcahy wrote in the Brief that summer means "less disruption to residents," and the tennis work was finished before people came back. The courts got new fencing, laser grading, new Har-Tru surface and top dressing, new nets, and the previously approved new lighting. Two new pros have joined: Ransom Braaten in tennis and Ruben Basurto in pickleball. On the north side of the pickleball courts, a brick-paver patio with a shade canopy and water fountain was scheduled to be finished by the end of October. The Community Development District is also building a new front gatehouse, which the Foundation calls "a significant improvement to our main entrance."
Courtside got a long-term handoff of its own. With a year left on its current agreement, the Foundation signed a five-year extension that keeps the restaurant in place through 2032. New striped awnings and clear, temperature-controlled drop-down screens are going up, happy hour runs 2 to 6 p.m. for the season, and live music continues on Thursdays.
The biggest project is waiting until season ends. The Community Center expansion, with a larger fitness center, a dedicated spin room and flexible space for cards and meetings, has an architect, drawings and a parking agreement with the Golf Club. Construction is expected to start in May 2027 and finish by the end of 2027.
The One Change Without a Clean Handoff Is the Road
Vanderbilt Beach Road is the exception. Collier County's widening from just east of U.S. 41 to around Fontana Del Sol Way, about 1.8 miles going from four lanes to six, got its notice to proceed in early June 2026 and is expected to take about two years. Most lane closures are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. In spring 2027, a box culvert under the road will cut traffic to one lane each way between Strada Place and Goodlette-Frank Road for about two months, according to the county's project page. That segment runs right past the Mercato entrance Paragon hopes to open in December. The Foundation expects the work to continue into 2028, with Goodlette-Frank widening still to come.
For evening plans, the 3:30 p.m. cutoff helps. The Good Pour's tasting bar and a 7 p.m. Pavilion showing both fall after the daytime closure window.
The Dates to Watch This Season
- Tonight, Oct. 29: the Pelican Marsh Welcome Back Party. Mercato's Hallowine runs 6 to 9 p.m., with proceeds going to local charities through the two Rotary organizations.
- Nov. 7, 5 to 8 p.m.: Taste of Mercato at The Piazza, with nine restaurants and proceeds benefiting Guadalupe Center.
- November: Big Daddy Smash Burger's targeted opening and Neighborhood Organics' last month at the Shoppes at Vanderbilt.
- Nov. 20: the Naples Tennis Pro League visits Pelican Marsh's courts.
- Dec. 18: Paragon's target date for Mercato, with early January as the fallback if the Lux Box seats are late.
- Early 2027: Rusty's closes at Uptown Center one day and opens as Rusty's Rooftop the next.
Every handoff on this list depended on timing the move against the season. If you're thinking about timing a move of your own, Kevin L Fuller can walk you through what similar Pelican Marsh homes have sold for recently. Request a Custom Home Valuation, and we'll put together an estimate for your home.
