The Pelican Bay Foundation now has numbers on how hard it is to get a table at its beach restaurants, and most of the trouble falls in a short part of the evening. On May 20, 2026, the consultant The Connors Group presented its findings to the Foundation's Strategic Planning Committee. 68% of members reported struggling to get a reservation. The study also measured table utilization at 82% during sunset hours and 48% off-peak.
Read together, those figures describe dining rooms that are close to full for one stretch of the evening and about half empty for much of the day. The changes arriving for the 2026-27 season mostly deal with the half-empty part: longer hours, an extended day at The Nest, and a new Sunday meal at Marker 36. The bigger fixes for the sunset rush, such as more seats and more kitchen capacity, are still being designed.
What The Connors Group Measured
The study was large. Phase One drew on 1,470 survey responses, 70 exit interviews, 850 member-journey studies and 1,650 utilization studies, plus benchmarking against other clubs. Restaurants came out at the top of its list of priorities. The study's heading for the problem was blunt: "Restaurant capacity is not meeting peak lunch/dinner demand, leading to inconsistent member experience and lower revenue opportunities."
The length of a meal explains a lot of the sunset squeeze. The study timed the average dinner at 129 minutes, 32 minutes longer than lunch. When the most popular seating is also the longest one, each table seats fewer parties in that window. The consultants named this problem "Sunset Table Turns." Their goal was to find ways to improve table turns, offer more services and get the most out of the seating.
A second finding comes from the kitchen. 70% of members reported that orders and food take too long. The study traced part of that to the kitchen display system, the screen cooks read tickets from. It shows ten orders at a time. During 23% to 49% of peak lunch and dinner hours, there were more orders than the screen could show. The extra tickets waited out of view, and the study measured food-preparation delays of three to more than eight minutes. Slower kitchens make dinners longer, and longer dinners make the sunset tables harder to get.
The First Response Is More Hours
The October 2026 Pelican Bay Post lists the season schedule. Marker 36 is closed from October 1 to 14. On October 15, Marker 36 and Sandbar both move to seven-day service.
| Restaurant | October 1 to 14 | Beginning October 15 |
|---|---|---|
| Marker 36 | Closed | Open daily. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., dinner 3:30 to 8:30 p.m., bar and lounge 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Sandbar | Monday and Tuesday lunch only, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday lunch, plus dinner 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. and bar 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. | Open daily. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., dinner 3:30 to 8:30 p.m., bar 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| The Nest | Daily 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weather permitting | Daily 10:30 a.m. to sunset, weather permitting |
Two of these changes bear directly on the problem the study described. From October 15, dinner at Sandbar starts at 3:30 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m., which gives the dinner service an extra hour before the sunset peak. The Nest also stays open until sunset instead of closing at 4:30 p.m., so there is one more place to be at the beach during the hour the study found most crowded.
Sunday Brunch Adds a Mealtime, Not More Room
Sunday Brunch is the clearest new offering of the season. It starts at Marker 36 on Sunday, November 15, from 9 to 11 a.m. The October Post calls it "the beginning of something new at Pelican Bay." Opening day is a special brunch buffet, with Foundation leadership and management joining the Marker 36 team to welcome members. The opening brunch is already listed as sold out.
Brunch adds no seats. It uses the same dining room at a time of day that sat empty before. That is the kind of off-peak capacity the study measured at 48% utilization. The Post has not yet published the regular format for brunch after opening day or how members will book it.
Brunch closes out Welcome Back Weekend, the Foundation's start to the season:
- Friday, Nov. 13. The Welcome Back Beach Bash runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on South Beach, with DJ Bam and Never Stop Believin', a tribute to Journey. It includes a complimentary welcome drink, chef-attended food stations and a cash bar. Registration is required.
- Saturday, Nov. 14. The Tennis and Pickleball Kickoff runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon and is sold out. At 3:30 p.m., Tuika's Polynesian Island Magic performs at Sandbar on South Beach. The show includes dances from Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa and New Zealand and ends with a Samoan Fire Knife Dance. Reservations are closed, but the Post invites members to come watch.
- Sunday, Nov. 15. Sunday Brunch starts at Marker 36, followed by Beach Bocce in the afternoon. No registration is needed for bocce.
New Leaders for the Kitchens and Dining Rooms
The kitchen delays and service times the study found will now be handled by a new team. The October Post introduces a five-person food and beverage leadership group across the three restaurants. Marco Garnica is Director of Food and Beverage. At Marker 36, he works with Chef Fabio Bermudez, Director of Culinary North, and Christopher Wright, Director of Operations North. At Sandbar and The Nest, the team is Chef Rushaune "Rush" Thompson, Director of Culinary South, and Kevin Adames, Director of Operations South.
The Post article says the team will "deliver improvements you can see, taste and feel." Each restaurant keeps its own personality, while the leaders work on consistency, quality and service across all three. Their stated focus covers the kitchen, the welcome at the door and the pace of service. Michael Broughton, Deputy General Manager of Community and Member Experience, describes the new team as part of Pelican Bay's investment in dining. Pace of service is the same measure the study found falling short at peak hours.
The Changes That Would Add Seats Are Still Being Designed
The study's restaurant design process, presented in May, lists the work that would add capacity at sunset itself:
- Determine the maximum seating the restaurants can hold, then set peak requirements and service levels from that number
- Size kitchen equipment, including the display system, to keep up with a full dining room
- Set kitchen and service staffing to match peak volume
- Make sure food storage and deliveries can support more meals
- Add satellite and quick-service options to take pressure off the kitchen at peak hours
- Redesign The Nest to run on its own instead of relying on Sandbar's kitchen
The presentation describes these as a set of design options for Phase Two, each with its own capacity, staffing and cost models. The July/August/September Post explains the next step. Phase Two turns the findings into specific design and capacity requirements. Phase Three then gives management and the Board several implementation options covering the whole Pelican Bay campus, including the Community Center. Working sessions with stakeholders will refine those options. The same issue says some operational improvements are already underway but does not list them. None of the seating or kitchen changes has been announced as a commitment for 2026-27.
The Nest item matters for the sunset problem. The Nest now stays open until sunset, but it still depends on Sandbar's kitchen. That puts more orders on the South Beach kitchen during the busiest hour. Separating the two would relieve that pressure.
More Sunset Seats Across Seagate Drive
Some new evening options are opening outside the Foundation's restaurants. Eddie V's Prime Seafood opened on June 7, 2026, on the southwest corner of Waterside Shops. The restaurant is at 765 Seagate Drive and has live music by local artists in The V Lounge. Its posted schedule shows happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. and lounge hours from 4 to 10 p.m. Happy hour there covers the same early-evening hours that are busiest at the beach.
Two more Waterside restaurants have target dates but no confirmed opening day. RH is building a gallery on the former Nordstrom site with a 174-seat restaurant, and its stated target is "near the end of this year." Buck & Rider, a seafood restaurant based in Arizona, is renovating the former Brio space at 5505 Tamiami Trail N. Brio closed there on April 12 after 20 years. Buck & Rider's own Naples page still says late 2026. The Naples Daily News reported on Aug. 22, 2026 that the opening now targets early 2027.
The study's numbers point to the same place. Tables were 48% full off-peak and 82% full at sunset. Until the Phase Two designs are built, the earlier Sandbar dinner, The Nest open to sunset and the new Sunday brunch spread meals across more of the day. Buck & Rider and the RH restaurant add more evening seats once they open.
If you are planning a season around life at Pelican Bay, or weighing how its club and Foundation amenities fit your plans, Amy Nease is glad to talk it through. Request a private consultation.
