In January 2025, HM Restaurant Group paid $5.5 million for Bonita Bill's Waterfront Cafe and four surrounding waterfront parcels at Fishermans Wharf. The amount was notable. The acreage was more notable. Because sitting directly next door to Bonita Bill's were two restaurants HM Restaurant Group already owned: Dixie Fish Company and Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille.
Joe Harrity, a partner in the group, said at the time of the purchase that he wanted to turn the block into an entertainment hub. What that looks like is now taking shape.
What Changed at Bonita Fish Company, and What Didn't
Bonita Fish Company opened November 3, 2025, in a building that first operated as Bonita Fish House in 1926. The structure's age is visible in the right ways: the wooden panels along the interior walls are intact, the flooring and ceiling survived the transition, and the waterfront ambience that made Bonita Bill's a gathering point for nearly a century is still the dominant quality of the room.
The changes are operational. The old ordering window where customers queued became a kitchen door. A new centerpiece bar now sits in the middle of the dining room, with wait staff working tables rather than customers lining up. The kitchen was overhauled with new equipment, including a smoker. A tiki bar, gone since Hurricane Ian, is being rebuilt on what used to be parking.
Culinary director Chas Tatigian said using locally caught pink Gulf shrimp was central to the new menu's identity. At the grand opening, longtime Bonita Bill's regulars Cindy Keefe and her friend Ellen Barganier were first in line; Keefe ordered the shrimp BLT. The menu runs deep on shrimp: peel-and-eat, a Cajun shrimp basket, shrimp and grits, shrimp fritters, and a smoked shrimp and corn chowder. Weekend brunch runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Music is scheduled daily.
The restaurant seats 300 across indoor and outdoor areas. That is a larger footprint than Bonita Bill's operated at capacity.
The Marina Changes the Equation
The most consequential piece of the Fishermans Wharf project has nothing to do with the menu. HM Restaurant Group received U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval in summer 2025 to build 35 floating dock slips out front of Bonita Fish Company. Once county approval follows, the docks will accommodate boats up to 90 feet, with shore power and water connections at each slip.
When the marina is complete, the Fishermans Wharf block becomes accessible by water in a way it wasn't before. A boat owner anchoring for the afternoon will have three restaurants to choose from without moving the vessel. That is a different category of waterfront amenity from anything currently operating on the island, and it shifts who can reasonably consider Fishermans Wharf part of their regular circuit.
The private event space, Bayside at Bonita Fish Company, opened over the summer of 2025 for weddings and corporate events before the main restaurant was ready. General manager Krystian Martinez and private events manager Joe Sletten, both longtime HM Restaurant Group employees, are running the full property.
One Block, Three Restaurants, One Operator
The significance of the Bonita Fish Company opening isn't a single restaurant returning. Dixie Fish Company, originally built in 1937 as a seafood market, and Doc Ford's Rum Bar & Grille have been running continuously under HM Restaurant Group through the recovery period. Bonita Fish Company completes a three-restaurant run on the same stretch of Fishermans Wharf under one operator, one culinary director, and one management team.
The old version of this block was three independent restaurants that happened to be neighbors. The new version is a coordinated waterfront campus with a shared events operation, a marina in development, and daily programming across all three properties.
Harrity has been public about the intent. Monte Spicer, a Fort Myers Beach resident who lives two blocks from Fishermans Wharf and was at the November 3 opening, said he missed the old Bonita Bill's and was excited about the new one. Jill Holmes, another longtime customer who walked to Bonita Bill's from her home nearby, said she hoped the casual vibe and live music programming carried forward. Both are describing the same thing: continuity of character with a meaningfully expanded physical and operational footprint.
The Rest of the Island, Right Now
The Fishermans Wharf consolidation is the concentrated story, but the surrounding island has been filling back in through 2025 and into this season.
The Whale reopened in fall 2025 at 1249 Estero Blvd after a full post-Ian rebuild. The three-story structure offers panoramic Gulf views, daily live entertainment, and a menu centered on fresh local seafood, slow-smoked BBQ, and craft cocktails. According to the Fort Myers Beach Observer, The Whale was the fourth restaurant to reopen on the island in a two-week stretch that November, alongside Bonita Fish Company, Marina Marina Waterfront at Salty Sam's Marina, and On the Bay, formerly known as Matanzas on the Bay.
The Beach Bar broke ground on a new three-story beachfront building in October 2024. Customers were reviewing it by January 1, 2026. The format is familiar: cold beer, live music, open-air Gulf views. The building is new.
The longer-operating properties anchoring the island through the recovery are still running. The Yucatan Beach Stand Bar & Grill is open. Parrot Key Caribbean Grill is open. Lani Kai Island Resort reopened its rooms in late 2024 and is operating Grace's Cafe, with the Sun Deck Restaurant and Island View Restaurant still rebuilding. The Pink Shell Beach Resort runs Rae's, Bongo's Bar & Grill, Bob's Beach Bar, and Jack's Restaurant. JWB Grill at Margaritaville Beach Resort Fort Myers Beach is open to resort guests and the public, with waterfront seating and a full bar.
What the Fishermans Wharf Story Actually Tells You
A single restaurant reopening after a long closure is news for a week. A single operator buying $5.5 million worth of adjacent waterfront real estate, consolidating three restaurant properties on one block, building a 35-slip marina, and staffing a dedicated events operation is a structural change to the north end of the island.
The block is being designed to function as a destination. The marina is specifically sized for boats that don't dock just anywhere. The event space operates independently from the main dining room. The culinary team is building a distinct menu for Bonita Fish Company rather than extending the Doc Ford's or Dixie Fish playbook.
For residents, the practical upshot is that Fishermans Wharf in 2026 is a more complete afternoon or evening than it was in 2019. Three restaurants with different menus and atmospheres, daily live music across the block, boat access once the slips are in, and an event space that keeps the waterfront active beyond dinner hours.
The old Bonita Fish House opened on this same site almost a century ago because the location was right. HM Restaurant Group is betting that it still is.
For a private conversation about what the Fort Myers Beach recovery means for buyers and sellers in today's market, Amy Nease is available to consult. Request a private consultation at your convenience.
