Bistro 821 - Fifth Avenue South's oldest restaurant - celebrates 30 years feeding Naples

When Mike Hernandez opened Bistro 821 on Feb. 13, 1994, he had no idea that the restaurant would become Fifth Avenue South's most enduring.

As he recalls, there was just Mangrove Café and an English pub down the street.

The space? “It might have been FPL or the phone company.”

Taking inspiration from travels to LuLu’s in San Francisco and London’s emerging gastropub scene, Hernandez set two of his priorities on design and an open kitchen.

As for his top priority ― the food ― his first hire meant moving Jesse Housman, sous chef at Hernandez’s Michael’s Café on U.S. 41, to lead the kitchen.

The first night was fully packed, yet panic sunk in night two, falling on Valentine’s Day because people pre-booked other restaurants for the hallmark holiday before there was word of mouth around town on the bistro's opening. Restaurants didn't have websites; there was no Google to see a restaurant's opening hours or check out availability via OpenTable.

A busy night three proved reassuring. One year later, a rave review from this newspaper on Dec. 1, 1995, called it "a downtown delight."

Hospitality with personality

Hernandez stepped away to open other restaurants (including HobNob across the avenue) several years after launching Bistro 821, but three decades later at 62, Housman is still there, though his position has shifted somewhat to chef emeritus and hands-on co-owner with business partner Shane O’Dell.

O’Dell said many guests feel like they’re family. One reason for that welcoming feeling may be because Housman channels his savvy people skills into successful hiring: Several staffers have worked at Bistro 821 for nearly two decades, with many averaging over 10 years. The now grown-up kids of several long-timers work there too.

The menu?

Some of it is still early Housman, including the famous miso-sake marinated Chilean sea bass and snapper dishes.

Weekly specials earning a permanent place on the menu, plus selections of premium beef cuts, are the work of executive chef and general manager Jonathan DeRue, chosen from a deep pool of candidates who were winnowed down over several months after restaurants could re-open following post-pandemic closures. He was hired in 2020 and previously worked as a private chef in Port Royal.

In addition to sharing culinary history in Massachusetts, Housman and DeRue are Grateful Deadheads.

“When I met Jonathan, I could feel this guy’s soul when he came in. I had this feeling that he could take over my spot without destroying what we built,” Housman said.

“We wanted to make sure that whoever came into the mix would keep the consistency of high-quality food and would also introduce new things into the menu, which Jonathan has done a phenomenal job with,” added O’Dell, who credits DeRue’s ease with guests as the new “face of the restaurant.”

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Reelin' in the years

So what does 30 years mean to Housman?

“I grew up in this restaurant. This was my first executive chef job. I had been a sous chef for 12 years before that. I raised my family while I was at the bistro. My first wife was my prime motivation for the first few years until she unfortunately passed away. My family and keeping this place alive was the prime focus that kept me going and kept me happy.”

(821 Fifth Ave. S., Naples; 239-261-5821; bistro821.com)

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Fifth Avenue South's Bistro 821 celebrates 30 years in Naples