Waterfront icon still closed from Hurricane Ian: When will North Naples restaurant reopen?

The Turtle Club's partner Mick Moore wants to set the record straight.

“First of all, we have not sold the property. We are not planning on selling the property. I don't know how many times a week I hear rumors that we've sold," he said.

“I hear it all the time; people think that somehow because it's taking a while to re-open The Turtle Club, that we have sold the property. We have not sold; it's just taking a while. We're working on it every single day; it's complicated after a storm and involves a lot of different things that need to be done.”

That "we" includes his business partner of 20 years, Peter Tierney of Bellasera Resort fame, whose wife Jeanne was a friend of Moore’s when growing up.

Hurricane Ian heavily damaged the waterfront North Naples restaurant when the Category 4 storm roared and churned its way up the coast Sept. 28, 2022. The restaurant had just completed its remodeling, the electrician leaving the day before the storm. It was preparing to open for the busy season, which typically sees about 1,000 customers a day, a new menu was planned and reservations were booked for three months.

Moore shared that the restaurant had breakaway walls to protect the building, but they all broke away, resulting in a complete renovation and repair of the restaurant.

Plan to open later this year

“Our goal is to open The Turtle Club by December; we could be open in November, and maybe it’s even possible to open by the end of October," Moore said. "A lot of it depends on the availability of material supplies, subcontractors and things like that. So that's where we are.”

Readers (and this reporter) whose homes were decimated by Ian and are in the process of rebuilding can easily relate: Needed parts, supplies and workers show up when they show up. Post-pandemic supply chain issues and Southwest Florida's chronic labor shortage remain a challenge for many affected by the storm.

“Our hotel is fully open now, but I always knew that after a storm like this, that recovery would happen in phases," Moore said. "The Turtle Club is the last phase, and it had the most significant damage of any area on the property.”

A three-generation legacy of hospitality

A lawyer by trade earlier in his career, Moore grew up in Naples and is a 1987 graduate of Barron Collier High School. In 1968, his grandfather Robert purchased what was then that neighborhood's only beach motel and what is now Vanderbilt Beach Resort. Mick's father Mike, mostly retired now but still involved, was the next generation at the helm starting in 1976.

Thirty years later, in 1998, The Turtle Club opened. And while Naples is famous for its beaches, only a handful of restaurants offer Gulf-front dining in the truest sense; it remains among the town's tippy-top toughest and most coveted reservations to score no matter the time of year.

In 2022, The Turtle Club won two "Best of the Best" awards as voted by NDN's readers in the romantic and waterfront dining restaurant categories.

In 2018, OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation website, listed it as one of its 100 most scenic restaurants based on reviews of the website's verified diners. The list highlighted restaurants that offered "breathtaking views of nature, cityscapes and travel-worthy landmarks."

“We love the fact that we are considered to be one of Naples' most iconic establishments, and we do our best to keep the best elements of Old Florida design and combine them with great food and hospitality," Moore said.

Popular place: Two Naples restaurants make list of 100 most scenic places to eat in America

“We certainly want to re-open as quickly and as safely as possible and we're extremely flattered by all of the people who are supporting us and who tell us they cannot wait until we re-open.

“It just takes a while to move through the process; we expect to be open by the late fall," Moore continued.

"I don't know an exact date right now, so I can't give anybody a date. As we get further along, I'll be able to give people a better idea. It just takes a while after a storm like the one we had.”

Diana Biederman is NDN's restaurant and food reporter. Connect via dbiederman@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Turtle Club still closed after Ian: When will restaurant reopen?