Dining, music and fun: Mercato is hot and getting hotter
On a Saturday afternoon in January, Mercato in North Naples is busy and will get busier as the hours pass.
People come for the experience – from food and shopping to unique events and outdoor entertainment; from family fun to adult time that includes romantic dinners, cigars, drinks and dancing. The later the night, the heels get higher and the clothes get tighter.
At 4 p.m., it is 75 degrees and a group of 6- to 8-year-old girls practices cartwheels on artificial turf in the middle of the shopping center and later play hide-and-seek – all near busy restaurants, retail stores and an art show that has the street in between closed.
At 8 p.m., the green space is filled with people listening to Wendell Ray singing DNCE's "Cake by the Ocean," some sitting in chairs they brought with them. Others dancing. Children hop and run around. Stiletto-clad women in short skirts walk by to go to the three late-night spots – Blue Martini, Cavo and Burn.
"There's so much to do," said Gala Hejni as she sat with Josh Luizzi watching their 6-year-old daughter, Lianna, play with some other girls outside of Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Burntwood Tavern.
"Our daughter loves this green" Hejni said. "It's fun for date night here too."
Later, the family went to dinner at Bar Tuila, where they sat outside.
Mercato and the North Naples area are getting hotter with new restaurants, events and stores drawing visitors from north and south, including many that also frequent Fifth Avenue South. Tourists and residents alike come for many reasons, such as the range of activities, hot restaurants and clubs, partly because clubs are open later and it's easier to find parking than on Fifth Avenue, visitors said.
Paula Nelson of Fort Lauderdale and Sherman Saxton of St. Petersburg chose Naples and Mercato for a meet up on Jan. 27.
Nelson said she searched the Internet for things to do in Naples and Mercato popped up and looked like there was a lot to do, including the art show and sale happening in the shopping center streets that weekend.
"It turned out to be pretty good," Nelson said.
They ate at Burntwood Tavern inside and then sat outside talking under the 40-foot banyan tree that has become a symbol of Mercato.
Joan and Vincent Costa, 80 and 84, say they go to Mercato "as often as we can," Joan said.
On this night, they were celebrating their granddaughter's 40th birthday by taking her and her family out to Bravo! for dinner.
Vincent said he likes all the activity at Mercato.
"It's just very lively," he said. "The much younger people like Blue Martini. It's just very lively. The vibe is great here. And they've got great restaurants."
New cinema, restaurants and shops coming soon
With more than 255,000 visitors in December, according to Place.ai, a website that offers foot traffic statistics, Mercato "is one of the best spots in Southwest Florida," said Ray, the entertainer. "If there's going to be a crowd, it's going to be here."
Ray said he plays at Mercato in the courtyard at least once a month and at The 239 Naples every Wednesday.
Built in 2008, Mercato has 315,000 square feet of retail space with new restaurants and shops coming this year, including Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in about 60 days; Lovesac coming this spring; Waxins restaurant and bar; and The Beeline Bar, which was announced Feb. 1.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will replace Silverspot, which had 1,196 seats. Alamo will have 42 less seats, but all the seats fully recline and take up more space, said Britni Johnson, director of public relations for North American Properties. Lovesac, which makes modular couches and premium foam beanbag chairs called Sacs, will open its 20th location in Florida at Mercato.
Most of the restaurants have outdoor seating to take advantage of the Southwest Florida weather and the desire for visitors to enjoy it. Among the restaurants are The 239 Naples, Bar Tulia, The Capital Grille, The Pub, The Hampton Social, Rocco's Tacos & Tequila Bar, Chipotle, Grace & Shelly's Cupcakes, Kilwin's ice cream.
Some of these also have locations eight miles south on Fifth Avenue South, also a very popular shopping and eating area in Naples.
"We share a lot of guests (with) downtown," said Daniel McLean, general manager of Mercato's Bar Tulia, whose first location was on Fifth. The cocktail menus at each location are created by the bartenders and are different, as are most of the menu items, he said."It's even more reason to go to both places" McLean said.
Mercato Retail shops range from Warby Parker, Whole Foods Market, Tempur-Pedic, Tommy Bahama, J. Crew, Ulta Beauty to Dunkin's Diamonds, Rebecca's Ladies Fashions, Buff City Soaps and Pandora.
There also is 140,000 square feet of office space with 100% occupancy, up from 91% in 2022, so there are plenty of professionals who stick around after work to shop, eat and play.
"It’s definitely probably the largest concentration of food and beverage sales on any one property in the area. We want to continue that trend," said Adam Schwegman, executive vice president of leasing for North American Properties, which manages Mercato.
North American Properties came on board in 2022, hired by owner PGIM Real Estate, which has $310.9 billion in assets under management. This was the fourth partnership for the two companies. PGIM bought Mercato's retail and office portion in 2015 for a reported $240 million. Mercato was owned and built by a trio of groups: Madison Marquette Real Estate Services, based in Washington, D.C., and two Naples partners, Barron Collier.
North American Properties "We’ve done 10 new deals. And we’ve done 14 extensions" since taking on the management and leasing of Mercato in August 2022, Schwegman said. "We’ve been very busy."
Shopping mall vs. downtown feel
"It's like a walking shopping mall," said Heidi Zizza as she was having drinks with friends at a table in the corner near the sidewalk at Blue Martini. "It's very different from Fifth. Fifth Avenue is more of a downtown."
The "5th Avenue property destination" is home to 42 cafes and restaurants, according to Fifth Avenue South Business Improvement District Executive Director Meg Stepanian.
Zizza, 57, lives closer to Fifth Avenue, and this was her first time at Blue Martini, though not her first time at Mercato. Friends were shopping there and suggested they meet at the restaurant/bar, partly to celebrate the hole-in-one Zizza shot two days before.
"I had heard this was a fun place. It's fun - the music is fabulous. I'm not a fan of the cigarette smoke," she said. "I don't want to drink too much because we have to go back to our side."
Meredith Goodridge, 33, came out with her sister, Courtney Goodridge, 30, to watch and listen to Ray, who set up his speakers, microphone and sound machine in front of the artificial turf area.
"I like the nightlife. I like to go dancing," Meredith said.
The sisters danced and laughed together while Ray sang his last song, Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling."
Courtney said she saw Ray was playing and checked out his Instagram account "and he seemed really good." She wasn't disappointed.
The younger sister said she visits Mercato once every couple of months, while Meredith said, "I probably come once a month."
They said they like the food options and the shopping. At 8:30 p.m., they were contemplating whether to stay out. Meredith likes to go to Blue Martini for the live music.
"I don't drink anymore, so it's just the dancing."
They both live closer to downtown Naples and go there too, but the nightlife of Mercato is a big draw for them.
Phillip Garside sat outside at Burn by Rocky Patel smoking a cigar and drinking a cocktail around 5 p.m.
"There's nothing like it in Bonita," Garside said.
Burn boasts a walk-in humidor constructed from Spanish cedar that offers more than 400 premium hand-rolled cigars, ranging from rare pre-Embargo Cubans to the "finest handmade selections available on the cigar marketplace."
Inside, it is dark and moody no matter what time of day.
Garside, who has lived in Bonita Springs since 1997 "when it was one lane" said he visits Mercato once a week on Saturday.
"I like smoking the cigar. It's not the healthiest thing I do, but it relieves stress," he said. "I come about 2 p.m. and I leave around 5."
In his "younger days," Garside said he would go to Fifth Avenue South, "but the traffic is so bad, I don't really go that far south. It's a great place but trying get there and trying to park" isn't worth his effort.
At Mercato, there is a parking garage and parking lots surrounding the buildings near the offices, which can be used at night for the restaurants and shops.
"And if you hate to park, we have great valet," Schwegman said.
Parking is an issue at 5th Avenue
Parking on Fifth Avenue mostly is on the street. There is a parking garage with access from Eighth Street South at Sixth Avenue and from Eighth Street South at Fourth Avenue. There are public lots closer to the beach and valet parking at several locations.
You just have to be patient, Zizza said.
"I have not had a problem. I know a lot of people do," she said. "I feel like if you're patient or can walk a couple of blocks" it's fine. "We drive down and we can always find a spot."
"We love Fifth Avenue," Hejni and Luizzi said. "When we like to go out, Mercato and Fifth Avenue are the places to go."
Fifth Avenue or Mercato?
How do they decide?"It depends on whether I want to drive (downtown) or if there is an event going on," Hejni said. It also depends on the time of year because of traffic. The family lives in North Naples.
North Naples is known to be family, tourist and snowbird friendly.
The main east-west corridor in North Naples is Immokalee Road, which intersects with 9th St. N (U.S. 41).
Among the attractions in addition to Mercato is Vanderbilt Beach, developed in the 1940s, which is home to the luxury Ritz Carlton Beach Resort.
The area is known for its large number of master planned championship golf course communities including Pelican Marsh, Tiburon, Vineyards, Twin Eagles, The Quarry, Heritage Bay, Olde Cypress, The Strand, Talis Park, Imperial Golf Estates, and Quail Creek.
With so much do in North Naples, the decision to go downtown hinges on several factors, Hejni said.
"I do love Fifth but it's the drive," she said.
Her family went to the Christmas Tree Lighting on Fifth in December. Hejni liked the activities for kids, including a skating rink and a pop-up bar and shops for the adults. "I do like that they are doing more events."
Mercato has more of a family environment, Hejni said. And during tourist season, parking is tougher on Fifth Avenue.
"They definitely need to build another garage or something downtown," she said. "It's also more fine dining down there. This is more casual."
For Melanie Listrom, who was dancing to "Shake It Up" by The Cars at Cavo as she celebrated her husband's 65th birthday with friends and family, Mercato and Fifth Avenue are fabulous, but she likes to dance and stay out late. She also works just across from Mercato at a Re/Max office.
"There are a lot of people around. It's nice to have that ambiance and the variety of people," said Listrom, who goes out at Mercato about once a week. "And great music – always. There's no better place to go in this town."
She likes Fifth Avenue, but "there's only Regina's (Vergina) to go dancing and they don't allow music late night."
The Costas like Fifth Avenue as well, for food and shopping, though "it's far far for us," Joan said. "I love it but it's a little bit of a hike."
They make the drive though, especially when Joan wants to go to her other favorite restaurant, which is on the water in Venetian Bay.
Bar Tulia's McLean said he likes to hang out at Mercato after work to enjoy the late-night activities. He also brings his family, including twin 8-year-old boys, for the family fun."This has sort of been the epicenter of fun in North Naples," he said. "North Naples is one of the areas that is growing the fastest."
How much money in sales does Mercato make?
Not including Whole Foods, Mercato saw $100 million in sales in 2023, North American Properties' Schwegman said.
"We’re over $100 million right now. With what we’re adding, we’d love to see that up about 10% over this year," he said. "It’s a lofty goal, but I think when you put all of this change together in a mixing bowl, it tends to have an exponential effect, the whole 1 plus 1 equals 3 type of effect."
What's next for Mercato
Along with additional shops and restaurants coming this year, Schwegman said the design also it going to be updated.
"Over the next year, as we continue to build out and open some of these tenants, I think you’ll see a little more concentration on design and tenant store fronts," he said, adding that the goal is make them more attractive and modern.
More: New in North Naples: Chef returns to Collier to open modern Med, kosher-ish restaurant
"Giving the tenants their own brandings, have them pop a little more and have it not look so monotonous of a pallet," Schwegman said. "We are working on doing some common area improvements that we have done on the majority of our properties – all different."
The cinema opening will offer an enhancement to Mercato, he said. There will be fewer but better seats and unique movie offerings. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is known for its love of film in general. Instead of just another multiplex, the company shows current movies, classics and foreign films, all "Paired with great food and drink."
"Overall, we’re super excited about 2024," Schwegman said. "I think it’s going to be a transformative year for Mercato. It hasn’t changed too much in its brief history."
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Mercato in North Naples is hot and getting hotter. Here's what to know
