CAPE CORAL, Fla. — As business continues to boom in the heart of Cape Coral, Hooked Island Grill is the latest restaurant to join south Cape Coral off SE 47th Terrace.
Kyle Sherman, the co-owner of Hooked Island Grill spoke with Fox 4's Cape Coral Community Correspondent Colton Chavez about future plans to move back to Matlacha where their building was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.
“Obviously that’s the goal to get back out there, the island life is definitely a little bit different than everywhere else,” said Sherman.
But Sherman says getting back to their location on Matlacha just can’t happen right now, and downtown Cape Coral is an obvious alternative.
“That's one of the biggest things that I think we come back to our clientele, they can get to us a lot easier now,” said Sherman.
Hooked Island Grill's newest location used to be Big Storm Brewing — and this location a little more inland can help better protect the restaurant from future hurricanes.
“oh man if another hurricane comes through I am definitely going to be more confident than I was last time...because of the land-locked aspect of it. I know that here, during Hurricane Ian, there was a little bit of water in the brewery but not really in the rest of the restaurant,” said Sherman.
It's a trend Chavez has reported on in the past.
Back in October of 2023 restaurants like La Ola on Fort Myers Beach and The Sanibel Candle Companyhave opened locations further away from the coast where they’re less vulnerable during storms.
At the time, Fox 4 also spoke to Sharon Woodberry, the Economic Business and Development Officer for the City of Cape Coral about its drive to bring more business into downtown Cape.
“We want to create that environment where we can see some continued investment,” said Woodberry.
Woodberry said it's the job of the city to continue to support its growing trend, which is why the city created the Breaking Barriers to Business (B2B) program to assist with infrastructure-related improvements.
One of the city’s newest mixed-use projects is The Cove at 47th, where the developer Flaherty & Collins Properties told Fox 4 all 19 thousand square feet of business space is already spoken for.
An exciting time for a second chance, and the opportunity for Hooked Island Grill to join a growing community.
“Really being able to be a part of the South Cape community and help them grow everything down here whether it’s season or summer or bike night we just really excited to be a part of it,” said Sherman.
