After a decade of rock, blues and tribute bands at Cape Cabaret, Joel Notes is ready to step away from his popular South Cape venue and go see the world. So he and his wife Carol are retiring at the end of August and selling the place.
They want to visit Europe, Spain, Portugal and who knows where else. And it’s tough doing that while they’re running Cape Cabaret six days a week, says the 84-year-old Notes.
“We decided, you know, maybe it’s time for us to retire,” he says. “We want to go to some places and spend time there. And you really can’t do that and keep the business running.”
Notes announced their upcoming retirement July 24. Their last day running the South Cape/downtown Cape Coral venue will be Aug. 29.
Cape Cabaret looking for new owners in South Cape
It’s uncertain what happens to Cape Cabaret after that.
If all goes well, Notes says, he’ll sell the business later this month, and Cape Cabaret will continue under new ownership with its same lineup of live music, food and fun activities like the popular Singo Bingo. He’s already in deep talks with an interested group, and negotiations are ongoing.
If a deal doesn’t happen, he says, the place will close Aug. 29 until they find a new owner. But he’s hoping it won’t come to that.
“The way it’s looking, that may not happen,” he says. “The people that I’ve talked to — particularly this one group —they absolutely do not want us to close. They want the business to continue the day that I turn over the lock on the door. They want the keys to the building, because they’re going to open it up the next day.”
If they sell the place before it closes Aug. 29, he says, it would hopefully reopen Sept. 1 with new owners. Then Joel and Carol Notes would stick for a while to ease the transition.
Notes says he wants the place to stay open for both his loyal customers and especially his 25-30 employees.
“We have got such a tremendous group of people in that business: The back of house, front of house, the servers, the kitchen staff, the chef, our managers,” he says. “I just have a really deep commitment to them. …
“They’re such great people. I would really hate to lose them. They’re such an asset. I mean, a real asset to the business.”
The property is listed for $7 million on real-estate website Loopnet, but Notes says that includes about $6 million for the property and about $1 million more for the business, itself. That second part is negotiable, he says, if he finds the right people to take over.
Cape Cabaret regulars Barb and Richard Biggart hope that happens. The couple lives within walking distance in South Cape/downtown Cape Coral, and they were front and center at their table on a recent Thursday to see Miami tribute band Almighty Queen.
The couple go to Cape Cabaret two or three times a month, either for concerts or events like trivia or the popular Singo Bingo, where people play bingo as they sing and dance along to old-time pop and rock hits.
“It’s not gonna be the same if this place closes down…” Richard Biggart says. “We’ve always enjoyed it. We bring people when they visit us from out of town. This is always one of the stops.”
Cape Cabaret’s fans hope concert venue continues with food, bingo and tribute shows
Other people obviously feel the same way. The place was packed on this recent Thursday night for both Almighty Queen and, in a smaller nearby room, Singo Bingo. Parking outside the venue at 4725 Vincennes Blvd. was scarce.
Regular Tori Hunt stood in line at about 6:30 p.m. waiting to be seated for the Queen tribute show. She’s been coming to Cape Cabaret for years, she says, and already has several more shows planned for the coming months — or she did until she found out about the Notes’ upcoming retirement.
“I’m 78 years old,” she explains, “and I still love rock ‘n’ roll.”
She comes for the concerts, she says, and usually watches the shows while munching on bread pudding or another dessert. She sees one or two shows a month there — everyone from doo-wop group The Goldtones to Elvis tribute artist Dwight Icenhower — and she says she’ll miss the place if it goes away.
“It breaks my heart,” she says.
Notes hopes he doesn’t have to break anyone’s hearts, though. Including his own.
He’s invested too much time, money and love into Cape Cabaret to see it go away, he says.
He and wife Carol Notes — who previously owned Fort Myers restaurant/bar The Sandy Parrot and nightclub The Buddha — bought the property from the Cape Coral’s Italian American Club in 2016 for a mere $700,000. The sale ended up being controversial among some of the club’s members, who weren’t happy with their board of directors’ decision to sell the dilapidated building.
‘What amazing audience here tonight!’
After buying the 15,112-square-foot building, Notes says he sunk more than $2 million into upgrades: Eight new 10-ton air conditioning units, new floors, new bathrooms, an added patio, two new bars (for a total of three), an expensive sound system and lots more.
“I put a lot into it,” Notes says. “I had to re-do the entire place. It was sorely needing some TLC. … It was extensive.
“But it really is an upscale venue for the people in this area to enjoy. That’s what I wanted. That’s what we built.”
Regulars Barb and Richard Biggart certainly love what he’s done with the place. They sat front row as Almighty Queen took the stage recently and rocked the room to Queen classics such as “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Somebody To Love.”
The band’s Freddie Mercury, singer Carlos Sosa, belted out hit after hit as he strutted around the stage, struck dramatic poses in his white pants and jacket, and even wrapped himself in a feather boa to flirt with women in the audience.
“What an amazing audience here tonight!” Sosa said onstage in front of silver-tassled curtain flanked by two golden, glowing stars on either side of the stage. “Give it up for all of you who support live music — and hopefully for many, many years.”
The audience cheered and clapped and sang along. It’s always a good time at Cape Cabaret, the Biggarts say.
“And the acoustics are really good…” Richard Biggart says. “The bands sound good. They sound better here (than other places).”
Cape Cabaret: A labor of love for Joel and Carol Notes
Notes says he was 74 when he opened Cape Cabaret. Now he and his wife are a decade older, just like their concert venue, and they’re looking forward to their retirement.
Still, Notes says, they’ll miss Cape Cabaret and all the friends they’ve made there. He calls it a “labor of love.”
“It’s not work to me,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun. There’s always something new, you know.”
He’s especially loved working with all the customers and the bands — most of which come to Cape Cabaret from outside of Southwest Florida.
“We’ve been very happy here…” he says. “I love the daily challenge and I love the creativity that you have in food and in entertainment.
“And you get to deal with all these bands. All these different bands come through, and you hear new music every night, you know.”
Now Notes hopes to sell the place to someone who will keep Cape Cabaret’s spirit alive and provide an ongoing home to the bands and the music fans who love them.
“I’m interested really in just people who will take over the business and continue it the way it has been going,” Notes says. “And when that word got out to our customers, I’m telling you, the reception has just been unbelievable.”
That includes the Biggarts, who hope the Notes find a buyer so they can keep coming to shows there. But Richard Biggart also has high expectations for the new owners — whoever they end up being.
“They’ve got tough boots to fill,” he says.
Cape Cabaret’s owners say goodbye
Read the full July 24 announcement about Joel and Carol Notes’ retirement (also posted in the front door of Cape Cabaret):
To patrons, staff and friends,
About 10 years ago, my wife Carol and I opened Cape Cabaret. From our opening day customers routinely asked two questions: “Joel, how old are you?” and “When are you going to retire?”
Pretty personal questions, don’t you think? Well, here goes… I was 74 then and I’m 84 years old now. I did not have an answer for the second question then however I have an answer now… we will be open through August 29th.
While Carol and I have made the difficult decision to retire, our greatest hope is that Cape Cabaret will continue under new ownership. We will do everything within our power to find the right buyer, someone who shares our passion and will carry on what we’ve built together over the past decade. We recently met with our staff and shared our plans with them. We were gratified with their overwhelming support.
This decision was not an easy one, but we know the time has come. We are deeply grateful to our exceptional staff whose dedication and passion made Cape Cabaret the special place it has become. We want to especially express our appreciation to our kitchen staff for their dedication and fantastic work ethic. Our servers, bartenders and managers also deserve a round of applause for their dedication and loyalty. The performers who graced our stage are among the most talented you will find in the industry. We appreciate each and every guest who walked through our doors and would love to continue to serve them in the future.
Thank you for your loyalty, your friendship, and your unwavering support. We will always cherish the memories we have shared and will carry them with us for the rest of our lives.
One final note: Anyone interested in purchasing Cape Cabaret is invited to contact Ronnie Delfino at (239) 989-2328.
With gratitude,
Joel & Carol Notes
Charles Runnells covers arts and entertainment for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 or email crunnells@usatodayco.com. Follow or message him on social media: Facebook(@charles.runnells.7), Instagram (@crunnells1) and X (@CharlesRunnells)
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape concert venue on market for $7M, but owners want music to live on
Reporting by Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charles Runnells, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
