Tim McEnery is no stranger to Southwest Florida.
The founder and CEO of Cooper’s Hawk was most recently in the area to celebrate the July 13 grand opening of Piccolo Buco in Estero.
“I did not know the Estero area,” said McEnery, who decided to partner with Luca Issa and bring Piccolo Buco to the United States after visiting Luca Issa’s original restaurant steps from the Trevi Fountain in Rome. “I’d go to my dad’s home in Naples, and my in-laws in Fort Myers. They said to check out Estero.”
With Cooper’s Hawks in Fort Myers and Naples, it was a perfect middle ground for McEnery and Issa’s new upscale Roman pizzeria concept. It’s just the fifth in the country and the last one expected to open this year.
Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants — beloved for its scratch-made modern American cuisine, Napa-style tasting rooms and 850,000-plus member Wine Club — now boasts 77 locations.
“We will open five this year and more next year,” said McEnery, who attends every opening, including the ones along Tamiami Trail in North Naples (in March 2016) and at Daniels Crossing off Six Mile Cypress Parkway in Fort Myers (in April 2023).
“Sometimes it seems like yesterday,” said McEnery, who opened the first Cooper’s Hawk in Orland Park, Illinois, in 2005. “Sometimes I feel every one of the last 21 years. A ton of work goes into every opening.”
And as for the next Cooper’s Hawk coming to Southwest Florida?
“Cape Coral is on the schedule,” McEnery said.
It’ll be coming to the highly anticipated Cape Coral Grove along Pine Island Road.
The 131-acre mixed-use town center (think Mercato in Naples) — with upscale apartments, luxury hotel, shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and more — will be located on the north side of the bustling corridor, just west of Bubba’s Roadhouse & Saloon.
But it’s going to take a while.
According to the city of Cape Coral’s website, infrastructure construction is set to begin this summer, followed by phase 1 building construction in the fall.
And what about Cooper’s Hawk?
Well, McEnery’s staff told us to look for it in the third quarter of 2028.
In the meantime, though, the newly opened Piccolo Buco by Luca Issa & Cooper’s Hawk is simply lovely, as are the Fort Myers and Naples Cooper’s Hawks.
We’ll be gladly waiting there.
Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant, 1671 Olympic Court, Fort Myers, (239) 791-3636, and at 11905 Tamiami Trail N. in Naples, (239) 449-1700, chwinery.com; Piccolo Buco, 22800 Via Villagio, Unit 101, in Coconut Point, Estero, (239) 396-4442, piccolobuco.coopershawk.com
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Exclusive: Cooper’s Hawk coming to Cape Coral. But it’ll take a while
Reporting by Robyn George, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
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By Robyn George, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
