While a popular Mercato nightclub closed earlier this week, the venue continues to fight lawsuits filed against it in recent years.
Cavo Lounge announced on social media April 26 that it had closed for good, which was two days after health inspectors closed it for violations including live roaches.
Here’s what we found.
Taxes owed, slip-and-fall, assault suits
A search of Collier County court records show Cavo Lounge was being sued and a few suits remain open:
Neither Cavo Lounge attorneys nor the nightclub’s co-owners were unavailable for comment.
The nightclub announced the closure on Instagram.
“This morning, we woke up with the heaviest of hearts to share that last night was our final night. After eleven incredible years, CAVO has officially closed its doors for the last time,” the Instagram post read.
The post did not disclose why the restaurant and nightclub was closing.
What the April 24 inspection said
County health inspectors said they closed Cavo Lounge, 9108 Strada Place, Unit 14140, on April 24 after reviewing it.
The routine inspection turned up three violations, two of which were “high-priority,” the inspection report said. They were:
Cavo was cited during past health inspections, including in 2023 when violations included “15 small flying insects in large bar area around soda guns” and interior of ice machines “with a black/green mold-like substance.”
Cavo Lounged opened in 2014
Open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, Cavo Lounge became a popular spot for Naples-area nightlife.
And in 2018, Cavo began hosting drag lunches that at the time were trending nationally at LGBT-friendly restaurants and bars.
A fatal shooting occurred outside Cavo in October 2022. In January 2025, a judge sentenced Alexander Michael Evans of Fort Myers to 35 years in the shooting.
Evans, 35, had pleaded no contest to second-degree murder with a firearm, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery on a person 65 old or older.
Prior to the shooting, authorities said, Evans and the victim were in a physical altercation and were escorted to the parking lot, where Evans pulled a gun from his waistband and shot the victim.
He then fled on foot and the victim died at the scene, said the State Attorney’s Office. Collier deputies arrested Evans in October 2022 after they identified him because he left his credit card on a table inside Cavo Lounge.
Dave Osborn is the regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Contact him at dosborn@usatodayco.com and follow him on Instagram @lacrossewriter.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lawsuits mounted against Cavo Lounge, which closed at Mercato
Reporting by Dave Osborn, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
