The Pier at Fishermen’s Village, Punta Gorda’s most anticipated new restaurant – NOW OPEN
Punta Gorda, Florida – March 4, 2020 – It should come as no surprise that Punta Gorda restaurateur Chris Evans feels at home in Fishermen’s Village.
His grandfather, F. M. “Don” Donelson, originally developed the property 50 years ago.
Evans first took his current sushi chef, Noah Copenhaver, under his wing there when Noah was an infant and Chris was 10. Young Chris grew up playing with other mall kids underneath the Village.
In mid-February, under the umbrella of his newly formed Harborside Hospitality Group, Evans soft-opened The Pier at Fishermen’s Village, a 240-seat dining destination overlooking the harbor from the Village’s last southwest building.
In a garden-style restaurant dripping with greenery, an indoor dining room and full-service bar serve entrees, sushi and sticky-rice bowls with ingredients from ahi tuna to tempura shrimp, crab and salmon.
Additional seating extends the dining area onto a mall-side patio and harborside outdoor tables facing the sunset.
Well-known local chef Todd Stolpe brings 25 years’ culinary engineering experience to the job of heading The Pier’s kitchen. Always seeking the perfect synergy of setting and cuisine, he’s never written the same menu twice.
“We wanted to offer something here unlike any other restaurant in the market,” said Stolpe. “This is the sort of fresh, new menu that you’d find in Tampa, St. Pete or Miami. We plan to work with seasonal, sustainable ingredients from land and sea, and focus on light, healthy cuisine.”
On building another Punta Gorda dream team, Evans said, “We have the next generation of up-and-coming chefs at The Pier. Sushi Chef Noah Copenhaver has deep roots in Punta Gorda and delivers an excellent, unique product.”
“Flavorful and eclectic” sums up the menu on which Stolpe and Copenhaver have collaborated at The Pier.
A first in the local area, Chef Todd’s menu marries Florida food with the traditional flavors and cooking techniques of Hawaii, the Pacific Islands and the Pacific Rim, in dishes as diverse as Pacific Pulled Pork, Port Wine Braised Short Ribs and Thai chili calamari. The basics are also there, including starters, salads, sliders, Stolpe’s famous Lobster Mac and Cheese, and such creative twists as South Pacific Salmon with bronzed honey ginger, Yukon mash and jalapeño creamed corn.
Copenhaver’s multi-chef sushi bar creates classic and signature fancy rolls, as well as the first poké bowls between Fort Myers and Sarasota.
Chef Noah explained, “More and more major cities have been opening restaurants featuring the light, fresh Hawaiian poké bowl—marinated sliced seafood, sticky rice, avocado, cucumber, sprouts, some crunch, some intense flavor and colors. It’s something nobody’s doing around here.
“The sushi menu includes classic rolls like California and spicy tuna, but we’ll rotate specialty rolls that I’ve kept in my back pocket so that we’ll really stand out above the rest.”
Diners can pair their meal with not only a wide selection of wines and standard and craft beers, but also bartender Blake Bovelsky’s own craft cocktails—from the Feng Shui, Moonlight Swim and Chamomile Old Fashioned to a Bacardi-based homage to Ernest Hemingway and his third wife.
Bovelsky recently relocated from Los Angeles, but he knows Punta Gorda well. His mother is Becky Bovell, former Charlotte County tourism director.
Fishermen’s Village General Manager Patti Allen said, “We are extremely excited to welcome entrepreneur Chris Evans to our family of Fishermen’s Village restaurants. A seasoned professional, Chris possesses the attitude, resources and commitment to make every project he touches a huge success.”
“We’re fortunate to be part of the improvements and modernization of Fishermen’s Village and look forward to adding to its culinary options,” said Evans.
