The western wall of the old Uncle Julio's building at Ninth Street North and Golden Gate Parkway is known for its big, colorful mural. That wall is set to be repainted white, with a new restaurant name across it in gold letters. The name is Atlantic Forge Mediterranean Steakhouse. It is one of three restaurant projects now going up around Coastland Center, the mall at U.S. 41 and Golden Gate Parkway.
The other two are Rodizio Grill Brazilian Steakhouse and Oar & Iron Raw Bar & Grill. All three put steak at the center of the menu. Their buildings differ in ways that come straight from how the food gets to the table. Rodizio dropped its patio because of the way its meat is served, Atlantic Forge is rebuilding its patio around firepits, and Oar & Iron is putting up a new building with its outdoor seating at the street corner. Taken together, the mall's dining edge is turning into a steakhouse row, and none of the three has opened yet.
What Closed First
The turnover began with two casual themed restaurants on the mall's west end. Bahama Breeze closed for good on May 15, 2025. Uncle Julio's left its freestanding building in February after about three and a half years.
Bahama Breeze is going away as a brand, too. On February 3, 2026, Darden Restaurants announced that it would permanently close 14 Bahama Breeze locations and convert the remaining 14 to other Darden brands. The Naples building at 2088 Ninth St. N. had already closed before that announcement. According to Naples Press, it is still vacant, and Darden has no short-term plans for it.
So the replacements are not filling one-for-one gaps. One of the two empty outparcels has a steakhouse coming. The other has no tenant at all. The rest of the steak activity is happening in spaces that were not part of the original vacancy.
The Corner That Was Always a Steakhouse
Rodizio Grill is building inside the mall, on the northern edge near CMX CinéBistro, at 2048 Ninth St. N. Before it was Aurelio's Pizza, that entrance space was Pate's House of Prime Rib and then Ted's Montana Grill. With pizza gone, the corner goes back to beef.
Rodizio needed more space than one unit could give it. The plan joins the former Aurelio's with the empty retail unit between it and the cinema, for 9,160 square feet of indoor dining. "For a Rodizio Grill footprint, we need the space from both of those spaces," architect Jeff Knighton told the Naples Design Review Board, as reported by Naples Press. The board approved the façade on March 26. The Naples restaurant will be much larger than the Rodizio that has operated at Coconut Point in Estero since April 2016.
The way the food is served shaped the building. Rodizio is a churrascaria. Gauchos carry skewers of rotisserie-grilled meat through the dining room and carve at the table, and a salad bar holds the hot and cold sides. For that reason, the fenced patio that earlier tenants used will not get tables.
"For a Brazilian steakhouse concept, it's where the gauchos carry meat on the skewers, they would bring them out. So going in and out of the front door in this case would be tricky from an operations standpoint."
Knighton said that at the same hearing. In response, board members asked that the fence come out or be softened with benches and plants. They also asked that the long north wall be finished with greenery or with artwork the board signs off on. When this place opens, it will be an indoor-only room built around the skewer.
Same Building, Different Evening
Atlantic Forge goes the other way. It keeps the former Uncle Julio's building exactly as it is, with the same footprint, scale and site layout at 2096 Ninth St. N. Nearly all the change is in the mood.
The Naples Design Review Board gave final approval on August 26 to plans that remove the patio ironwork, repaint the building in white, gold and browns, and replace the agave and umbrella plants with Italian cypress, bougainvillea and podocarpus. Where Rodizio gave up its patio, Atlantic Forge is investing in one. Jason B. Taylor of Taylor Studios described firepit tables, freestanding firepits, planters and a built-in gas fireplace for the outdoor area, Naples Press reported.
This project has moved quickly by mall standards. The city application lists a pre-application meeting on July 6, 2026, and names LH Coastland Center LLC as the property owner. Design approval came a little more than seven weeks later. The menu and other details have not been announced, and the target opening is early 2027.
The Only New Building on the Property
Oar & Iron is the one project putting up a new building. It is going up on a fresh outparcel in the Macy's parking lot at 2094 Ninth St. N., on the mall's southwest corner. It will be the sixth chain restaurant outparcel on the western end of Coastland, after The Cheesecake Factory, CMX CinéBistro, Uncle Julio's, Bahama Breeze and Twin Peaks.
Plenty of North Naples diners already know the brand. The first Oar & Iron opened in late 2023 in Founders Square at Collier Boulevard and Immokalee Road. Locations near Topgolf in Fort Myers, in Parrish and in Babcock Ranch followed, which makes Coastland the fifth. RAVentures Hospitality Group owns and operates it. The concept is a Florida version of the Northeast's 110 Grill, with lighter nautical colors, a raw bar, more seafood and steaks, and a menu that can be ordered entirely gluten-free.
This building puts its patio closest to the street. Plans call for 5,899 square feet inside and an 1,833-square-foot patio with a firepit under a louvered pergola. The patio sits by the main entrance on the corner of Fleischmann Boulevard and U.S. 41.
Where Each One Stands Going Into Season
The timelines have already slipped once. The original sign on the Oar & Iron site said "Coming late 2025." RAVentures marketing director Rob Luzzi later told Naples Press that the group "would love to be open by the end of 2026, but otherwise early 2027, based on construction." Rodizio's Naples page still shows the restaurant as opening in 2026, with hours and contact details marked "Coming Soon." The Oar & Iron locations page lists a Naples address, but it is 8850 Founders Square Drive, not Coastland.
| Restaurant | Spot on the property | Building | Outdoor dining | Latest stated window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodizio Grill | Northern edge, next to CMX CinéBistro | Two inline units joined, 9,160 sq ft | None planned | Late 2026 or early 2027 |
| Atlantic Forge Mediterranean Steakhouse | Northwest corner, U.S. 41 at Golden Gate Parkway | Former Uncle Julio's, about 11,500 sq ft | Patio with firepits and gas fireplace | Early 2027 |
| Oar & Iron Raw Bar & Grill | Southwest corner, Macy's lot at Fleischmann Blvd | New outparcel, 5,899 sq ft | 1,833 sq ft patio with pergola | End of 2026, otherwise early 2027 |
| Former Bahama Breeze | 2088 Ninth St. N. | Vacant | None | No announced tenant |
None of the three will reliably be open for the holiday stretch. The likeliest first opening is around the turn of the year, and a full steakhouse row looks more like a story for late season.
What Is Already Open Nearby
Until then, the newest options near the mall are lighter. Just Salad opened in September at Naples Plaza, across from Coastland Center. Closer to downtown, La Pizzeria opened September 1 at 304 Ninth Street North. Sicilian brothers Luca and Valerio Di Falco, who run Mercato Italiano next door, serve Neapolitan-style pies there. It stays open until 1 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday, late enough for a slice after a late show at CMX.
For more on life inside the gates, our Grey Oaks neighborhood guide covers the club's three courses and its social calendar. For a different kind of turnover nearby, see what's changing at Waterside Shops.
At Rigsby Team, we keep track of which new tables open near Grey Oaks as the season goes on, along with what is happening inside the gates. If you are weighing a move within Grey Oaks or thinking about selling before these openings change the neighborhood's dinner routine, we'd welcome the chance to talk it through. Request a Private Consultation.
