In the Know: Pewter Mug restaurant relocating from 1970 location in Naples

A local landmark for nearly 50 years, The Pewter Mug is moving to a newer, larger restaurant space less than 2 miles north on U.S. 41 in North Naples.

The Pewter Mug, known for its slow-roasted prime rib and signature salad bar, opened in 1970, a simpler time before the advent of personal computers and video games. Richard Nixon was president when the dinner-only restaurant began a dining tradition on a mangrove-ringed spit of land along the Cocohatchee River on the eastern edge of Tamiami Trail.

After dinner service on Saturday, April 28, The Pewter Mug will close for the last time at its nearly 6,000-square-foot longtime location at 12300 U.S. 41 N. and reopen sometime in early May in an 8,300-square-foot unit at 14700 U.S. 41 N. near the Collier-Lee county line. That’s the former location of Fish Crazy and Naples Tomato, two popular local restaurants that arguably were closed too soon.

This recent history — combined with The Pewter Mug’s own historical longevity — underscores its survival against all odds. Old-timers may still recall when the Mug was one of the last northern outposts on the Trail in Collier County.

The Pewter Mug survived its initial far-flung location, multiple ownerships and even the imposition of U.S. 41 being widened from four to six lanes in 1999 and 2000. The restaurant closed for a few months then but reopened even after the state highway and bridge project gobbled up some of its precious few parking spaces.

The Great Recession nearly did it in almost a decade later, though. In fact, the original owners actually closed the restaurant after season in 2009, a turning point for the iconic restaurant. What was supposed to be a summer break turned into a yearlong hiatus.

In 2010, new owners reopened what was briefly known as Pewter Mug 41. The dark-paneled steakhouse was brightened up, the salad bar was sidestepped, and live entertainment was added near the fireplace between the waiting area, lounge and dining rooms.

The reborn restaurant still wasn’t cutting it with customers. So, Bernard “BJ” Zarvis, who had been a sous chef at Naples National Golf Club for many years, was invited in to revamp the kitchen and menu of the struggling restaurant. His solution: Turn back the clock to experience the success of its earlier decades. The retro plan worked, bringing back the salad bar and everything else everyone loved.

Executive Chef Zarvis bought out the restaurant’s other co-owners six years ago and is now taking his business to the next level: Pewter Mug North, a sort of hybrid of the old-school steakhouse and a fresh, new restaurant. The plan is to creatively marry The Pewter Mug’s throwback menu with a modern look.

Zarvis looks forward to leaving behind the old building. Built in 1952, it was the Palm River Club, which hosted dinner and dancing before The Pewter Mug opened.

“The building is old, and we need an updated image. We have good food. We need the décor to match the food,” Zarvis said. “We are just taking our business up the road to a newer facility.”

The new digs in the Tamiami Square retail center have much more room for parking, meal preparation and dining.

“It’s steps above what we were in,” Zarvis said. “Same great food, same salad bar, just a newer restaurant with a nice, modern look, new furniture and a new floor.”

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the new restaurant will be its nod to yesteryear. The sizeable narrow space along the restaurant’s southern end, used as an indoor bocce court for Fish Crazy, will be a step back in time.

“We are going to call it the Old-Fashioned Pewter Mug Dining Room,” Zarvis said.

That’s where the thick wooden tables and Windsor dining chairs from the longtime location of The Pewter Mug are going. The old tables will even be numbered the same so that couples will be able to locate the table where they first met or celebrated a wedding, anniversary, birthday or other special occasions. The comfortable décor, pictures and carpeting in the special room will be nostalgic for the regular clientele of The Pewter Mug.

“We didn’t want to lose any of our guests, and we know how change is sometimes. We wanted them to still feel at home,” said General Manager Michael George, who recently became a minority partner in The Pewter Mug. “Same food, same services, same smiles, everything the same.”

Meanwhile, the old Fish Crazy Restaurant & Fish Market, which closed last July, is getting an interior facelift.

“We’ll have a nice fresh, new look,” Zarvis said.

The former fish market that was on the northern end of Fish Crazy will be converted into a waiting bar with high-top tables but not chairs, and Fish Crazy’s main central bar will be retained, as well as the kitchen and office spaces, George said.

“We are putting in a mega salad bar,” he said.

The new place will include a bountiful, unlimited salad bar with a choice of soups and fresh-baked bread. And that sliced-to-order prime rib will be there, too, on the same menu with selections of steaks and seafood.

“We are just trying to upgrade a little bit from where we are at and giving the same, if not better, dining experience,” George said. “Some of the guests are happy now because we are moving a little bit toward Bonita.”

Zarvis also is happy to be moving The Pewter Mug closer to Bernie’s City Diner, a local breakfast-lunch eatery he launched in September 2015 just a few units down from The Pewter Mug’s future spot in Tamiami Square.

Because the Mug is open only for dinner and Bernie’s is open only for breakfast and lunch, the restaurants have assisted each other with prep work. The travel distance to share will be much closer.

For more information, call The Pewter Mug at 239-596-6684 or go to pewtermugnaples.com.

For the latest in local restaurants coming and going, see Tim Aten’s “In the Know” columns archived at naplesnews.com/intheknow, and on Facebook at facebook.com/timaten.intheknow.