When Calcedonio “Cal” and Genevieve Bruno first opened their intimate, 37-seat restaurant off Second Street in downtown Fort Myers a decade ago, they weren’t thinking about the future.
Ten years later, that future has arrived.
The new Bruno’s of Brooklyn Italian Eatery opens the evening of Nov. 18 at 2149 First St. The original location at 2112 Second St. will reopen early next year as a Bruno’s restaurant more oriented toward grab-and-go lunches for the nearby courthouse crowd.
Hurricane Ian played a major role in both delaying and accelerating Bruno’s timetable to open the new First Street location.
“Nobody knows,” Bruno said. “We bought this building nine days before [Hurricane] Ian. As an investment, it was a great investment. Because it was fully occupied with tenants that generated revenue. That went away nine days after.”
Bruno had to decide whether to refurbish the lawyer and real estate agent offices that had flooded inside — or to focus on interior renovations and rebuilding the new restaurant. He chose the latter path.
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank helped Bruno fund the project, he said, which cost “multiple millions.”
Joleen Darragh of Southview Studios did the architecture and design.
“The bones of this building were just ready to become what it used to be,” Darragh said.
Target Builders managed the construction, which took about a full year.
“These old brick walls that you see in columns were all covered in plaster,” said Steve Adkins, CEO and president of Target Builders. “And we were able to start exposing them and chipping them and the Brunos immediately fell in love with the old look of New York and Brooklyn.”
Adkins said he benefitted from the knowledge of Felix, Danilo and Luis Malespin, a trio of brothers he met while working reconstruction projects after Hurricane Michael hit Bay County in 2018. Adkins hired all three brothers, who had worked numerous projects in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, as well.
The end results boost Bruno’s capacity from 1,188 square feet of space to 4,300 square feet. The inside seating capacity rises from 37 to 50 seats. And the number of employees rises from 13 to 38.
“Scaling is a great motivator,” Bruno said of his original reason for expansion. “But to finally be able to accommodate the amount of people that need to and want to come experience the Bruno’s brand, it’s a joyous experience for me. A joyous feeling.”
Bruno’s downstairs will serve the same Italian fare that became a downtown hit over the past decade, with most entrees in the $20 range. Upstairs will be a dessert room. He borrowed that concept from Bern’s Steak House in Tampa. Diners who want dessert will close out their tabs downstairs and move upstairs, where it costs $25 for all-you-can-eat dessert, plus coffee and a bar.
Bruno said the setbacks created by Hurricane Ian were big ones, but he and his team overhauled the business plan.
“A lot of blessings from God,” Bruno said of how he was able to get the project to completion. “Because I will tell you, as anybody knows downtown, these buildings don’t hit the market. Ever.”
Asked how long it will take to overcome the losses handed to him by Hurricane Ian, Bruno joked and said a few days.
“Projected — I think any good investor wants to make their money back within five years,” Bruno said. “I think I’d be happy with that. I can tell you the first five hours … were insane.”
