For the owners of Florida Boy Burger Co., defining the Sunshine State has less to do with beaches and Jimmy Buffett and more to do with swamps, walking through the woods, hunting and fishing.
Business partners Roger Lolly and brothers Dominick and Louis Cioffi combined forces on the restaurant, the first of its kind. They leased the space at 4480 Fowler St., Suite 110, which previously had a run of almost six years as Maverick Grille.
“We’re entrepreneurs,” Louis Cioffi said, “so, we’re always thinking about ideas that we can put into play.”
The first idea was bringing in Dominick Cioffi to be the managing partner and executive chef. He previously cooked for the late Shannon Yates at Nevermind Awesome Bar & Eatery in Cape Coral.
“He’s got a great background with culinary food,” Louis Cioffi said. “He’s been in the trenches. We get them in the door, and then he shines.”
The menu consists of appetizers, salads and burgers with a price range of $14 to $25, with most burgers in the $16 to $18 range.
They have names like Marino, after legendary Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, Always Sunny and Big Cypress Dip.
The burgers are Florida Boy’s Midwest-sourced chuck brisket/short rib blend of beef, Dominick Cioffi said.
“Fresh, never frozen,” Dominick Cioffi said. “I get in a shipment every other day.”
The restaurant’s branding morphed from Lolly’s other project of creating a realty TV show centered around the Florida Boy personality, Louis Cioffi said.
“We just want to bring the true Florida and the true Floridian and being proud of where you’re from,” Louis Cioffi said. “And being proud of your hometown and what your hometown is really about.”
A former wooden church pew provides some of the seating. The restaurant is decorated with wood paneling. There’s also a fish tank that Louis Cioffi hopes to someday convert into an alligator tank. For now, the only gators in the building have been turned into gator andouille sausage that serves as a topping to the Black Rambo burger.
Froggy Style, three jumbo and beer-battered frog legs, also appears on the menu. So do Florida Bay Bites, which are blue crab fritters.
The business partners are hoping this first restaurant serves as a prototype for future Florida Boy locations across the region and perhaps someday beyond. For now, though, there are no other locations planned.
Lolly and Louis Cioffi each have other business interests.
Lolly is the founder of If I Can Dream Foundation, a nonprofit organization that contracts with the Florida Department of Education on teaching job skills and how to land jobs.
Lolly is also the CEO of Abez North America, an energy consultant company that helps other companies shift to the most efficient use of power.
Lolly, who started Florida Boy as a clothing brand, wanted to grow the brand.
“How much can we grow it here locally?” Lolly said of what he began asking himself. “And get it out in the community more? What is better than having a local restaurant that serves burgers.
“When we created the atmosphere, we wanted it to be fun and create that old Florida vibe. We didn’t want to have the same old vibe. We wanted to go a bit farther back and do something different. And it’s a great location.”
Lolly and the Cioffi want to build more Florida Boy Burger Co. locations. But for now, they are working to fine-tune the first one.
“There’s no secret recipe about running a business,” Louis Cioffi said. “But you try to keep your overhead low. You got to start out small, and you grow. And grow the right way.”
