Q: There’s a great new place opening that is a staple in Newport, Rhode Island! It’s called Flo’s Clam Shack. Can you find out more about their new location in Naples? It’s going to be a hit! — Holly Harding, Naples  

A: The owner of Flo’s Clam Shack, a mom-and-pop seafood restaurant with two locations in Rhode Island, had finalized plans a decade ago to open a place in Naples, but that effort and plans for another Flo’s on Fort Myers Beach ended up not materializing. Flo’s Komes Rozes, a seasonal resident of Collier County, has not given up, though.  

“We’re coming to Naples,” said Rozes, repeating a message recently shared on Flo’s website and Facebook page.  

Although the business deal hasn’t formally closed, Rozes has his sights set on opening Flo’s in early January at the East Trail location that has been Bamz restaurant for more than 20 years.  

Bamz owner, Craig Steinhart of Fort Lauderdale, says it’s premature to make an announcement, but Flo’s publicly let the clam out of the bag.  

“We have a contract to sell, but nothing has happened yet. It’s supposed to close in about a month,” Steinhart said last week. 

In January, Steinhart took over the restaurant that previously was co-owned by Louis and Kelly Tontodonato, who retired after owning the eatery for a few years. Chef Lou from Massachusetts was especially known for his lobster rolls, New England seafood and North Shore roast beef sandwiches, items that undoubtedly caught Flo’s attention, too.  

Rozes’ team looked at Bamz last year when it was for sale, but they passed on purchasing it. Instead, Bamz was sold to Steinhart, who added barbecue selections to the menu earlier this year. Rozes noticed the location at 2464 Tamiami Trail E. continued to be successful and kept an eye on it.   

“So, we scooped it up a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “We saw this property. We were looking for a freestanding building. That was the key. No strip centers or nothing like that for the uniqueness of our operation because it’s outside windows, ordering outside, come inside, the funky self-service atmosphere.”  

Flo’s follows inroads recently made in Southwest Florida by Boston-based Kelly’s Roast Beef, which opened its first location outside of the Boston area at Founders Square on Immokalee Road. Other Kelly’s locations are already planned in North Naples and East Naples.  

“What really impressed me is when Kelly’s moved down there from Boston,” Rozes said. “That showed me something right there. That was a big move for them and showed there was a big demand.”  

A small business on the East Trail since 2000, Bamz restaurant has had different owners and colorful facelifts over the years. Michael and Janet St. Onge launched Bamz and operated it for more than 15 years. During various incarnations, the eatery has sported strings of lights, flags and banners to attract attention—especially by county code enforcement officials.   

Rozes, who has a seasonal home nearby in the Brookside neighborhood of East Naples, knows the hole in the wall is the perfect spot for his seafood dive. Flo’s food service license application already is in progress for the Bamz location, Florida records show.  

“The menu will be the same that we have up here—self-serve, order at the window, pick it up inside,” Rozes said.  

Flo’s is known for its clamcakes and fried clams. Its clam “chowda” is served creamy, classic clear or Rhode Island red, and the restaurant has sandwich rolls stuffed with lobster, clam strips, fried clams or oysters. The menu also has a raw bar, oysters, hot dogs and hamburgers.  

Rozes expects his breaded clamcakes to be a sure-fire hit in Naples. The fried specialty is similar to conch fritters with pieces of clam instead of conch.  

“They’re our answer to hush puppies. They’re really good,” Rozes said. “They’re sweet with chopped clams in them and clam juice, a nice flavor, mild flavor, but they’re really light and airy and crunchy.”  

The clamcakes can be dipped into a side of vinegar or clam chowder, the perfect New England accompaniment. “We sell clamcake-and-chowder combos,” he said. “They just dunk them in chowder like a doughnut and coffee.”  

Referring to his waistline, Rozes joked, “When you see me, you’ll see how good they are, unfortunately.” 

It was exactly 10 years ago this fall that Rozes received approval from the city to build a second-story addition onto the iconic, red-roofed Pizza Hut on U.S. 41 in Naples to transform it into Flo’s Clam Shack. The restaurant had targeted to open in January 2014 at 675 Ninth St. N., but the real estate transaction fell apart. The old Pizza Hut remains vacant after the pizzeria chain closed there nearly 15 years ago.  

Like most Southwest Floridians, though, Rozes is resilient. Just after he refurbished the home he purchased a couple of years ago in East Naples, the house took on 3 feet of water a year ago from Hurricane Ian, so he had to redo it again.   

Rozes is used to do-overs. Flo’s in Middletown and Portsmouth, Rhode Island, have been besieged by Atlantic hurricanes many times over the years since the concept originally launched in 1936. Rozes has owned the business since 1978.  

“The original place has been knocked down probably five or six times. The last one was Hurricane Bob. It took out the whole island here basically in ’91,” Rozes said. “We rebuilt it using the same walls but inside we did steel structures and stuff like that. It looks old, but on the inside it’s all cement and steel. It’s hard to knock down this time.”  

In addition to 1991, Flo’s was leveled by hurricanes in 1938, 1954, 1960 and 1985. Ironically, Hurricane Donna was the 1960 storm that devastated Naples on its way to hit New England and Flo’s.  

If all goes as planned, Rozes hopes to transfer Bamz’s license this month and open Flo’s here in the first week of January. Flo’s proposes 65 to 70 seats in total with 20 to 25 on a patio. Planning to open from 11 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. with dine-in or takeout and beer and wine, Flo’s will probably be closed Mondays and Tuesdays to start. The idea is to get fresh shipments of clams in Fridays that will sell out over the weekend.  

“We’re really excited to get going down there. We’ve got people from here that will be working down there opening it up and doing all the training. We’re going to have some fun down there,” he said. “Go with the Flo, they say, as corny as it is.”  

The “Tim Aten Knows” weekly column answers local questions from readers. Email Tim at tim.aten@naplespress.com.