Park Shore's Two Shopping Centers Are on Opposite Clocks This Season

"Something stunning is in store." That line is printed on a wrap over a vacant storefront at Waterside Shops. In a column earlier this year, Naples Press writer Tim Aten pointed to it as a sign of how far The Forbes Co., the Michigan-based owner and manager of the center, has pushed its luxury tenant strategy. Aten wrote that other centers such as Mercato and Coconut Point have reworked their tenant mix over the past decade, but Waterside "has taken it to the next level lately."

On the other side of Park Shore, along Venetian Bay, The Village Shops has the same restaurants on its directory that Park Shore regulars already know. Its most recent project is under the water, and the Village lights it every night.

So the two centers are on different clocks. Waterside's fall runs on announced windows: "late 2026," "holiday 2026," "early 2027." The Village's fall runs on fixed dates and on something that already works after dark. If you're planning an evening out between now and New Year's, that difference matters more than any one store opening.

What has already changed at Waterside

Some of the turnover is finished. Dior was marked "Now Open" at 5375-5 Tamiami Trail N. in a Waterside update in late June. Vuori opened at 5475-7 Tamiami Trail N. on Sept. 4, according to Gulfshore Business. Eddie V's Prime Seafood, a Darden Restaurants concept, is open at 765 Seagate Drive, and local reporting named Bob Bacastow as managing partner.

The former Barnes & Noble outparcel now houses Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. Barnes & Noble didn't leave the area. It moved about a mile south to Park Shore Plaza.

Other longtime tenants have closed. Brio Italian Grille closed April 12 after 20 years at the northern end of the center. Ann Taylor and White House Black Market closed their Waterside stores in late January. The local Häagen-Dazs franchise was reported to be leaving by May 31. Its owner, Nabila Zafar, said she would keep running her shop at Coastland Center. Naples Press also reported that L'Occitane en Provence planned to close on May 26 so its unit could be combined with the Häagen-Dazs space for a retailer that hadn't been named.

Waterside's announced openings, and what each one actually says

Most of the coming tenants have been announced. As of early October, none of them has a published opening day. The newest dated posts in Waterside's redevelopment archive are the TWP announcement from Sept. 1 and the Vuori opening post from Sept. 10. Nothing in that archive since then gives a firm date, a delay, or a new tenant for the spaces below.

The restaurant is the opening most likely to change a Park Shore dinner rotation. Buck & Rider is an Arizona-based seafood concept run by Hi Noon Hospitality, whose CEO and founder is Adam Strecker. Naples Press reported that Buck & Rider plans an extensive renovation of the former Brio space, with a launch targeted for late 2026. RH also plans a fine-dining restaurant in its gallery at the former Nordstrom site, with the same late-2026 window. That means two new restaurants are aimed at the same few weeks, and neither has named a day.

One more item is still open. A 2026 report described Anthropologie's plan to close its current Waterside store in September and reopen in a new space within the center in October as tentative. No later source confirms the move, so call ahead before making a trip for it.

The Village kept its roster and invested in the bay

The Village Shops' current dining directory lists Bayside Seafood Grill & Bar, Ben & Jerry's, Black Letter Coffee + Café, Fish Restaurant, M Waterfront Grille, MiraMare Ristorante, T-Michaels Steak & Lobster and The Village Pub. Those are the same names Park Shore diners will find heading into the season.

Its biggest physical change is below the waterline. The Village has installed 215 concrete reef balls and more than 4,300 cubic yards of riprap around the perimeter of its seawall to form an artificial reef. According to the center's launch post, the reef balls stand about three feet tall. They are porous, with holes for water flow and rough surfaces where algae, oysters, barnacles and coral can attach. The riprap runs from Patchington to M Waterfront Grille and wraps around Fish Restaurant.

The project went in over several years, not just this season. In a Sept. 17 post, the Village called it a long-term investment and said it was "fully committed" to keeping the habitat developing. The center also said marine life had responded "very rapidly" after installation. The same post mentions schools of fish gathering, dolphins moving through the bay, and the occasional manatee passing the restaurants and boutiques.

Where the lights are after dark

This is where the timing works in the Village's favor. The reef includes more than 50 underwater lights, a figure the center repeated in September. When the reef was finished, the Village said the lights make the fish easy to spot at night as well as during the day.

The center has named two places to see them:

• T-Michaels Steak & Lobster, which the Village features for its nighttime light views
• Behind M Waterfront Grille, where the center's photos show schools of fish circling an underwater light

The lights also mark the way for boaters coming in after dark. The center says its waterfront walkways are where visitors stop to look at the bay while shopping or dining.

That puts Park Shore's surest new evening this season at 4200 Gulf Shore Blvd. N. You don't need to wait for an opening, check a window, or book a debut table. Dinner at T-Michaels or M Waterfront Grille comes with a lit reef below the railing, and it has been working for some time.

A holiday calendar with real dates on it

The Village has also published dates for its 2026 holiday events, so you can plan around them now:

1. Grand Illuminations, Saturday, Nov. 21, 3 to 7 p.m. Santa photos, carolers, character appearances, a tree lighting and a snow show at 6 p.m.
2. Gobble Gobble Thanksgiving Day 5K, Thursday, Nov. 26, 7:30 to 11 a.m. Proceeds benefit St. Matthew's House.
3. Black Friday Stroll & Shop, Nov. 27 to 29. Promotions at participating boutiques. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
4. Holiday on the Bay, Saturday, Dec. 12. Santa, carolers, more than 100,000 lights and a snow effect at 6 p.m.

The Marine Industries Christmas Boat Parade on Naples Bay is a separate event, set for Saturday, Dec. 19, from 6:15 to 8:30 p.m. The Marine Industries Association of Collier County lists its viewing spots as Naples City Dock, Naples Landing, Tin City, Riverwalk, Kelly's Fish House, The Boat House and Bayview Park. Venetian Village isn't on that list, so plan that night farther south.

Put the two calendars side by side and the season's order becomes clear. Grand Illuminations and the Thanksgiving 5K come before most of Waterside's "late 2026" windows are likely to resolve. LoveShackFancy has targeted the holiday season. Buck & Rider and RH have targeted the end of the year. TWP has announced early 2027. When those openings get firm days, they will most likely land during or after the Village's fixed events.

For Park Shore, the Village is where you can plan this fall with certainty, and Waterside is where to check for news before you go.

If you're splitting the season between Park Shore and somewhere else and want to know what has actually opened before you arrive, Tom & Sue Weidlich follow these changes as part of living and working here, and we're glad to share what we see in English or German. Book an appointment, and we'll go through the neighborhood with you, along with any real estate questions you have.