New Matlacha restaurant celebrates grand opening
After spending months cleaning, remodeling and developing an extensive menu, last week Miceli’s Italian Restaurant celebrated its grand opening. Housed in the former Matlacha Oyster House, this family owned and operated business is quickly earning a reputation for outstanding service and cuisine among locals and visitors alike.
Vinny, Joe and Mike Miceli are on hand to greet guests and prepare meals seven days a week and are upholding a long standing family tradition in the restaurant business.
“Mom and dad ran their own restaurant in Connecticut for 13 years while me and my brothers were growing up,” said Vinny Miceli. “As soon as we were old enough we also worked in the restaurant until my father decided on semi-retirement and moved us to West Virginia. Here he also had a restaurant that was very successful and we worked along side our parents there for eight years.”
According to Vinny, his parents, Vinny Sr. and Val Miceli, retired to Southwest Florida five years ago and he and his brothers followed.
“After moving here we took a year off and looked for a location to open another restaurant. At that time, prices were very high and space was in great demand but we finally found a place on San Carlos Boulevard near Fort Myers Beach,” said Vinny Jr. “Unfortunately, rents kept getting higher and higher and we decided we needed to find a place where the property was for sale. As luck would have it, the Oyster House was available for a reasonable price and we were able to buy it.”
The Oyster House had been a restaurant in one form or another for more than 35 years and had established a good reputation for its food and service. The Micelis hope to recapture the loyalty that the Oyster House once enjoyed during its heyday.
“We have made over $500,000 in improvements to the restaurant and we plan to continue to improve the ways things are done here,” Vinny said. “We are all about family and customer service and we plan to earn those loyal customers back.”
Becoming part of the Greater Pine Island community also is important to the Micelis and they have already demonstrated that by making generous donations to island organizations such as the Matlacha Hookers, the Mariners for the upcoming Music Festival and to the Chrome Divas. They also have become members of the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce and plan to contribute more as money allows.
“We are trying our best to help the local area. In fact, we have hired 40 employees and most of them live on the island,” said Vinny. “We have been very blessed to have been given the support of this community. This area is awesome and I would describe it as a secluded diamond. There are very few places like it and we plan to be here for a very long time.”
The menu at Miceli’s ranges from burgers to steaks, but has a very strong focus on Italian dishes. According to Vinny, the restaurant’s signature dish is one called Pasta Ala Miceli’s, which boasts a healthy 1 1/2 pounds of seafood including scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams and calamrai served with a delicate red sauce over fettucine. Vinny also said that the majority of the seafood purchased for the restaurant is from local fishermen and all of the breads from grinder and hamburger rolls to pizza dough are made from scratch in his kitchen every day.
Miceli’s Restaurant is located at 3930 Pine Island Road in Matlacha and is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Live music is offered nearly every evening and happy hour prices are available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.
For more information, call Miceli’s at 282-8233 or visit Micelis-Italian.com.
New Matlacha restaurant celebrates grand opening
After spending months cleaning, remodeling and developing an extensive menu, last week Miceli’s Italian Restaurant celebrated its grand opening. Housed in the former Matlacha Oyster House, this family owned and operated business is quickly earning a reputation for outstanding service and cuisine among locals and visitors alike.
Vinny, Joe and Mike Miceli are on hand to greet guests and prepare meals seven days a week and are upholding a long standing family tradition in the restaurant business.
“Mom and dad ran their own restaurant in Connecticut for 13 years while me and my brothers were growing up,” said Vinny Miceli. “As soon as we were old enough we also worked in the restaurant until my father decided on semi-retirement and moved us to West Virginia. Here he also had a restaurant that was very successful and we worked along side our parents there for eight years.”
According to Vinny, his parents, Vinny Sr. and Val Miceli, retired to Southwest Florida five years ago and he and his brothers followed.
“After moving here we took a year off and looked for a location to open another restaurant. At that time, prices were very high and space was in great demand but we finally found a place on San Carlos Boulevard near Fort Myers Beach,” said Vinny Jr. “Unfortunately, rents kept getting higher and higher and we decided we needed to find a place where the property was for sale. As luck would have it, the Oyster House was available for a reasonable price and we were able to buy it.”
The Oyster House had been a restaurant in one form or another for more than 35 years and had established a good reputation for its food and service. The Micelis hope to recapture the loyalty that the Oyster House once enjoyed during its heyday.
“We have made over $500,000 in improvements to the restaurant and we plan to continue to improve the ways things are done here,” Vinny said. “We are all about family and customer service and we plan to earn those loyal customers back.”
Becoming part of the Greater Pine Island community also is important to the Micelis and they have already demonstrated that by making generous donations to island organizations such as the Matlacha Hookers, the Mariners for the upcoming Music Festival and to the Chrome Divas. They also have become members of the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce and plan to contribute more as money allows.
“We are trying our best to help the local area. In fact, we have hired 40 employees and most of them live on the island,” said Vinny. “We have been very blessed to have been given the support of this community. This area is awesome and I would describe it as a secluded diamond. There are very few places like it and we plan to be here for a very long time.”
The menu at Miceli’s ranges from burgers to steaks, but has a very strong focus on Italian dishes. According to Vinny, the restaurant’s signature dish is one called Pasta Ala Miceli’s, which boasts a healthy 1 1/2 pounds of seafood including scallops, shrimp, mussels, clams and calamrai served with a delicate red sauce over fettucine. Vinny also said that the majority of the seafood purchased for the restaurant is from local fishermen and all of the breads from grinder and hamburger rolls to pizza dough are made from scratch in his kitchen every day.
Miceli’s Restaurant is located at 3930 Pine Island Road in Matlacha and is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Live music is offered nearly every evening and happy hour prices are available from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.
For more information, call Miceli’s at 282-8233 or visit Micelis-Italian.com.