Harpoon Harry's and Captain's Table served their last meals on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025. On Sept. 14, 2026, Castaways opened in the space Harpoon Harry's had used, and that completed a full turnover of the restaurant lineup at the end of the wharf.
The people behind the new rooms have something in common. Nearly every restaurant that opened at 1200 W. Retta Esplanade this year is run by someone who already lives or works in Punta Gorda. Since July, the property has also been co-owned by a firm whose founders grew up here or have lived here for decades. The wharf has its dining back. The marina, which is the reason the Village sits where it does, is the one part still waiting.
About 16 Months, in Order
Each of these changes was reported separately as it happened. Here they are in sequence:
- May 26, 2025. Harpoon Harry's and Captain's Table close. Their operator, Smugglers Enterprises, said its lease would not be renewed. The company described it as the end of 45 years and five months at the Village.
- Feb. 5, 2026. The Islands opens in the former Pier restaurant space.
- June 2026. ästhetik spa & skincare reopens in a new Village location.
- June 29, 2026. Latitude 26° opens upstairs in the former Captain's Table space.
- July 22, 2026. Fishermen's Village sells for $43 million through a court-supervised receivership.
- Sept. 1, 2026. Leroy's Fish Shack opens.
- Sept. 14, 2026. Castaways opens downstairs from Latitude 26°.
Smugglers Enterprises CEO Ronald Evans and his partner, Harry Carson, opened Harpoon Harry's in 1993. They also turned the upstairs Earl Nightingale's Restaurant into Captain's Table. After the two closed, the most prominent dining spaces at the Village sat empty for more than a year, until Latitude 26° opened.
One Building, Two Ways to Spend an Evening
The two biggest rooms on the wharf now belong to Tidewater Hospitality Group, and the company is owned by local residents. Lew Bennett spotted the opportunity and brought in Dave Beers to develop the concepts. Michael Landsberg joined later as a partner. Gulfshore Business describes Bennett and Landsberg as longtime Punta Gorda business leaders. Dave and Joyce Beers came from Philadelphia and now live in Charlotte County. Joyce Beers designed much of the interiors of both restaurants.
The restaurants are about the same size, roughly 12,000 square feet each, but they're priced for very different nights.
Upstairs at Latitude 26°
Latitude 26° serves seafood, hand-cut steaks, prime rib, craft cocktails and a long wine list. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out over Charlotte Harbor, and a patio runs the length of the building. Entrees run from about $20 to $70, and the menu includes Chilean sea bass. Nearly every seat has a harbor view. The bar faces an interior wall, so a large monitor shows a live feed from cameras outside. You can reach the second floor by stairs or a private elevator, which helps if you're bringing older guests.
Before opening, the owners held two invitation-only preview days on June 26 and 27. Guests paid only for drinks, and the drink sales and tips went to local charities. Nearly 1,000 meals were served. Latitude 26° is in Unit A55. At opening, its hours were 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Downstairs at Castaways
Castaways is the louder room, and its owners say so:
"dockside open-air bar and grill, loud in the best way, and built for flip-flops, boat shoes and one more round at sunset."
That's how partners Bennett and Landsberg described it to Gulfshore Business. The most expensive item on the menu is an 8-ounce American Wagyu Denver steak at $32. Many items cost less than $15 or $20. The menu includes the Caribbean Mahi Wrap, Island BBQ Pulled Pork and Tacos from the Sea. The signature frozen drink is the Shipwreck, a daiquiri made with Bacardí Mango Chile rum.
If you remember Harpoon Harry's, the space has changed. The old dance floor and indoor band area are now dining tables. An entertainment area is planned for the outdoor deck, and cameras will show the performers on screens inside. The room seats 430, takes about 150 staff to run, and has murals of Punta Gorda and the surrounding area. Castaways is in Unit A56. At opening, it was open 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Upstairs is for a dinner you plan ahead. Downstairs is for showing up in whatever you wore on the boat. One local group built both, in the same footprint, so the end of the wharf covers both kinds of evening.
Two Independents, Two Local Résumés
Two other kitchens fill out the Village, and both owners have deep ties to the area.
The Islands is the first restaurant Kurt Brown has owned. Before it, he was general manager of the former Scotty's Brewhouse at Fishermen's Village and worked at Carmelo's Ortigia Cucina, so he's managed a restaurant on this same wharf before. His 6,000-square-foot room seats 185 inside and out, overlooking the Peace River. Chef David McCleery and Sous Chef John Dazzo run a Caribbean-influenced menu with a long sushi list. Many dishes cost around $20. The showpiece is a 32-ounce bone-in Wagyu tomahawk, carved tableside for four people, for $175. For lighter meals, there are Bahamian conch fritters and fish tacos made with halibut, red snapper or triple tail. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Leroy's Fish Shack comes from Lee Richardson and Capt. Mike Wright. Richardson opened Leroy's Southern Kitchen & Bar downtown on Sept. 2, 2015, and timed the Fish Shack's Sept. 1, 2026 opening close to its anniversary. The Charlotte Sun reported that the project faced more than two years of setbacks after Milton. The fish comes from Matlacha's Pine Island Seafood Company, formerly Barnhill Seafood Market. Depending on the day's catch, the menu may have local grouper, snapper, hogfish, flounder, wahoo, Gulf shrimp or crab. "You'll get the freshest fish within a day or two of getting caught," Richardson said. The menu also has the Yates Burger, a tribute to the late Chef Shannon Yates, and coconut-infused rice. A curated rum collection is on the way.
There are a few new shops, too. ästhetik spa & skincare, owned by Jennifer and Alexis Pfropper with Megan Dubbaneh, had signed its lease in 2024 and reopened at its new Village location in June. Bee & Co., a cosmetics shop, is open across from The Islands.
The Owners Are Local Now, and the Marina Comes First
Just over three weeks after Latitude 26° opened, the property changed hands. Fishermen's Village sold on July 22 for $43 million. The buyers are Harborview Capital Group of Punta Gorda and Torose Equities of Miami. The previous owner had filed for bankruptcy, and the property had been in receivership.
The local side of the deal is clear. Harborview co-founder and CEO Anthony Dubbaneh has lived in Punta Gorda since 1990, and co-founder Ankur Patel was born here. The firm is also redeveloping the former Muscle Car City property and owns the Military Heritage Museum complex. "We are honored to become the next stewards of a place that has meant so much to our family and our community," Dubbaneh said.
The property covers 90,000 square feet and includes a 47-room hotel and a full-service marina. According to SVN Commercial Partners, which brokered the sale, the new owners' first priority is getting the marina fully running again. Their other priorities are improving the hotel, supporting the existing merchants and marina tenants, and keeping the waterfront's character.
The marina still has a lot of work left. Gulfshore Business reported after the sale that it was only partly working. The wharf's shops and restaurants had already been restored or were being rebuilt. The Village's harbor master page currently says the fuel dock is open every day from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., including holidays. Slip rentals are still unavailable until hurricane repairs are finished. When it's fully open, the marina has more than one hundred slips for boats up to 60 feet long.
So the dining rooms are ready, and visitors arriving by boat are the part still missing. If you have a boat, you can fuel up at the Village today, but you can't rent a slip yet.
Where the Season Goes From Here
The Village's 2026 calendar has a busy few months ahead, and the new restaurants will see their first full holiday season:
- Oct. 10: International CultureFest
- Nov. 14: Holiday Lighting of the Village
- Nov. 15 to Dec. 31: Holiday Festival of Lights
- Dec. 1 to 31: Lighted Canal Cruises
- Dec. 20: Christian Holiday Concert
- Dec. 31: New Year's Eve celebration and fireworks
If you're hosting visitors this winter, you could catch the canal cruises in December and then eat at whichever room fits the group. Latitude 26°'s windows and elevator suit a dinner with grandparents. Castaways' deck suits a crowd that wants to stay until dark, and Leroy's Fish Shack is the choice for fish caught the same week.
A landmark sale, a receivership and a new owner's plans all affect the blocks around Retta Esplanade, and waterfront commercial property in Charlotte County has its own due diligence. If you're thinking about either, Annia Garcia and the Delphi team are happy to talk it through in English or Spanish, at your pace. Let's Start a Conversation.