Look at what has opened along the McGregor corridor in the past month and the pattern is clear. Brew District is Taco Worx's owners back in Taco Worx's space. Edison Tavern is the Edison Restaurant at Fort Myers Country Club with a new name and a rebuilt interior. Roadhouse Café, the south Fort Myers steakhouse that closed in spring 2025, is coming back a few miles down Old McGregor. None of the three is a stranger to the neighborhood.
The three returns took very different amounts of time. One took under two months, one took more than two years, and one is still waiting on a date. Bringing back the menu and the staff turned out to be the easy part. The building set the timeline every time.
Brew District kept the room, so it came back in weeks
Taco Worx closed its McGregor Boulevard location in August. At the time, co-owner Max Curtis told The News-Press the owners weren't leaving and would come back with a chef-driven breakfast and lunch concept. Less than two months later, they did.
Brew District opened Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, at 12731 McGregor Blvd. It's owned by Curtis, Ozzie Morrobel and Amber Todd. Breakfast and lunch run all day. The menu includes beignets, biscuits, waffles, French toast, avocado toast, sandwiches, salads and soups.
The drink list is a big part of the place. According to Brew District's menu, the drip coffee uses locally roasted beans. There's also espresso, Cuban colada, the usual espresso drinks, and signature lattes called The District and the Campfire, plus handcrafted sodas and lemonades.
Weekday hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The weekend opening time isn't settled yet. The News-Press listed 9 a.m., and the restaurant's own website lists 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. Before a Saturday visit, call ahead or check the site.
The owners didn't have to find a lease, rebuild a kitchen or wait on permits for a new site. They changed the concept inside a room they already had, and that's why this is the fastest comeback on the corridor.
Edison Tavern kept the address and rebuilt almost everything else
The Edison Restaurant at Fort Myers Country Club, 3583 McGregor Blvd., is owned by the City of Fort Myers. It closed in late July 2024 for renovations. Kevin King, the general manager and operator, says the building dates to 1992, and this was the first full update since then.
King's company, Three Warriors Management, signed an agreement with the city in 2024 to renovate the building and reopen by June 2025. It actually reopened on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, about fifteen months after that target.
The delay makes more sense once you see the scope of the work. In The News-Press's look inside the renovation, King said some floors had been at four different levels and are now one. The stairs had been three levels built on top of each other, and they were rebuilt. Gas lines, plumbing, electrical and the roof are all new. The interior now has white-painted brick and contemporary furniture. There are also new event rooms you can rent and a game room.
The new name reflects how King sees the place. He grew up in Deerfield, Illinois, and calls it a neighborhood spot that serves "tavern food" rather than bar food or restaurant food. The menu includes:
- Deviled eggs, garlic knots and smoked wings
- Baby-back ribs and a Chicago Italian beef
- A square-cut 16-inch pizza
- A Reuben, a honey-chicken sandwich, a tuna croissant and a smashburger
- Rice bowls, salads, pasta and chicken dishes
It's open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The outside terrace looks straight out over the golf course. An archway from the bar leads to the new event space, which also overlooks the course.
The work isn't quite finished. The outside bar was the last item left, and demolition had already started. In the Oct. 2 story, King said it should take about 30 days. We haven't seen any report that it's done, so anyone planning a terrace evening this month should expect the outdoor bar may still be closed.
King has run this restaurant for a long time. He managed it for seven years on a month-to-month lease before the 2024 deal. That deal runs ten years, with options for two more five-year terms. The operator is familiar, and he now has the long lease that justified rebuilding the building.
Roadhouse Café kept its menu and staff but had to find a new building
Roadhouse Café shows the opposite case. Marc and Sherri Neely closed it at 15660 San Carlos Blvd. on April 30, 2025. Business wasn't the problem. The lease was ending, and the future of the Gulf Points Square plaza was uncertain. Marc Neely said the restaurant was profitable and booking weeks ahead.
Most of the restaurant will come back unchanged. In July, The News-Press reported that the Neelys are partnering with longtime customers who got engaged at the restaurant. An Oct. 8 update says the menu will be "almost identical" and about 90% of the staff is returning. That means steaks aged at least 28 days, fresh seafood and classic cocktails, including the bone-dry martinis regulars remember. The old menu also had fra diavolo and baked lobster tails.
The building is new. Roadhouse is moving to 15501 Old McGregor Blvd. in Miners Plaza, into a space of more than 7,500 square feet. The new layout includes the returning piano bar, two private dining rooms, a 48-seat outdoor patio and a bar twice the size of the old one.
That build-out is what's taking time. In July, the target was mid-October. By Oct. 8, the owners said they were a little behind schedule and "hopeful for an early November opening." They're already getting reservation requests but say it's too early to book. If it opens in early November, Roadhouse will have been closed about eighteen months.
The restaurant's website still shows the old San Carlos address and the old Wednesday through Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. schedule. Hours for Miners Plaza haven't been announced, so don't rely on the posted schedule for the new location yet.
Bruno's went back to its original downtown home
The same pattern shows up a short drive away, off McGregor. Bruno's of Brooklyn Italian Eatery and Market opened Sept. 18, 2026, at 2112 Second Street in downtown Fort Myers. That's where the Bruno family first opened in 2014. They kept the property after moving their flagship restaurant to First Street.
Like Brew District, the Brunos already had the building, and they turned it into something new. The market sells imported meats and cheeses, dry pasta, house sauces, wine, baked goods and ready-to-go dishes like lasagna, chicken and veal parmesan, meatballs and arancini. At lunch there are hot and cold sandwiches, Trapizzino, a cone-shaped baked dough with fillings, and pasta served in a cone. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, with lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's a good stop for take-home dinner on the way back from downtown.
The dates still moving between now and November
As of Oct. 10, 2026, here's where each return stands, with the confirmed dates separated from the estimates:
- Bruno's of Brooklyn Eatery and Market, 2112 Second Street. Open since Sept. 18, 2026.
- Edison Tavern, 3583 McGregor Blvd. Dining room open since Sept. 20, 2026. The outdoor bar was estimated at about 30 days in the Oct. 2 story and hasn't been confirmed finished.
- Brew District, 12731 McGregor Blvd. Open since Oct. 2, 2026. Weekend opening time is listed as either 7 or 9 a.m. depending on the source.
- Roadhouse Café, 15501 Old McGregor Blvd. Projected for early November after missing its mid-October target. Reservations aren't open yet.
The two places that already had their buildings opened on schedule. The two waiting on construction, Edison's outdoor bar and Roadhouse's new space, are the only items on the list without a firm date.
Mike and Kylie Fowler pay close attention to openings like these because they say a lot about a corridor. A place that stays put and rebuilds is betting on the neighborhood for the long term. If you'd like to talk about what's changing along McGregor, or anywhere else in Lee and Collier counties, The Fowler Team is glad to compare notes. Discover Your SWFL Home.
