Shuckers at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar land sold for $9M

New owners plan to rebuild historic property with iconic restaurant

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Former Shucker's at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar GM Brian Nagle shows off the renovated cabana at Shucker's in 2020. Photo by Nathan Mayberg

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Shucker's at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar General Manager Brian Nagle (front, right) with the ownership at the centennial celebration at the Fort Myers Beach restaurant. File photo by Nathan Mayberg

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Shucker's General Manager Brian Nagle, server Lisa Wanjiku, host Sarah Shirey and server Allie Stora helped put on the 100th anniversary for Shucker's in 2021 in Fort Myers Beach.

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Greta Reinfried-Corazza, Dana Gosford, Janet Ferris and Gary Ferris co-owned Shucker's at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar, which was in the hands of their family for 50 years. The establishment celebrated its 100th anniversary on Fort Myers Beach in 2021 with a 1920's, casino-themed bash at its Estero Boulevard location. / Photo by Nathan Mayberg

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Shucker's at the Gulfshore celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021, one year after completing major renovations during the covid pandemic (as seen in a ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2020). File photo

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Gulfshore Grill business owners, staff take part in an ALS ice bucket challenge fundraiser before the property transformed into Shucker's at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar. Fort Myers Beach Observer file photo

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Before it was known as Shucker's at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar, the 100-year-old property was operated as the Gulfshore Grill and Cottage Bar. File photo

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The property where Shucker's at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar once stood. Photo by Nathan Mayberg

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The property where Shuckers at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar stood on Estero Boulevard, has sold for $9 million. The purchaser was Right Choice Investments, a Michigan-based limited liability company connected to Fort Myers Beach developer Joe Orlandini.

The iconic Fort Myers Beach restaurant was the last surviving piece of the original Gulf Shore, which was constructed in 1921 and was the oldest commercial property on the island before Hurricane Ian. The hurricane leveled the property, which had just celebrated its 100th anniversary a year before the hurricane.

Dana Gosford, co-owner of the property with the company Colorado East, said the group of owners were “pleased that we have sold it to somebody who wants to carry the name so it can live on. That was very important to us.”

Gosford said the owners gave permission to the new owners to “carry on the name of The Cottage.”

Orlandini said he was involved in the purchase of the property with Paul Shamo, a car dealer based in Michigan who had an affinity for the restaurant.

“We are working on a building to go there. We’re going to put it back as close as we can, something close to what it was before,” Orlandini said. His plan is to have a rooftop bar as Shucker’s with The Gulfshore and Cottage Bar as the middle floor.

Gosford’s father Dan Reinfried purchased the property in the 1970’s with Wakynn Ferris and Malcolm Young and developed it from a vacation rental business into a restaurant and bar business in what eventually became known as Shuckers at the Gulfshore and Cottage Bar after several iterations including the Gulf Shore Grill and Cottage Bar. The property is located at 1250 Estero Boulevard, near the Lani Kai Island Resort.

The Gulf Shore was built in 1921 and went through a number of transformations over the years. During the 1920’s, it was also known as the Crescent Beach Casino and in the 1930’s it was called the Gulfshore Inn. When the property was purchased in 1970’s, there were several cottages. While the property underwent numerous renovations after numerous hurricanes over the decades, it could not survive Ian.

“It’s been very emotional but I’m ready to retire,” Gosford said. “It’s too much to try and start over” for the ownership group, she said.

Gosford grew up on Fort Myers Beach and attended Fort Myers Beach Elementary School. “It’s been a labor of love growing the business, working the business. It’s bittersweet because we are all getting older now,” she said. “All the owners worked there are some point and had a hand in it.” Gosford said the owners were “devastated” by Hurricane Ian. “It’s just sad that the building is gone.”

Gosford said that Orlandini has communicated to the owners that he is “very dedicated to keeping the history alive.”

Orlandini hopes to go in front of the town council and Local Planning Agency with plans in September and hopefully construct the building and have it open by late 2024.

Orlandini said he had been pursuing the purchase for some time. “It was a little higher than we really wanted. In time We think it will work out,” Orlandini said.

Fort Myers Beach Observer Editor Nathan Mayberg can be reached at NMayberg@breezenewspapers.com