"We owned it eight years and I'm 75 years old, so it's time to relax." That was Michael Jones of the Jones Restaurant Group, talking to Coastal Breeze News about selling The SpeakEasy. The buyer, Paulo Teixeira, said Jones "was in the process of selling both of his restaurants on the island."
The second one was Marco Island Brewery. Put those two sales next to the spring sale of the Italian Deli and Market on Park Avenue and a pattern shows up. Between March 31 and June 1, three of the island's best-known gathering spots changed owners. None of them changed its name, moved or closed for a rebuild. In Tim Aten's third-quarter roundup of Southwest Florida restaurant openings, the only Marco Island entry is a concept change by an owner who stayed put.
So this season, the island's food scene changed through who owns the places, while the storefronts stayed the same. That matters when you sit down at a familiar table in November.
Three handoffs in three months
| Effective date | Place | Previous owner | New owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 31, first day operating April 1 | Italian Deli and Market, 902 Park Ave. | 902 Park LLC, Jared and James Grifoni | VO PARK LLC, Tony Oliverio and Gary Van Cleef |
| May 1 | The SpeakEasy, 1106 N. Collier Blvd. | Jones Restaurant Group | Partnership led by Paulo Teixeira with the restaurant's management team |
| June 1 | Marco Island Brewery, 1089 N. Collier Blvd., Unit 427 | Corporation with principal owner Michael Jones | C.J. Muntwyler III, sole owner |
Look at the right-hand column. In two of the three sales, the people taking over were already part of the place or part of the island. Oliverio and Van Cleef are described as longtime Marco Island residents. Muntwyler was already Jones's partner at the Brewery. At The SpeakEasy, Teixeira's partners are Cindy Marotta, Robert "Bobby" Nash and Wade Mundinger, who were already running the restaurant day to day.
The Italian Deli kept the recipes and changed the plates
The Italian Deli and Market is the change regulars will spot fastest, and it isn't on the menu. "The most significant change has been the change from the plastic eatery," Tony Oliverio told Coastal Breeze News. "Now you can drink liquor out of a glass and eat your entrée on a porcelain plate with metal cutlery."
The food is meant to stay put. "People absolutely love the food, so I don't want to change any of the recipes or any of the staple dishes," Oliverio said, adding that the plan is to keep it as is and build on the menu. The deli cases are set to carry more prepared foods. The wine and liquor list has added higher-end bottles, a change Oliverio credits to his twin brother Joe, who has more than a decade of restaurant experience and runs the place daily.
The bigger change for anyone who went for the music is that live entertainment, once a daily feature, was cut back to Monday karaoke. Oliverio said guests had told him it got too loud to hold a conversation, and that the owners would decide later which nights to bring music back. He also said the deli will need to close for a few days to a week at some point for cleaning, painting, repairs and landscaping. We found no report that this has happened yet, so call 239-394-9493 before you head over.
The SpeakEasy and the Brewery came from the same seller
Jones's group bought both restaurants in 2018. It bought The SpeakEasy from Tim McCoy, Dan Collardey and Jimmy Boylan, who had opened it in 2014. Jones bought the Brewery, which first opened in 2010, from Frank LaCava. When he decided to step back, both businesses went to people already close to them.
At The SpeakEasy, the 1920s Chicago-themed waterside restaurant in the Chamber of Commerce Plaza, Teixeira's message to regulars was that very little would change:
"We like the place as is. We are going to do a bit of a refresh on the space. And hopefully, if we get the right permits, to extend the patio roof toward the water for the convenience of the guests and the staff. But the staff remains the same. The chef remains basically the same. The menu will remain the same, with some specials added from time to time."
The patio roof depends on permits. We found no report that it has been approved or built, so treat it as a plan for now. Teixeira told Coastal Breeze News that he and his wife, Priscilla, had been SpeakEasy guests since it opened. He said he wants to keep, and possibly build on, its standing as a local hangout.
The Brewery in Marco Town Center is the clearest example of a place passing to someone who grew up in island restaurants. C.J. Muntwyler III moved to Marco from Chicago at 15. He started bussing tables at the Sandbar 20 years ago and later managed it. In 2017 he helped open Mario's on Bald Eagle Drive, which has since closed. He is now 35 and runs the Brewery with his wife, Danielle, a former nurse leader at a fertility center.
The couple has said they plan to add new menu items and cocktails. Muntwyler said the goal is to be "onsite owners every day, knowing the names of our customers." As of early October, the Brewery's own menu page has not announced a new menu, so the current Brew Menu is still the one to check.
The one owner who stayed made the biggest change
The new owners have all promised to keep their menus close to what regulars know. The one Marco owner who kept his restaurant changed the whole menu. Chef-owner Esteban Ortiz turned Zaza Mexican into Mareazul Mediterranean Restaurant in early September. Zaza's last published address was 1095 Bald Eagle Drive, Unit 8. We haven't seen Mareazul's hours or menu published yet, so check directly before planning a dinner there.
What left the island this year
The losses this year were different. Marco Movies, the dine-in cinema in Marco Walk Plaza on South Collier Boulevard, ended a 32-year run in late April. Marco News reported April 29 as the likely last day of shows. At the time, the general manager said no successor had been lined up, though he was open to possibilities. We found no later report on plans for the space. Summer Day Cafe moved off the island to the Shoppes at Fiddlers Creek.
Both are cases of a business ending or moving away with nobody stepping in. Each of the three restaurants that sold this year went to new owners who promised continuity.
Where to see the changes this season
You'll get the best look at the new owners once the island's season calendar fills up. These dates come from the City of Marco Island and the Christmas Island Style organizers:
- October 10: Christmas Island Style golf tournament.
- October 24: Halloween Spooktacular at Mackle Park, 4 p.m. The Christmas Island Style fundraising event falls on the same day.
- November 18: The Marco Island Farmers Market opens for the 2026–27 season at 901 Park Ave. It runs through April 14, 2027, on the same block as the Italian Deli. Bring reusable bags because the market doesn't allow plastic ones.
- November 27: Santa's Arrival.
- December 5: Tree Lighting and Community Celebration.
- December 8: Canine Pet Parade.
- December 12: Street parade on San Marco Road, from Balfour to Barfield.
- December 19: Annual boat parade at 6 p.m.
Last season the market ran Wednesday mornings from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city hasn't posted this season's hours yet, but November 18, 2026, is a Wednesday. If the schedule matches, market mornings will put you a short walk from the Italian Deli. Its new owners are expanding the prepared foods in the deli cases, and they could bring back more live music by then. If you want a waterfront table after the boat parade, The SpeakEasy's number is 239-970-2929. The Brewery's is 239-970-0461.
If you own on Marco Island and spent the summer up north, you're coming back to the same storefronts with new owners at several of them. At Integrity Realty of Florida, Jordan Musumano follows changes like these across the island all year. If you have questions about your home on Marco, or just want to compare notes on what's new, Let's Connect.
