A new Jersey Mike’s has opened on Fort Myers Beach, where its owner is betting the island’s recovery and millions of annual visitors will make it one of her busiest locations.
David Dorsey
Tracy Groenendaal knew the metrics for her new Jersey Mike’s sub shop on Fort Myers Beach didn’t come close to those of her two Naples-area locations. She opened it anyway — and predicted it would outsell them both by the end of tourist season.
A self-described Jersey girl, Groenendaal grew up visiting the Jersey Shore and has eaten at the Point Pleasant, New Jersey, store, the franchise’s longest-running location among about 3,400.
The newest Jersey Mike’s opened July 15 and hosted its official ribbon cutting July 24. It’s at 1661 Estero Blvd., Unit 7, in the Key Estero Shops shopping center, across Estero Boulevard from the rebuilt Beach Bar and from The Goodz, a hardware store operating from three storage trucks alongside a food truck and a Love Boat Ice Cream truck at what used to be The Sea Gypsy Inn.
Groenendaal called her business decision a “calculated risk.”
“Fort Myers Beach has been in the planning for three years,” Groenendaal said. “It was really important for us to be on Fort Myers Beach because it’s that small-town feel, similar to Point Pleasant, New Jersey. It’s personally important for me to be a part of that community. It’s nostalgia, really. The beach environment.”
The new Jersey Mike’s at Key Estero Shops opened July 15 on Fort Myers Beach. Owner Tracy Groenendaal says the restaurant is a long-term investment in the island’s continued recovery and growth.
David Dorsey
Her Jersey Mike’s sub shops in the Naples area check more corporate boxes, with high traffic counts, proximity to local businesses for busy lunch hours and prime locations for take-home dinners.
The Jersey Mike’s at 1016 Immokalee Road in North Naples is near Arthrex’s corporate headquarters and a Naples Comprehensive Health hospital, among many other businesses. It has an average daily traffic count of about 61,000 vehicles. Her location at 5040 Tamiami Trail E. is in the center of a retail hub with hundreds of nearby households and has an average daily traffic count of about 50,000.
The Fort Myers Beach Jersey Mike’s average daily traffic count: 13,000.
Even nearly four years after Hurricane Ian, the year-round population on Fort Myers Beach remains about half its pre-storm level, dropping from about 7,000 to 3,500 residents. Few businesses that were washed away have returned, and major multifamily housing projects planned for the former Red Coconut RV Park and Outrigger Beach Resort sites remain in development limbo.
“Being in Florida for 14 years, I feel it’s really important when a town has a crisis, it’s time to stand up and do something,” Groenendaal said.
The new Jersey Mike’s has 16 full-time employees and ample parking, which is free for restaurant customers and $10 per day for beachgoers.
Representatives of Jersey Mike’s and the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the restaurant’s new location at Key Estero Shops on Fort Myers Beach. Owner Tracy Groenendaal says the new store is a calculated investment in the island’s continued recovery.
David Dorsey
Groenendaal has an extensive background in retail, having worked for Saks Fifth Avenue for 25 years, first in Manhattan and then at Waterside Shops in North Naples. She pivoted to Jersey Mike’s, buying her first store in 2021 and her second in May 2022.
Groenendaal and her husband, Ron Soriano, moved to Southwest Florida in 2011 and now live in Buckingham.
Soriano owns King Construction, which built out the Jersey Mike’s space — and about 100 others across Florida, he said. The space measures about 2,100 square feet.
“Here’s how I look at it,” Soriano said. “We’re from New Jersey. Any time we’d go to the beach, we’d go and get a bagel or a sub, and we’d load it in our cooler. The subs and the beach, they just go together. It just kind of matches to me.”
Groenendaal will give veterans, law enforcement officers and first responders a 20% discount on all purchases every day as a way to give back to the community. She’s also looking to raise money for American Red Cross.
“Fort Myers Beach is a place that’s near and dear to my heart because it has a great energy and vibe,” Groenendaal said. “And also, we wanted to open on Fort Myers Beach after all the storms have hit because we felt that it was a great place to help the community rebuild.”
In choosing to help the community rebuild, Groenendaal also appears to be making a smart business decision, said Jim Shiebler, senior vice president at CBRE Institutional Properties.
Jersey Mike’s owner Tracy Groenendaal, center, poses with employees inside the new Fort Myers Beach restaurant. The location opened July 15 and employs 16 full-time workers.
David Dorsey
Shiebler dug into the data and the metrics of Fort Myers Beach. He is familiar with Key Estero Shops, having brokered the sale of the shopping center for $3.99 million in March 2017 to current owner Carmelo Naccarato on behalf of the former owner.
Shiebler noted the Publix, about a mile to the south, ranked in the 72nd percentile nationally and 67th in Florida among the chain’s top-performing stores. That’s not because of the island’s small population. It’s because the island draws about 1.8 million visitors each year, according to CBRE data.
As one of the only national chains on the island — and the only one selling subs — Jersey Mike’s has exclusivity on Fort Myers Beach, Shiebler said.
“In my opinion, it comes down to two things,” Shiebler said. “One, Publix has proven to be a solid performer. They have so many disadvantages. It’s a tiny little population. So how do you compare this Publix to one in downtown Tampa or downtown Miami?
“No. 2, Fort Myers Beach had signature local businesses. That’s how it thrived. But many seasonal tourists will want that familiarity, as well. They’ll want something corporate. Something that they’re used to. Something that’s consistent. So, they know their expectations will be met. The fact that there are so few national tenants on Fort Myers Beach — even though it’s a sub shop — it’s going to be a dining destination.”