{"id":365898,"date":"2026-08-08T03:28:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/365898\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:28:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:28:18","slug":"fort-myers-restaurant-group-brings-new-waterfront-eatery-to-st-pete-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/365898\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Myers restaurant group brings new waterfront eatery to St. Pete"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"h983409-p1\" class=\"permalinkable\">A longtime Florida restaurant operator is making a new investment in St. Petersburg\u2019s waterfront with its latest neighborhood-inspired bar and grill.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h983409-p2\" class=\"permalinkable\">HM Restaurant Group \u2014 the Fort Myers-based hospitality company behind Doc Ford\u2019s Rum Bar &amp; Grille, Dixie Fish Co. and Bonita Fish Company \u2014 is ready to open Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"h983409-p3\" class=\"permalinkable\">The new Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill has taken over the old Doc Ford\u2019s Rum Bar &amp; Grille location at 8790 Bay Pines Blvd. The new restaurant is a brand built around the bay\u2019s coastal character, serving up fresh seafood and tropical cocktails in an atmosphere designed to reflect the history of the Boca Ciega Bay area, according to a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill\u2019s Cedar Plank Salmon features North Atlantic salmon with a mango chipotle glaze, served with au gratin potatoes, wilted spinach and wild mushrooms.\" class=\"media-element file-default fr-fic fr-dii\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cedar_Plank_Salmon_t850.JPG\" title=\"Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill\u2019s Cedar Plank Salmon features North Atlantic salmon with a mango chipotle glaze, served with au gratin potatoes, wilted spinach and wild mushrooms.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill\u2019s Cedar Plank Salmon features North Atlantic salmon with a mango chipotle glaze, served with au gratin potatoes, wilted spinach and wild mushrooms.<\/p>\n<p>Courtesy image<\/p>\n<p id=\"h983409-p4\" class=\"permalinkable\">&#8220;Boca Ciega Bay has such a distinct identity, and we wanted to create a restaurant that feels genuinely connected to this location and the surrounding community,&#8221; HM Restaurant Group partner Joe Harrity says in the release.\u201cFrom the menu and design to the atmosphere and hospitality, every element has been developed to celebrate the waterfront experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"h983409-p5\" class=\"permalinkable\">The menu leans into Gulf Coast flavors with dishes such as Coconut Crusted Snapper with sweet chili pi\u00f1a colada sauce and a Shrimp Burger topped with applewood-smoked bacon and sweet red pepper jam. Fresh seafood, cocktails and other waterfront staples round out the offerings.<\/p>\n<p id=\"h983409-p6\" class=\"permalinkable\">The restaurant&#8217;s interior also reflects the surrounding neighborhood with design elements inspired by the area&#8217;s waterways and coastal heritage. The company says it hopes the space will serve as a gathering place for lunch, dinner and cocktails overlooking the bay.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill offers a variety of cold drinks and cocktails.\" class=\"media-element file-default fr-fic fr-dii\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Boca_Ciega_Waterfront_Bar__Grill_cocktails_t850.jpg\" title=\"Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill offers a variety of cold drinks and cocktails.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill offers a variety of cold drinks and cocktails.<\/p>\n<p>Courtesy image<\/p>\n<p id=\"h983409-p7\" class=\"permalinkable\">&#8220;Boca Ciega Waterfront Bar &amp; Grill represents an investment in this waterfront location and the community around it,&#8221; Harrity says in the release. The restaurant will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., serving lunch, dinner and cocktails.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A longtime Florida restaurant operator is making a new investment in St. Petersburg\u2019s waterfront with its latest neighborhood-inspired&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-365898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}