Sweet Melissa\u2019s Restaurant celebrated a milestone moment Thursday, Aug. 6, hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony in partnership with the Greater Fort Myers and Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce. The event celebrates the restaurant\u2019s relocation from Sanibel to Fort Myers following Hurricane Ian.<\/p>\n
A proud member of the regional business community, Sweet Melissa\u2019s welcomed local leaders and chamber members to experience the chef-driven, farm-to-table dining destination firsthand. \u00a0The afternoon program featured remarks from John Lai, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Myers and Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce, and Nancy Macphee, destination development manager of the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, followed by Executive Chef Melissa Donahue and Executive Sous Chef Thomas Juneau. Guests sampled bites from the restaurant\u2019s seasonal menu before the ceremonial ribbon cutting.<\/p>\n
\u201cSanibel is where this all started, and losing that building was like losing a piece of our family,\u201d said Melissa Donahue, executive chef and owner, Sweet Melissa\u2019s Restaurant. \u201cReopening in Fort Myers wasn\u2019t something we did alone \u2014 our guests followed us here, our team stayed with us, and this community made room for us. Cutting this ribbon isn\u2019t just about a restaurant opening its doors. It\u2019s about everyone who helped us get back on our feet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sweet Melissa\u2019s built its reputation over more than a decade on Sanibel Island before Hurricane Ian destroyed the original location in 2022. Donahue reopened in Fort Myers in the spring of 2025, where she continues to craft seasonal, ingredient-forward menus alongside Juneau and Sommelier\/Mixologist Kevin O\u2019Malley.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Sweet Melissa\u2019s happened to so many of our members \u2014 you build something for a decade and a storm takes it in a single night,\u201d said John Lai, president and CEO, Greater Fort Myers and Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce. \u201cThe remarkable thing about this region isn\u2019t that we got hit. It\u2019s that businesses like this one found a way to come back. Melissa\u2019s return is a reminder of what Southwest Florida is made of.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restaurant has been recognized by Gulfshore Life magazine and the News-Press, and Donahue appeared on Food Network\u2019s Beat Bobby Flay in 2024.<\/p>\n
Sweet Melissa\u2019s continues its summer programming with the launch of its wine dinner series, \u201cA Culinary Trip Around the World,\u201d along with a nightly three-course prix fixe menu. For more information or to make a reservation, visit SweetMelissasRestaurant.com<\/a> or call 239-990-6889.<\/p>\n About Sweet Melissa\u2019s Restaurant<\/p>\n Sweet Melissa\u2019s Restaurant is a chef-driven, farm-to-table dining destination located at 16230 Summerlin Road in Fort Myers. Founded and led by Executive Chef Melissa Donahue, a James Beard Award nominee and Food Network television personality, the restaurant carries forward more than a decade of culinary legacy originally established at the beloved Sweet Melissa\u2019s Caf\u00e9 on Sanibel Island. Following the devastation of Hurricane Ian in 2022, Chef Melissa brought the Sweet Melissa\u2019s experience to a new Fort Myers home, where she continues to craft seasonal, ingredient-forward menus alongside Executive Sous Chef Thomas Juneau and Sommelier\/Mixologist Kevin O\u2019Malley. Sweet Melissa\u2019s has been recognized by Gulfshore Life magazine and the News-Press and was featured in a Food Network Beat Bobby Flay appearance in 2024. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. Reservations are strongly recommended. For more information, visit SweetMelissasRestaurant.com<\/a> or call 239-990-6889.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sweet Melissa\u2019s Restaurant celebrated a milestone moment Thursday, Aug. 6, hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony in partnership with the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-368953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368953","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=368953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}