Update (2/25/16): Get ready for 1500 South. Art Smith's Naples restaurant will open March 8, 2016. Hours will be from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. for breakfast and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for dinner. It will be open 7 days a week.
Update (12/28/15): We just got word that Art Smith's restaurant officially has a name. It will be 1500 South. It's a reference to its address, 1500 Fifth Ave. S., and Chef Smith's Southern roots. No specific open date yet; plans are still for the first quarter of 2016.
Sixth-generation Floridian, beloved celebrity chef and cookbook author Art Smith, known for his gentle, joking manner on TV and soulful Southern food, has announced he's opening a restaurant at the Naples Bay Resort in 2016.
He's the first nationally recognizable chef to venture into the Naples market, a huge boost for the burgeoning local food community. Fans of the Top Chef franchise will recognize him—he was an early, leading contestant on Top Chef Masters and repeat judge on Top Chef. Fans of Oprah will recognize him—he was her personal chef for a decade and became a fixture on her show. He's also a two-time James Beard winner, including for his cookbook Back to the Table: The Reunion of Food and Family, and the executive chef and co-owner of four restaurants across the country.
As for his plans for Naples, chef Smith said in a press release: “I will be pairing Southern American food with what I just saw in Milan at the World’s Fair. Italian families understand the love and power of food, so the pairing is perfect. For Naples’ sophisticated diners this will definitely be a one-of-a-kind menu with a lot of surprises.”
We know we can't wait. Stay tuned for more updates as details unfold.
