The Edison Restaurant at Fort Myers Country Club has a new name, a new look and a much bigger bar tab behind it. Edison Tavern opened its doors on Sunday, Sept. 20, capping a two-year, top-to-bottom renovation of the city-owned restaurant and banquet space at 3583 McGregor Blvd.
The rebrand follows a two-year renovation of the city-owned restaurant and banquet space.
Kevin King, the general manager and operator of the restaurant and banquet space under a long-term agreement with the City of Fort Myers, has been the face of the turnaround. Edison Tavern bills itself as a neighborhood place serving tavern food rather than standard bar or restaurant fare.
What Changed Behind the Bar
The new space includes an oversized, 28-seat rectangular bar, alongside 14 low-top dining tables. A separate game room with a pool table and darts rounds out the layout, giving the venue a split identity as both a sit-down restaurant and a casual hangout.
The menu leans into that tavern concept with shareables, salads and a 16-inch tavern pizza, plus handhelds, pasta and chicken dishes, according to the same report. Kids and game-day menus are also available, and the operation's own site notes that Edison Tavern offers private dining and event spaces for celebrations of more than 100 guests, per edisontavern.com.
A Renovation Years in the Making
The scope of the work ballooned the project's price tag well past initial expectations. The city put $2.62 million into bringing the structure back up to code, and the total investment now tops $3 million, according to WINK News. King has put in more than $1 million of his own money on top of that public spending, the station reported.
Much of that cost traced back to storm damage that left the building in rough shape before renovation even began. WINK News reported that repeated hurricanes and storms had battered the structure, and that most of the two-year timeline was spent simply securing the building itself before cosmetic work could begin.
The reopening is also happening in stages: WINK News reported the tavern is opening in phases, with one bar already serving the public while the banquet hall is scheduled to host its first wedding, and that King hoped to be fully open sometime in October.
How Edison Got Its New Operator
The path to King's operating agreement traces back to a city procurement process in which the eventual contender wasn't the original front-runner. According to Gulfshore Business, 23 Restaurant Services had been the city's initial top-scored firm before pulling its proposal, which moved the next-ranked proposal into the top spot.
The restaurant previously operated under a different name, Edison Restaurant, Bar and Banquet Center, before this year's rebrand to Edison Tavern. The change accompanies the venue's current neighborhood-tavern identity.
