The King & Prince Resort and Club on St. Simons Island is bringing in Atlanta chef Ford Fry to reimagine its dining scene, with four new restaurant concepts planned as part of a property-wide redesign expected to wrap up in May. The resort, which has stood on the Georgia coast for nine decades, says it will stay open throughout the construction.
A Nine-Decade Resort Gets a New Culinary Identity
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fry is developing the four dining concepts across the property as part of the ongoing redesign. The AJC also reports that designer Amanda Lindroth will update the resort's interiors, and that the King & Prince has gone through a variety of owners and structural additions over its history. The resort has stood on St. Simons Island, Georgia, since 1935 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a press release from Northview Hotels and Resorts, which took over both hotel management and construction management for the property in November 2025. That same release notes the property was acquired by South Street Partners in 2024.
The scope of the current transformation is broad. Per the Northview release, the renovation will touch all public spaces, guest rooms, dining venues, meeting spaces and the historic golf club at the 190-room resort. Fry has built a substantial restaurant portfolio to take on the project, with more than 15 eateries across Atlanta, Texas and North Carolina since he opened JCT Kitchen in 2007, the station's report notes.
ECHO Closes Temporarily as Work Continues
Dining at the resort is already shifting ahead of the broader rollout. The resort's own site says that starting November 30, ECHO — described by the resort as the island's only oceanfront restaurant — will be temporarily unavailable, with meals offered instead at The Cottage Kitchen and Creamery for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The resort will remain open during renovations, even as the golf course sits temporarily closed during its own overhaul.
That golf course work has been underway for months. A July report from Golf Daily said the course project remained on pace for a November 2026 opening, following an earlier announcement that the course and clubhouse would reopen in fall 2026. The outlet described a reimagined clubhouse underway featuring enhanced dining, upgraded locker rooms, an expanded golf shop, and indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, alongside plans to reduce irrigated turf by roughly 20 percent.
A Pattern of Renovation at the Historic Property
This isn't the King & Prince's first makeover in recent memory. An earlier renovation under MMI Hotel Group involved more than $7 million in spending over three years, according to Hotel Online, which reported that phase replaced older lobby features with a restaurant, bar and lounge space designed around the resort's oceanfront setting. That coverage noted Echo's menu at the time featured creations from executive chef Jason Brumfiel, and that the resort hired 30 new kitchen employees to keep pace with the new setup.
Whether Fry's four concepts will echo that oceanfront-focused approach or chart a different course remains to be seen, as specifics on names, menus and opening dates for the new restaurants have not been detailed. For now, guests visiting St. Simons Island this winter can expect construction alongside their stay, with resort renovations expected to be complete by May, while the golf course and clubhouse are scheduled to reopen in fall 2026.
