Rumrunners to close at Cape Harbour after 18 years — Cape Coral restaurants

Rumrunners is entering its final months at Cape Harbour. 

After almost two decades at the southwest Cape Coral marina, the restaurant must close by the end of December. 

"Basically, our lease, which ends in December, was denied renewal by our landlord," Rumrunners' executive chef and co-owner Todd Johnson said. "Come November 12, we'll have been open 18 years in this same space."

Johnson, who owns Rumrunners with co-founders Jeff Gately and Ralph Centalonza, doesn't know when exactly the restaurant will shut its doors. When asked if he knew what would be replacing Rumrunners, Johnson declined to comment. He called the lease termination a business decision and a risk he and his co-owners assumed by opening in a space they did not own. 

When the three partners launched Rumrunners, the building was little more than support columns and a dirt floor. Prior to Rumruners, Johnson and Gately had created and operated several successful dining concepts, including the original Bistro 41 in south Fort Myers, Aqua Grill in Naples and Mia's in Tampa, all of which they sold. The 10,000-square-foot, 300-seat Rumrunners has been the partners' largest ever undertaking.

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The trio teamed with Cape Harbour's owner and developer, Will Stout, to build the waterfront restaurant from the ground up, according to news stories from the time, turning it into something island casual with a chef-driven menu.

When Rumrunners opened its doors, Cape Coral had nothing quite like it. As a 2003 story in The News-Press noted, "the city lacks restaurants that offer a water view."

"At first we didn't look at Cape Coral because there's so much business in Fort Myers and Naples," Gately said in the piece, which ran Nov. 12, 2003, Rumrunners' opening day. "But we decided to come here when we saw what was happening, not just in Cape Harbour, but the Cape in general."

Eighteen years ago, Cape Coral had a population of 124,000. The city is now home to more than 184,000 residents, as of the most recent available 2019 Census data, and has consistently ranked among the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

Since Rumrunners' launch, the Cape's waterfront dining scene has also grown, thanks to the additions of nearby Safe Harbour (home to Fathoms, Cape Harbour Oyster Bar, The French Press) and Tarpon Point Marina (home to Pinchers, Gather, The Nauti Mermaid, Marker 92). 

Valeria Zanella Voisin, a partner in Fathoms and Gather, called Rumrunners' pending closure a tragedy. 

"They're an important and amazing part of Cape Harbour. They were there from the beginning. Everybody knows them," she said. "It's really, really sad. We still can't believe it's true."

Gary Tasman, CEO and founder of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida, said such a lease-termination decision is ultimately in the hands of the landlord. 

Tasman said restaurant tenants are bound by lease documents that can contain various types of provisions, "but at the end of the day, when the time is up on that lease, the owner is free to do what they want."

Stout, the CEO of The Realmark Organization who helped build Rumrunners and who still owns the building and adjacent marina, did not return calls and messages for comment Monday. Realmark's website lists Rumrunners among its assets, noting: "The partnership with the Rumrunners team has been exceptionally successful."

Tasman said terminating a lease after so many years is a tough decision. It can also be a costly one due to rental disruption, and a risky one if the new tenant isn't as successful as the previous. 

"(Stout) may have a restaurant he wants to put in there willing to pay him twice as much money, and he has that right," Tasman said. "Maybe they couldn't come to terms? Maybe Will Stout has his own concept he wants to put there? You don't know. But losing a longtime business, no matter how it happens, it's always disappointing."

When asked if he and his partners would relocate and reopen Rumrunners, Johnson again declined to comment. He said the restaurant has about 70 employees, all of whom have been notified of its pending closure. 

"They're great people," Voisin said. "For this to happen to them after all these years, it's horrible."

Rumrunners is at 5848 Cape Harbour Drive, Cape Coral; call 239-542-0200 or visit rumrunnersrestaurant.com for more. 

Annabelle Tometich writes about food and restaurants for The News-Press and Naples Daily News. Connect with this reporter: atometich@news-press.com; @abellewrites (Instagram); @atometich (Twitter).