"So this isn't goodbye. It's simply 'we'll see you across the street.'" That was how Nina and Mario Amelio signed off when Johnny D's Market & Bistro announced its closing on South A1A, as Vero News reported in September. Across the street is Turtle Cove Lane, where a new market, a tiki bar and a fine-dining room have been going in under one roof.
Several island businesses have opened, closed or moved this fall. Almost every new or reworked concept on the barrier island now pairs dining with retail: a gourmet market, a liquor library, a bottle shop, a small liquor store for customers arriving by boat. The same people who used to send you home after dinner now want to sell you the bottle, the pasta and the morning coffee as well.
One owner, both sides of South A1A
The South Beach piece of this story belongs to Anthony DeChellis. He owns the Johnny D's building and the new mixed-use building at 916 Turtle Cove Lane, which sits next to the 7-Eleven and across the road from Johnny D's. According to Vero News, he also owns the commercial building just south of Johnny D's on A1A. He told the paper the moves are meant to give South Beach residents "a series of establishments the community can be proud of."
Johnny D's own website now says the family "served our final guests at this location" and will be closed for renovations through October 2027. It points regulars to Turtle Cove Market, where they will find "many of the foods, wines, and specialty items you already love — along with some familiar Johnny D's faces." Vero News reported that all of Johnny D's employees were invited to apply across the road, and that DeChellis said "about 10 or 12" had already been hired.
The renovated Johnny D's may come back as a different kind of business. DeChellis told Vero News that his family once ran a liquor store on the property called South Beach Liquors. Because he still holds a liquor license, the reopened space may become a high-end wine and liquor shop. "In a way, it may be back to the future for the liquor store," he said. A family-style bistro could return as a store.
What opened at 916 Turtle Cove Lane, and what is still coming
Windward Restaurant Concepts runs all three businesses in the new building. The first to open was The Blu Fin, a Mediterranean, seafood-focused fine-dining room. TCPalm reported that it would open Oct. 13 under an Argentine-Italian chef, followed by a tiki bar and a gourmet market. The opening menu in FSR Magazine's announcement included cured red snapper, olive-oil-poached lobster, tuna crudo, cedar-plank grouper, Madagascar tiger shrimp and a Black Angus ribeye.
The Blu Fin's OpenTable page lists the restaurant at Suite 201, open Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., in the "$50 and over" price category. According to the launch announcement, reservations are required and walk-ins are seated only if space allows. Vero News described the Johnny D's across the road as a family-style casual eatery with $22 summer specials and $6 glasses of wine.
FSR described Turtle Cove Market as selling house-made fresh pasta, seafood, pastries, coffee, prepared meals and specialty goods, with 28 seats on a terrace. The same announcement described The Motley Cow as seafood-focused casual dining with an open-air tiki bar and cocktails, open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Windward said both would open "shortly after" The Blu Fin, without a fixed date. The market's Facebook page, the one Johnny D's links to, is the place to check current hours.
Blu Fin's dining room was not originally meant for Blu Fin. Vero News reported that the space was designed for The Tides, the Central Beach fine-dining restaurant, until that deal fell through late in construction.
The Tides stayed on Cardinal Drive
The Tides kept its Cardinal Drive location and closed for repairs over the summer. TCPalm reported in late September that it planned to reopen Oct. 1 with a new look and an updated menu. The restaurant's website now says "We're open!" and "Our refresh is complete." Beginning Nov. 1 it serves Monday through Saturday, and November and December reservations are open on Resy.
With The Tides staying put, Central Beach keeps its long-running fine-dining room, and South Beach has gained one of its own.
Farther north, a second group is doing the same thing
The retail pattern is not just one landlord's plan. Vero Hospitality Group is a separate team led by managing partners Rick Engel and Rusty Cappelen III, a fifth-generation Vero Beach native. Business Debut reported in October that the group has acquired and reworked several island businesses over the past 18 months, and each one comes with a retail counter.
- White Pelican and Liquor Library, 4885 A1A (Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway), Pelicans Plaza atrium. It replaces Vinz Wine and Dining. During the day it will be a public café and juice bar with pastries and light food. The Liquor Library will run as a wine-and-spirits store seven days a week, likely 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the evening the space becomes a membership-based supper club with a tasting menu of roughly 15 items. Dinner service is planned for Thursday through Monday, and the group is aiming for a grand opening in early December.
- Eight, Ocean Drive. The former Boiler bar and bottle shop is being rebranded around sushi and ramen, with a bar and a bottle shop selling wine and spirits to take home. Business Debut's October report gave no opening timeline.
- What A Tavern, 58 Royal Palm Pointe. The group has already remodeled the riverfront spot, which first opened in the early 1990s. It added a game room, outdoor green space, boat slips and a small liquor store for customers arriving by boat. The tavern's marina page lists eight new slips with deep-water access straight from the Intracoastal Waterway. Its location page lists a daily 11 a.m. opening and food service from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Cappelen told Business Debut the group was formed after a group of friends talked about gaps in Vero dining, and that White Pelican came from a need they saw on the barrier island for a focused tasting menu and a strong wine and spirits program. The group is also considering using the atrium for daytime community activities such as mahjong groups.
The island's dining map, by what you can carry out
| Business | Location | Dining | Retail side | Status for early November |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Blu Fin | 916 Turtle Cove Ln., Suite 201 | Mediterranean seafood, Tue–Sun 5–10 p.m. | None announced | Open; reservations on OpenTable |
| Turtle Cove Market | 916 Turtle Cove Ln. | Coffee, pastries, 28 terrace seats | Pasta, seafood, prepared meals, wines, specialty goods | Announced to follow Blu Fin; check the market's Facebook page |
| The Motley Cow | 916 Turtle Cove Ln. | Casual seafood, tiki bar, planned 11 a.m.–9 p.m. | None announced | Announced to follow Blu Fin |
| Johnny D's Market & Bistro | South A1A, across from Turtle Cove | Closed | May return as a high-end wine and liquor shop | Closed through October 2027 |
| The Tides | Cardinal Drive | Fine dining, Mon–Sat from Nov. 1 | None announced | Open; reservations on Resy |
| White Pelican and Liquor Library | 4885 A1A, Pelicans Plaza | Public daytime café; members' supper club at night | Wine-and-spirits store, seven days | Grand opening targeted for early December |
| Eight | Ocean Drive, former Boiler | Sushi and ramen, bar | Bottle shop for off-premise sales | No timeline in October reporting |
| What A Tavern | 58 Royal Palm Pointe | Food daily from 11 a.m. | Small liquor store for boaters | Open, remodeled |
Five of the eight have a retail side that is built, planned or under consideration. Two of the three without one are dinner-only fine-dining rooms.
The order things arrive, from Blu Fin's opening to Johnny D's return
Because the openings are staggered, they fall between the island's regular holiday dates instead of all at once:
- Oct. 13: The Blu Fin's announced official opening on South A1A.
- Nov. 1: The Tides moves to Monday-through-Saturday service.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 3 to 7 p.m.: The Indian River County Chamber's free Tree Lighting Festival at Pocahontas Park, 1216 21st Street.
- Early December: White Pelican and Liquor Library's targeted grand opening at Pelicans Plaza.
- Dec. 5, 6 p.m.: The Sunrise Rotary of Vero Beach Christmas Parade.
- Dec. 11 and 12, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Public nights of the Environmental Learning Center's WinterGreen Night Lights, with trails, canoe tours and holiday programming. A members-only night is Dec. 10.
- October 2027: Johnny D's planned reopening, possibly as a wine and liquor shop.
Turtle Cove Market, The Motley Cow and Eight don't have dates yet. Watch for them alongside White Pelican as the season begins.
At Renny Realty, we track these changes the way island owners do, block by block and corner by corner. Shops like these shape what an address on South A1A or near Ocean Drive is like to live with day to day. If you want to talk through how this fall's changes affect a home you own or one you're considering on the barrier island, Schedule a Consultation with Gus.
