On SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard, just past Bravo Supermarket on the bend, a new plaza is filling up one suite at a time. Kinfolks Biscuit Company is building out Suite 101 at 723. Top Design Tile is listed for Suite 109 in the same building, and Solara Dental for Suite 102. Next door at 721, Suite 102 is set aside for a pasta bar and coffee counter called Dare Goes Da Pasta.
That one stretch of road shows how Port St. Lucie's next round of restaurants is shaping up. Most of the new openings are on the city's older east-side corridors: Port St. Lucie Boulevard, U.S. 1 and Gatlin Boulevard. The dates attached to them run from firm to wishful. The city's monthly "PSL on the Pulse" report lists commercial permits and certificates of occupancy, and it has turned out to be a more reliable guide than any "coming soon" sign.
Two doors on the bend, two different clocks
Kinfolks is the opening with the most detail behind it. Owner Willie Roundtree started the Kinfolks brand in 2018. The Port St. Lucie restaurant will be a full-service, sit-down spot, separate from the company's existing quick-service location. Business Debut reports roughly 50 seats split between the dining room and the patio. Monday through Thursday it will serve breakfast, brunch and lunch. Friday through Sunday it switches to brunch and Southern dinner all day.
The planned menu is specific enough to plan a weekend around:
- Brunch: salmon croquettes with eggs and grits, smothered chicken and grits, fish and grits with Cajun cream sauce, oxtails and grits
- Core item: a chicken biscuit built from Kinfolks' existing chicken sandwich
- Friday to Sunday dinner: oxtails, pot roast, short ribs, meatloaf, fried chicken
- Bar: beer, wine, mimosas and Bellinis
The opening date is less settled. In mid-September, Roundtree told Business Debut that November 1 was the goal, with room to slide into mid-November. Sunland News said on Oct. 5 that the restaurant was targeting the end of the year. Business Debut's Oct. 13 update kept "early to mid-November" and added that the timing depends on construction. The paperwork backs up the restaurant's side. "Kinfolks Restaurant" was already listed under certificates of occupancy in the city's Aug. 7 report.
Dare Goes Da Pasta shows what happens when a date runs out ahead of construction. In June, Business Debut reported a September target and said the restaurant would be closed on Mondays. September has come and gone. The Dare Goes Da Pasta website still says "Coming Soon," and the restaurant's buildout permit only appeared in the city's Oct. 2 report. One correction to earlier coverage: the June article put Dare at 723. The city permit and the restaurant's own site both list it at 721 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd.
The report that shows progress first
"PSL on the Pulse" is a city-manager publication posted on the City of Port St. Lucie website. Each issue lists businesses by address and suite, sorted by permit type. A name that shows up under commercial permits has construction paperwork underway for a specific space. A name under certificates of occupancy has reached a different stage. Over the past two months, these reports have tracked the actual progress of local openings more closely than the projected dates have.
That makes the Oct. 2 issue worth a read, for one restaurant in particular. Estampa Gaúcha, the Brazilian steakhouse coming to 918 SW Gatlin Blvd., is listed there under "Certificates of Occupancy," with the work described as a commercial alteration. The restaurant's location page still says "Coming Soon." Three days after the city report, Sunland News said the owner had set no opening date while permitting continued. The owner plans 12 cuts of meat, a bar and a private dining room. For now, Estampa's paper trail is further along than its public timeline.
U.S. 1 is getting two Treasure Coast firsts
The U.S. 1 corridor has two restaurants on the way, and neither has a location anywhere else on the Treasure Coast.
Golden Krust is taking over a former Burger King building at 6598 S. U.S. 1, at the corner of Kitterman Road. In August, TCPalm reported a hiring sign on the corner and an opening window "between November and January." In October, Business Debut narrowed that to a December soft opening and a grand opening in early January. By then the ownership group had secured its permits. Franchisee Fatai Taiwo is opening it with his wife, Kristine Wright-Taiwo, and his father-in-law, Eglon Wright, and calls it the group's flagship. The menu goes well past patties, with oxtail, curry chicken, jerk chicken, curry goat and stew peas.
John G's has the longest track record and the fewest public details. The Manalapan restaurant has served breakfast and lunch since 1973. On Sept. 22, TCPalm reported a November 2026 opening somewhere on U.S. 1, but the owner had not yet shared an exact address. John G's was not on the commercial-permit or occupancy lists in the city's Oct. 2 report. November is now days away, and the address is the detail to watch for.
Here is where each opening stands in the final days of October:
| Restaurant | Address | Stated timing | Latest paper trail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinfolks Biscuit Company | 723 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd., Suite 101 | Early to mid-November; one outlet says end of year | Listed under certificates of occupancy, Aug. 7 report |
| Golden Krust | 6598 S. U.S. 1 | December soft opening, early January grand opening | Permits secured per Oct. 13 report |
| Estampa Gaúcha | 918 SW Gatlin Blvd. | No date set | Listed under certificates of occupancy, Oct. 2 report |
| Dare Goes Da Pasta | 721 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd., Suite 102 | September target passed | Buildout permit in Oct. 2 report |
| John G's | U.S. 1, address not announced | November 2026 | No listing in Oct. 2 report |
Already open
While those dates settle, three spots have finished the process.
Field of Greens is now open at 10400 SW Discovery Way, in the Heart of the Park section of Tradition. It's the company's first location outside Palm Beach County. Like John G's, it's a Palm Beach County breakfast-and-lunch brand moving north. The counter-service menu covers salads, sandwiches, wraps, cold-pressed juices, smoothies and açai bowls, and the Power Bagel anchors breakfast. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
CAVA opened the first Treasure Coast location of its Mediterranean chain this spring at 1473 N.W. St. Lucie West Blvd., in the Shoppes at St. Lucie West. TCPalm covered its community days on May 20 and 21. In the same part of town, Chick-fil-A St. Lucie West has reopened after a major remodel, as Sunland News reported in its Oct. 5 issue.
The dates that won't move
The city's own event calendar is the opposite of the restaurant timelines. These dates are set, and most of the events are free.
- Fall Fun Fest, Friday, Oct. 30 through Sunday, Nov. 1, at the MIDFLORIDA Event Center, 9221 SE Event Center Place. Live music, carnival rides, food and trick-or-treating. It starts the day after this post goes up.
- River Nights, Nov. 12 and Dec. 10, on the Event Lawn at The Port District, 2454 SE Westmoreland Blvd. The October concert was rained out.
- Port St. Lucie International Fest, Saturday, Nov. 21, 5 to 9 p.m., at the MIDFLORIDA Event Center. Free.
- Festival of Lights, Saturday, Dec. 5, at the MIDFLORIDA Event Center, with the holiday parade and tree lighting.
- Noche Buena, Friday, Dec. 18, at The Port District. Free, with live music and Latin food trucks.
If the forecasts hold, Golden Krust's soft opening will fall between the Festival of Lights and Noche Buena. A "Now Open" sign at Kinfolks could go up while Fall Fun Fest is still running.
At Renny Realty, we watch the same permit lists and storefronts on Port St. Lucie Boulevard and U.S. 1 that turn into new places to eat. Those changes also shape how a block feels to the people who live there. If you'd like to talk about what's going in near your street and what it could mean for you, Schedule a Consultation with Gus.
